Chapter 6 - THE COURT ORDER
Dominic arrived at the mansion to find two uniformed officers standing in the foyer.
Vanessa stood beside them, dressed in a tailored black suit, her expression composed. Richard Sterling was at her side, holding a leather folder.
Hannah stood near the staircase with Sophie behind her.
The little girl was clutching Mr. Buttons so tightly that its repaired seams stretched beneath her fingers.
“Daddy!” Sophie cried.
Dominic crossed the foyer in three strides.
He crouched in front of her.
“Are you all right?”
She nodded, but tears shone in her eyes.
“Vanessa says I have to go with her.”
Dominic looked up.
“No, sweetheart. Nobody is taking you anywhere until I understand what's happening.”
Richard opened the folder.
“That's precisely why we're here.”
Dominic rose.
“Explain.”
Richard produced a court document.
“Vanessa has petitioned for temporary guardianship. She alleges your household is unstable, that your investigation into your wife's death has created a danger to the child, and that your employee has been interfering with Sophie emotionally.”
Hannah went pale.
“I have never—”
“Don't speak unless you're asked,” Richard snapped.
Dominic stepped between them.
“You don't give orders to my staff in my house.”
Richard smiled thinly.
“Your house doesn't put you above the law.”
“No. But neither does your last name.”
One of the officers cleared his throat.
“Mr. Moretti, we are not here to remove the child at this moment. We are here to verify the situation and serve notice of the hearing.”
Dominic took the document and read it.
The allegations were carefully worded. They didn't claim he had physically harmed Sophie. Instead, they described his grief, his business, the security around the estate, and his recent decision to question the circumstances of Elena's death.
The petition portrayed him as a powerful man whose judgment had become compromised.
It portrayed Vanessa as a stable, devoted future stepmother.
And it portrayed Hannah as an employee who had encouraged Sophie's attachment to a deceased parent.
Dominic looked at Vanessa.
“You want custody of my daughter?”
“I want her to have a stable home.”
“She has one.”
“Does she?” Vanessa's voice sharpened. “You've turned this house into a crime scene. You've dragged old family secrets into the open. You've frightened everyone around her.”
“You threw her mother's teddy bear into a fire.”
Vanessa's face flushed.
“That has nothing to do with this.”
“It has everything to do with it.”
Richard stepped forward.
“Dominic, this is not the place.”
Dominic looked at him.
“You're right. It isn't. So take your papers and leave.”
The officers exchanged a glance.
“Mr. Moretti,” one said, “we recommend you retain counsel and attend the hearing. Until then, please avoid any action that could be interpreted as obstructing the process.”
Dominic nodded.
“I understand.”
The officers left.
Richard lingered.
“You should think carefully about what you're doing,” he said quietly. “You have businesses, employees, and a daughter to protect. You don't want old accusations becoming public.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“Is that a threat?”
“It's advice.”
“Then here's mine. Stay away from Sophie.”
Richard's smile vanished.
“You may regret making an enemy of me.”
Dominic opened the front door.
“I already regret trusting you.”
Richard walked out.
Vanessa remained behind.
She looked toward Sophie, who had buried her face against Hannah's side.
For the first time, her expression seemed uncertain.
“Dominic,” she said softly, “I never wanted this to become ugly.”
“Then you should never have used my daughter to get to me.”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
“You don't understand what your wife left behind.”
Dominic went still.
“What did Elena leave behind?”
Vanessa's lips parted.
Then Richard called her from outside.
She looked at Dominic once more before following her father.
Dominic turned to Hannah.
“Take Sophie upstairs.”
Hannah nodded.
As she led Sophie away, the little girl looked over her shoulder.
“Daddy?”
He looked up.
“I'm here, sweetheart.”
“Are they going to take me away?”
Dominic's heart broke.
“No.”
She hesitated.
“Promise?”
He approached her and knelt.
“I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you safe. And I promise I won't lie to you about what happens next.”
Sophie studied his face, then nodded.
When they disappeared upstairs, Dominic called his attorney, Margaret Hayes, a sharp, independent family-law specialist who had never represented the Moretti organization.
He sent her the petition.
Then he called Daniel.
“Find out who drafted the guardianship papers.”
Daniel replied, “Richard Sterling's firm.”
“Who signed the supporting affidavits?”
“Two former employees and a doctor.”
“Get me their names.”
“Already working on it.”
Dominic ended the call and returned to the study.
Hannah was waiting outside.
“Sophie is resting,” she said. “She asked me whether she could keep Mr. Buttons in court.”
Dominic's expression softened.
“Of course she can.”
Hannah hesitated.
“Dominic, there's something I need to tell you.”
He looked at her.
“What?”
“Vanessa wasn't the only person who frightened Sophie. A few weeks ago, Sophie told me someone had been coming into her room at night.”
Dominic froze.
“Who?”
“She couldn't see the person's face. She said the person would stand near her bed and whisper that her mother had made a terrible mistake.”
Dominic felt the blood drain from his face.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“I thought she was having nightmares. I didn't want to frighten her more.”
He looked toward the stairs.
“Did she say when it happened?”
“Mostly on nights when you were away.”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
He turned toward Daniel, who had just entered the study.
“Check every room camera. Every hallway. Every service entrance. I want the full footage from the last three months.”
Daniel nodded.
Minutes later, he returned with a tablet.
“Sir, there are gaps.”
“What kind of gaps?”
“Someone disabled the cameras outside Sophie's room on seven separate nights.”
Dominic stared.
“Who had access?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Your security administrator. The system shows the changes were authorized with your personal code.”
Dominic shook his head.
“I never authorized them.”
Daniel lowered his voice.
“Then someone has your code.”
Dominic looked at the screen.
A list of names appeared beneath the access log.
Most were members of his security team.
One was Michael Moretti.
Another was Vanessa Sterling.
And the last name made Dominic's stomach tighten.
Hannah Collins.
Dominic looked toward the doorway.
Hannah was standing there, having heard enough to understand.
Her face went white.
“Dominic, I didn't do that.”
He stared at her.
“I want to believe you.”
She swallowed.
“Then ask me what happened instead of deciding I'm guilty.”
For a moment, the room held nothing but silence.
Dominic looked at the list again.
Then he noticed the timestamp.
The first camera outage had occurred two days before Hannah was hired.
The system had recorded her credentials only because someone had copied her employee profile.
Someone had deliberately placed her name on the list.
Dominic looked up.
“You're right. This isn't proof.”
Hannah's shoulders lowered slightly, but she still looked shaken.
He turned to Daniel.
“Find out who copied her credentials.”
Daniel nodded.
Dominic's phone rang.
His attorney.
He answered.
“Margaret?”
Her voice was urgent.
“Dominic, I checked the court filing. Vanessa has attached a medical report claiming Sophie has been experiencing severe emotional distress.”
Dominic frowned.
“Who examined her?”
“A pediatric psychiatrist named Dr. Alan Reeves.”
“I've never heard of him.”
“Neither has Sophie's regular pediatrician. But the report contains something stranger.”
“What?”
Margaret paused.
“The examination date is listed as four months before Elena died.”
Dominic went completely still.
“That's impossible.”
“I know. Sophie wasn't even the age stated in the report.”
Dominic looked toward the tablet.
Someone had been building a case against his daughter before Elena's death.
Someone had prepared documents, planted evidence, and manipulated the system for years.
And now the same person was trying to take Sophie away.
Margaret's voice dropped.
“Dominic, I think this is bigger than a custody dispute.”
He stared at the camera access log.
“I know.”
Then a message appeared on his phone.
A photograph of the blue jewelry box.
The box was open.
The flash drive was missing.
May you like
Beneath the photograph were four words:
YOU MISSED ONE FILE.
