Chapter 6 - The Missing Page
Ethan held the notebook beneath the attic light.
The torn edge was clean enough to show that someone had removed the page intentionally.
Sarah looked through the box.
“Maybe it fell out.”
“It didn’t.”
“How can you know?”
“Amelia never tore pages from notebooks.”
Sarah looked at him.
“You’re certain?”
“She hated it. Said it made everything look unfinished.”
The detail was so ordinary that it made the missing page feel worse.
Ethan photographed the notebook exactly where they found it.
Then he placed it inside a clear document sleeve from the office downstairs.
Sarah asked, “Should Detective Ruiz have this?”
“Yes.”
He paused.
“But first I want to know when Victoria started asking about Leo’s trust.”
Ethan sat on an old storage trunk.
For the first time all night, he looked exhausted rather than angry.
“Amelia and Victoria met in college.”
Sarah knew they had been friends.
She had not known how close.
“They were roommates their sophomore year,” Ethan continued. “Victoria was at our wedding. She stayed with Amelia during treatments when I traveled. After Amelia died, Victoria checked on Leo constantly.”
“And you.”
He nodded.
“At first I thought it was because she loved Amelia.”
Sarah did not respond.
“I didn’t start dating her for almost a year.”
“I know.”
“She made me feel like I didn’t have to explain the grief.”
“That doesn’t make you foolish.”
“I gave her access to my house.”
Sarah looked at him.
“Access isn’t ownership.”
His expression shifted.
That sentence seemed to land somewhere important.
The next morning, Detective Ruiz collected the notebook.
She also arranged for a forensic technician to photograph the altered care binder.
Victoria’s attorney contacted Ethan before breakfast.
His name was Grant Holloway.
The email was aggressive but polished.
Victoria denied intentionally endangering Leo.
She claimed Sarah had misinterpreted an ordinary use of the iron and had assaulted Victoria during a “jealous confrontation.”
The message demanded that Sarah be suspended from employment pending investigation.
Ethan read it aloud in the study.
Sarah said, “You probably should suspend me.”
He stared at her.
“What?”
“If I stay, they’ll say you’re allowing me to influence evidence.”
“No.”
“Ethan.”
“No.”
Mrs. Alvarez, who had been quietly arranging breakfast trays, spoke.
“Sarah is right.”
Ethan looked at her.
The older woman continued.
“She does not need to leave the family. But changing her formal role during an investigation protects her.”
Sarah appreciated the distinction.
Ethan did not.
“I’m not punishing her.”
“Then don’t punish her,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “Place her on paid administrative leave from household duties. Let her remain here as a witness and because Leo trusts her, with another caregiver present.”
Ethan considered it.
Sarah said, “That’s reasonable.”
He hated it.
But agreed.
By noon, Victoria had already leaked a different version.
A celebrity news site published photographs of her leaving a private medical clinic with the headline:
HEIRESS INJURED DURING CONFRONTATION AT BILLIONAIRE FIANCÉ’S HOME.
Sarah stared at the article.
“Heiress?”
Mrs. Alvarez muttered.
“Crane money isn’t what it used to be.”
Sarah looked up.
“What does that mean?”
Mrs. Alvarez hesitated.
“I’ve worked around wealthy families long enough to recognize the ones who talk about money because they have it and the ones who talk about money because they need everyone to believe they still do.”
Sarah remembered Victoria constantly discussing Crane Legacy Partners.
Luxury property.
Private investments.
Family foundations.
She had never considered whether the empire was actually healthy.
That afternoon, Sarah received a call from the domestic staffing agency that had originally placed her with the Hales.
Her profile had been suspended.
“Until the allegation is resolved,” the manager explained.
Sarah stood in the service hallway, gripping the phone.
“I’ve worked for this family for four years.”
“I know.”
“I have no complaints.”
“I know.”
“Then why suspend me?”
“Because Victoria Crane’s attorney sent us a notice stating that you are under criminal investigation for assault.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“I haven’t been charged.”
“I understand.”
But the damage had started.
When she ended the call, Ethan was standing at the end of the hallway.
He had heard.
“I’ll call them.”
“No.”
“They can’t do that.”
“They just did.”
“I’ll pay whatever salary—”
“This isn’t about the salary.”
Sarah’s voice cracked despite herself.
“My work is my reputation.”
Ethan stopped.
“I know.”
“No. Your last name protects you from things mine doesn’t.”
He absorbed that quietly.
Sarah immediately regretted the sharpness.
But he said, “You’re right.”
That surprised her more than an argument would have.
He continued.
“Victoria knows exactly where to attack each of us.”
“Leo physically.”
“You professionally.”
“And you?”
Ethan looked toward his father’s portrait in the hallway.
“My fear of losing control.”
His phone rang.
Nora.
He answered.
Her first words were:
“Marcus didn’t send the correct preservation notice.”
Ethan straightened.
“What?”
“He sent one covering the household account beginning at 3:40 p.m.”
Sarah felt cold.
The deleted clips began at 3:21.
Ethan asked, “Why would he exclude the earlier footage?”
Nora replied, “He says it was a drafting mistake.”
Sarah looked at Amelia’s notebook lying in an evidence bag on the desk.
A torn page.
Deleted footage.
Forged medical notes.
A forged trust document.
And now a legal notice designed to preserve only part of the truth.
Ethan said, “Send a new notice.”
“I already did.”
“Good.”
Nora paused.
“There’s more.”
“What?”
“I checked our visitor logs.”
Ethan waited.
“Victoria entered Marcus Reed’s office yesterday.”
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“When?”
“Forty minutes before the forged trust document was filed.”
