Chapter 4 - The Petition

Chadworth read the words twice.

PETITION FOR TEMPORARY GUARDIANSHIP.

Lorelai Prescott.

Gemma Prescott.

Sabina Vale.

He looked at Marcus.

“She signed with my name?”

“No. Hers.”

“She isn’t Sabina Vale.”

“She intended to be.”

“Future tense doesn’t belong on a legal document.”

“Neither does forgery.”

Rosamund stood near the window.

“What does the petition say?”

Marcus handed her the photograph.

She read silently.

Then her face changed.

“Household instability?”

“Keep going,” Chadworth said.

Rosamund’s eyes moved.

“Paternal absence due to prolonged international business obligations.”

Her voice became harder.

“Emotional dependence on domestic employee.”

She looked up.

“That means me.”

“Yes.”

“Behavioral distress in the children.”

“Yes.”

“They caused that distress.”

Chadworth closed his eyes.

“Yes.”

Rosamund lowered the page.

“This is monstrous.”

Marcus pointed to another paragraph.

“Look at the proposed supporting exhibits.”

Rosamund read.

“Security incidents. Missing jewelry. Staff complaints.”

“The bracelet,” Chadworth said.

“She was manufacturing evidence.”

“Yes.”

Marcus tapped the table.

“And possibly more.”

Chadworth looked at him.

“How much more?”

“I spent the night reviewing access logs.”

“Tell me.”

“Sabina entered the west records room eleven times in four months.”

“That room holds archived household files.”

“School records too.”

Rosamund frowned.

“Medical records?”

“Some.”

Chadworth stood.

“What could she alter?”

“Not official hospital systems. But copies. Notes. Printed evaluations.”

“Enough to present selectively.”

“Exactly.”

Rosamund said, “Lorelai saw a counselor last year after nightmares.”

Chadworth nodded.

“After her mother’s anniversary.”

“Sabina asked me about those records.”

“When?”

“Two months ago.”

“What did you tell her?”

“That it was private.”

“Did she get them?”

“I don’t know.”

Marcus typed.

“Someone printed a counseling summary six weeks ago.”

Chadworth stared.

“Credentials?”

“House administrator account.”

“Who has access?”

“Three people.”

“Names.”

“Me. Finance office. Sabina, through temporary event credentials.”

“Why did she have event credentials with records access?”

“She shouldn’t have.”

Marcus’s jaw tightened.

“I approved a broad access package for the charity weekend.”

Chadworth looked at him.

“You’re blaming yourself.”

“Yes.”

“Join the club.”

Rosamund set the photograph down.

“What do we do now?”

Marcus answered.

“We preserve evidence.”

“And the girls?”

Chadworth said, “They do not spend one more minute alone with Sabina.”

“How without alerting her?”

“I don’t care anymore.”

Marcus did.

“You should.”

Chadworth turned.

“She forged my initials.”

“Yes.”

“She bruised Gemma.”

“Yes.”

“She’s preparing a guardianship petition.”

“Yes.”

“And you still want me to smile at breakfast?”

“For one more day.”

“No.”

Marcus lowered his voice.

“Chadworth, listen.”

“No.”

“If Sabina thinks you know, Voss destroys whatever remains.”

“We already have the photographs.”

“Photographs of documents outside a storage unit. Useful, not complete.”

“Then get a warrant.”

“We’re not police.”

“Call them.”

“With what?”

“Forgery.”

“Your attorney has a draft with questionable initials. Voss will say you authorized them verbally.”

“I didn’t.”

“I believe you. A court asks for proof.”

“The bracelet.”

“Shows a lie.”

“The bruise.”

“Shows possible harm.”

“The girls.”

“Can testify, but you don’t want their first protection to depend on putting them through interviews before we understand the full scheme.”

Chadworth hated that Marcus was right.

Rosamund said, “One day.”

He looked at her.

“You agree?”

“I agree with protecting the girls from more questions until we have something stronger.”

“How do we keep Sabina away from them?”

Rosamund answered.

“I take them out.”

“Where?”

“Your sister’s old cottage.”

Chadworth looked surprised.

“Nobody uses that place.”

“Exactly.”

Marcus nodded.

“Secure grounds. Separate entrance. Cameras we control.”

Chadworth hated the idea of moving his daughters anywhere.

But leaving them in the main house felt worse.

“What do I tell Sabina?”

Rosamund said, “That Lorelai has a school project.”

“For a whole day?”

“Gemma has a playdate.”

Marcus almost smiled.

“You’re terrible at lying.”

“So is Mr. Prescott.”

Chadworth looked at him.

“Apparently not terrible enough. I invented Canada.”

“No. You invented a canceled flight. Your driver invented Canada.”

Rosamund’s mouth twitched.

For the first time in days, the room breathed.

Then Chadworth said, “Take them.”

Rosamund nodded.

“And Chadworth?”

“Yes?”

“Tell them why.”

He looked at her.

“Not everything.”

“No. But enough.”

That afternoon, Chadworth sat with Lorelai and Gemma in the library.

Lorelai watched him suspiciously.

“Are we in trouble?”

“No.”

“Sabina says when adults say that, someone is usually in trouble.”

Chadworth flinched.

“Sabina says many things I should have questioned.”

Gemma hugged the rabbit.

“Are you mad at her?”

“Yes.”

Lorelai sat straighter.

“You believe us?”

“I do.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Because Rosamund told you?”

“Because I saw something myself.”

Lorelai’s face changed.

“The cameras?”

Chadworth stared.

“How did you know?”

“She hates the cameras.”

“Sabina?”

Lorelai nodded.

“She tells us not to stand where they can see.”

Chadworth’s pulse kicked.

“What does that mean?”

“She knows which ones work.”

Marcus, standing by the door, looked sharply at him.

Chadworth kept his voice gentle.

“How?”

“She said the red lights mean they’re awake.”

Marcus frowned.

“The indoor cameras don’t have visible recording lights.”

Lorelai looked at him.

“Some do.”

“Which ones?”

“The little ones Sabina put up.”

The room went silent.

Chadworth leaned forward.

“What little ones?”

Lorelai pointed toward the shelf.

“Like the black button near the clock.”

Marcus crossed the room.

He examined the shelf.

Nothing.

“Where?”

“It was there yesterday.”

“What did it look like?”

“Round. Tiny.”

“Did you touch it?”

“No. Sabina said never to.”

Marcus looked at Chadworth.

“That was not ours.”

Chadworth’s stomach dropped.

“Hidden camera?”

“Possible.”

Rosamund entered.

“What happened?”

Marcus said, “Sabina may have installed her own surveillance.”

Rosamund went pale.

“In the girls’ rooms?”

Chadworth stood.

“Check.”

Marcus took two technicians.

They found the first device behind a vent outside the playroom.

The second inside a decorative smoke detector in the upstairs hall.

The third in the library.

The fourth was hidden inside an alarm clock in Gemma’s bedroom.

Chadworth stared at the device in Marcus’s gloved hand.

“No.”

Marcus said nothing.

“No.”

Rosamund’s face tightened.

“There’s another.”

“How do you know?”

“Lorelai said Sabina always knew when they whispered at night.”

Chadworth turned.

“Where?”

Lorelai pointed toward her bedroom.

“Maybe the lamp.”

They found an audio transmitter inside the lamp base.

Chadworth left the room.

He made it halfway down the hall before punching the wall.

Rosamund followed.

“Stop.”

He hit it again.

“Stop.”

“She listened to them.”

“Yes.”

“In their bedrooms.”

“Yes.”

“I brought her into this house.”

Rosamund grabbed his wrist before he could strike the wall again.

“And now you get her out.”

Chadworth looked at her.

“I should have seen it.”

“You should have listened.”

He closed his eyes.

“That’s worse.”

“It is.”

He opened them.

Rosamund did not soften the truth.

“Good fathers can fail their children.”

He said nothing.

“Good fathers can also repair what they broke.”

“How?”

“By not making your guilt their next burden.”

Chadworth looked toward Lorelai’s door.

“What do I tell them?”

“The truth you can carry today.”

He nodded.

Marcus came into the hallway.

“The devices transmit locally.”

“To where?”

“Could be the house network.”

“Find the receiver.”

“I will.”

“Now.”

“I’m already on it.”

Within an hour, Marcus found a hidden network address tied to a small storage drive.

It had been connected through Sabina’s dressing-room smart hub.

The drive was gone.

But cached data remained.

Marcus opened a directory.

Folders.

Dates.

Names.

GEMMA.

LORELAI.

ROSAMUND.

CHADWORTH.

Sabina had not merely watched.

She had cataloged.

Marcus opened one audio file.

Gemma’s voice whispered through the speaker.

“Rosamund, please don’t leave.”

Rosamund answered, “I’m not leaving tonight.”

“Sabina says Daddy will choose her.”

A pause.

“He may make mistakes. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.”

Lorelai’s voice entered.

“What if he marries her?”

Rosamund said, “Then we keep telling the truth.”

The recording ended.

Chadworth’s eyes burned.

Marcus opened another.

Sabina’s voice.

“Tell your father Rosamund yelled at you.”

Gemma cried.

“She didn’t.”

“Say it.”

“No.”

“Say it, or I’ll make sure the rabbit disappears next time.”

Chadworth gripped the desk.

Marcus stopped the audio.

“That’s enough.”

“No.”

“Chadworth.”

“Play it.”

The file continued.

Gemma whispered, “Rosamund yelled.”

Sabina said, “Good girl.”

Then a sound.

A kiss.

“See? That wasn’t hard.”

Chadworth walked away from the desk.

Rosamund covered her mouth.

Marcus said, “This changes things.”

“How?”

“We have direct evidence of coercion.”

“Call the police.”

“Yes.”

“Now.”

Marcus reached for his phone.

Rosamund said, “Wait.”

Both men looked at her.

“What?”

“If police arrive while Sabina is out, she’ll know before they find Voss.”

Marcus paused.

“She’s right.”

Chadworth looked at the audio folder.

“Can we trace where this data was sent?”

Marcus’s fingers moved.

“Maybe.”

“How long?”

“I can check.”

He examined logs.

Then stopped.

“What?”

Marcus looked at the screen.

“The receiver connected to an external account.”

“Whose?”

“Not Sabina.”

“Voss?”

“No.”

“Then who?”

Marcus enlarged the subscriber record.

The account belonged to PRESCOTT FAMILY OFFICE.

Chadworth stared.

“That’s internal.”

“Yes.”

“Which employee?”

Marcus entered credentials.

His face changed.

“Finance director.”

“Arthur Bell?”

“Yes.”

Chadworth felt the room tilt.

Arthur had worked for him twelve years.

“He’s part of this?”

“Or his credentials are.”

“Find out.”

Marcus nodded.

“And Chadworth?”

“Yes?”

“We just found the first reason Sabina may have believed she could alter your trust without you noticing.”

“Because she had someone inside my family office.”

“Exactly.”

The scheme had moved beyond cruelty.

Beyond jealousy.

Beyond one woman’s ambition.

Someone inside Chadworth’s own organization had helped Sabina build a private surveillance system around his children.

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And that meant the black box in her dressing room was no longer the center of the mystery.

It was only one piece.