Chapter 10 - Marlene’s First MoveMarlene Carter did not run like a guilty woman.
She walked out of the courthouse in a cream suit, pearl earrings, and dark glasses, with cameras flashing in her face and a lawyer Daniel had never seen before holding the door of a black sedan.
By noon, every major local news outlet had the same headline.
GRIEVING MATRIARCH ACCUSED IN CARTER FAMILY DISPUTE.
Not kidnapping.
Not fraud.
Not unlawful imprisonment.
A dispute.
Daniel watched the news clip in the library with the sound off. Grace slept upstairs under medical supervision. Lily slept beside her. Rebecca guarded the door like a lioness. Police remained at the estate, but Daniel no longer believed locks were enough.
Michael entered carrying a folder.
“She’s spinning it.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
Marlene paused before getting into the car and turned toward reporters with trembling lips.
“I love my son,” she said when Daniel turned the volume up. “He has suffered terribly since his wife’s tragic accident. I only ever wanted to protect my granddaughter from further trauma.”
Daniel turned the television off.
Michael placed the folder on the table.
“Emergency custody hearing tomorrow morning.”
Daniel stared at him.
“She’s still trying?”
“She claims Lily is being emotionally manipulated by a woman whose identity has not been legally verified as Grace Carter.”
Daniel went cold.
Michael continued, “She’s also claiming Grace is mentally incompetent and that removing her from St. Agnes endangered her health.”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling, toward the room where his wife and daughter slept.
“She kept Grace prisoner for three years.”
“I know.”
“She drugged her.”
“I know.”
“She pinned Lily to the floor.”
“Daniel.”
Michael’s voice sharpened.
Daniel looked back.
“This is exactly what she wants,” Michael said. “You furious. You loud. You looking like the man she wrote into those forged documents.”
Daniel forced himself to inhale.
Michael softened.
“We fight clean. We fight smart. We bury her in evidence.”
Daniel nodded once.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Marlene’s voice came through like silk over a blade.
“Daniel.”
He closed his eyes.
Michael reached for the recorder on his own phone.
Daniel put Marlene on speaker.
“What do you want?”
“To prevent you from making an unforgivable mistake.”
“You lost the right to use that tone with me.”
Marlene sighed. “You always confuse emotion with truth.”
Daniel said nothing.
She continued, “That woman is not the Grace you remember.”
Daniel’s grip tightened.
“She’s my wife.”
“She is a damaged person with a damaged mind. If you drag her into court, the world will see what she has become.”
“Because of you.”
“No, Daniel. Because she was weak.”
Michael’s eyes flashed.
Daniel kept his voice steady.
“Why did you do it?”
A pause.
Then Marlene said, “Because Grace was going to take everything your father built and hand it to strangers.”
“She found you stealing.”
“She misunderstood.”
“She recorded you.”
Marlene went quiet.
Daniel leaned closer to the phone.
“I found the drive.”
This time, her silence was not calculated.
It was fear.
When she spoke again, her voice was lower.
“Then you should listen carefully. That drive is a copy. Not the original. If you try to use it, my attorneys will call it manipulated.”
“Nora Bell has the letter.”
Marlene inhaled sharply.
There.
Daniel had hit something real.
“Stay away from Nora.”
“Where is she?”
“If you love Lily, you will stop digging.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
“Are you threatening my daughter?”
“I am warning you that little girls break under pressure.”
Michael mouthed, Keep her talking.
Daniel said, “You already tried to break her.”
Marlene’s voice hardened.
“And she will pay for making herself useful.”
Daniel stood so fast the chair scraped the floor.
Michael grabbed his arm.
Marlene continued, “Bring Grace to me tonight. Bring the drive. I will make sure Lily remains with you.”
“You’re insane.”
“No. I am realistic. Without me, the Carter name collapses. Banks call loans. The board turns. Employees lose jobs. Your father understood sacrifice.”
“My father died after confronting you.”
Another pause.
Then Marlene laughed softly.
“Your father died because he forgot who made him powerful.”
The call ended.
Daniel stood frozen.
Michael saved the recording.
“That threat is going to court.”
Daniel looked at him.
“No.”
Michael frowned. “Daniel—”
“She told me to stay away from Nora. That means Nora is alive.”
“And Marlene may already be moving toward her.”
Daniel grabbed his coat.
Michael blocked him.
“Police first.”
Daniel shook his head.
“If we wait, Marlene gets there first.”
The library door opened.
Grace stood barefoot in the doorway, pale but awake.
“Nora won’t be at her old address,” she said.
Daniel turned.
Grace gripped the doorframe.
“She told me once that if Marlene ever came looking, she would go where bells ring for the living, not the dead.”
Michael looked confused.
But Daniel understood.
“The church.”
Grace nodded.
“St. Matthew’s. Your father paid for its bell tower.”
Daniel reached for his keys.
May you like
This time, Grace spoke before Michael could stop him.
“I’m coming with you.”
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