Chapter 7 - A Child With a Price Tag

At two in the morning, Nora sat beside Ivy in a small hotel room with the lights on. Ivy slept curled around her sweater. Nora had promised herself she'd never put the girl inside another rich family's fight.

Then she remembered Lydia's last request: If he can still be the man I knew, let him find her.

Her phone vibrated. Gideon.

“I've asked Amina to investigate every dollar,” he said. “I didn't know about the trust payment.”

“Lydia knew you didn't know everything,” Nora replied. “She just didn't know if you wanted to.”

By morning, a county child protective services worker knocked on the hotel door with a patrol officer. Someone had reported that Nora was keeping Ivy under a false identity and might flee the state.

Nora produced the guardianship form and Ivy's medical records. The worker, Denise Grant, examined them carefully.

“These are important,” Denise said, “but a complaint has been filed alleging the form was altered.”

“By whom?”

“The reporter requested confidentiality.”

Ivy stood behind Nora, barefoot and furious. “My mom is right here.”

“I see that, sweetheart.” Denise crouched. “I'm not taking anybody anywhere today. We have to verify some papers, that's all.”

Still, Nora's hands didn't stop trembling until the worker left.

Gideon arrived an hour later, carrying grocery-store muffins instead of flowers. He stayed by the door until Nora invited him in.

“I used to buy these for Lydia,” he told Ivy. “She hated fancy breakfasts.”

Ivy accepted a blueberry one. “She sounds normal.”

“She was the most normal person in that house.”

Then Amina called. A bank tracing showed the trust funds had been routed through a foundation contractor called Northbridge Services. The company had two directors: Malcolm Pierce and a relative of Celeste's.

“Can we get the money back?” Nora asked.

“Maybe,” Amina said. “But that's not what worries me.”

May you like

Billionaire’s Wife Kicked a Waitress in Front of 300 Elites—One Slap Exp...

The billionaire’s wife tried to kick a waitress in the face in front of 300 wealthy guests. But seconds later, she whispered three...

My Mother Grabbed My Wife by the Hair Over Cold Soup—But What My Father...

My mother grabbed my wife by the hair over a bowl of cold soup. And the most shameful part? For one terrible second, I almost defe...

My Parents Kicked My 6-Year-Old Daughter and Me Out on Christmas—Then I...

My mother kicked my six-year-old daughter out of Christmas dinner, never realizing I was the only reason she still had a house to...

She sent over a scan from a sealed family file. It contained a letter, supposedly from Lydia, signed one week before the crash.

The first line read: IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, DO NOT ALLOW NORA REED NEAR MY DAUGHTER.