Chapter 7 - The Poisoned Ledger in the Study
We set the trap that afternoon.
I returned to the estate through the service entrance, maintaining my normal routine. Calvin relocated two of his most trusted tactical surveillance operators to an unmarked van parked outside the perimeter, tapping directly into the estate’s primary electrical grid and Helen’s private cellular network.
At 4:00 PM, I called Helen into my study.
"Helen, I have to fly to Atlanta tonight for an emergency acquisition meeting," I told her, shuffling a stack of fake corporate contracts. "I won't be back until tomorrow evening."
Helen’s eyes lit up with that same predatory calm. "Do not worry about a single thing, Mr. Ward. The girls will be in perfect hands. I will personally supervise their dinner and bedtime."
"I know you will," I said, looking her dead in the eyes without flinching. "I've left the master safe in the study open. The girls' original birth certificates and Emily's estate trust documents are inside. If the estate lawyers call regarding the trust audit tomorrow morning, you have my permission to review them."
"I will handle it with the utmost discretion, sir," she said with a respectful bow of her head.
As soon as she walked out, Calvin’s voice came through my earpiece. "She just sent an encrypted text to an unregistered burner number."
"What does it say?"
"'The father is leaving the state tonight. Prepare the transport vehicle and the emergency custody intake papers for 2:00 AM. We finish this tonight.'"
My stomach dropped, but my resolve hardened into diamond.
Helen wasn't just building a paper trail anymore. She felt the net tightening. She knew I had installed hidden cameras—someone had tipped her off—and she was accelerating her timeline. She was planning to have my daughters removed from the home tonight under the guise of an "emergency medical crisis," transporting them to a corrupt private clinic before I could return from Atlanta.
"Who tipped her off about the camera in the hallway, Calvin?" I asked.
A heavy pause followed on the line.
"Calvin?" I pressed.
"Nathan... the IP address that accessed our internal security feed at 6:00 AM this morning came from inside the guest house."
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My heart stopped.
The guest house was where my brother-in-law, Emily’s younger brother Derek, had been staying since last month.
