Chapter 2 - The Paperwork in the Study
The ER doctor was thorough. Two fractured ribs, a severe sprain on her left wrist, and deep contusions along her back—stacked on top of the healing fracture in her leg.
"She’s lucky," Dr. Michaels said, pinning the X-rays to the light box in the private exam room. "Children are resilient, Daniel, but another fall like that could permanently damage her joint growth."
"It wasn't a fall," Daniel said flatly, sitting beside the hospital bed where Lily had finally drifted to sleep under the influence of mild painkillers.
Dr. Michaels paused, looking at Daniel’s bruised knuckles, then at the girl. "If you're implying what I think you are, I'm required by law to file a child endangerment report."
"File it," Daniel said. "File everything."
At two in the morning, after ensuring Geno, his trusted driver and former head of estate security, was stationed outside Lily’s hospital door, Daniel returned to Bennett Hall.
The grand estate was silent. The caterers had cleared the broken glass, the champagne flutes were gone, and the heavy oak doors were locked. Vanessa’s sports car was missing from the driveway.
Daniel walked upstairs to the master suite. He didn't plan on sleeping. He went straight to the private study attached to the bedroom—a room he shared with Vanessa, though she rarely used the desk.
He began opening drawers.
He was looking for her passport. If she was planning to run after the scene at the gala, he wanted to know where. Instead, under a false lining in the lower filing cabinet, his fingers brushed against a heavy leather folder bound with brass clasps.
He pulled it out and opened it on the desk under the dim warm light of the desk lamp.
Inside were official corporate documents bearing the golden crest of Bennett Grand Hotels.
It was a Board of Directors resolution for the emergency removal of Daniel Vance as Chief Executive Officer, citing "gross negligence, domestic violence, and mental instability."
Daniel stared at the document. His signature was missing, but Arthur Bennett’s signature was already bold and clear at the bottom. Alongside it were the signatures of four major board members.
Then Daniel looked at the stamp in the top right corner.
Filed and Notarized: October 12.
Daniel looked at the digital clock on his desk.
Today was October 15.
The board paperwork striping him of his company, his authority, and his legal standing had been drawn up, signed, and notarized three full days before Lily was pushed down the stairs.
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Three days before he had struck Vanessa in front of the board.
The slap in the ballroom hadn't been the cause of his downfall. It was the trap he had walked right into.
