Chapter 6 - The Threat from the Shadows
Three days later, the Anderson estate felt like a different world.
For the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Lily had her own bedroom. It was a bright, airy space painted in soft pastel blues, filled with plush stuffed animals, a towering bookshelf, and a massive, comfortable bed with comforters so soft she had spent twenty minutes just stroking the fabric with her fingertips.
She was eating regularly now, her cheeks slowly starting to fill out, though the quiet, watchful shadow in her eyes still lingered whenever a loud noise echoed through the house.
Daniel was in his study reviewing financial spreadsheets when his private investigator, Marcus, walked in without knocking. Marcus was a former federal agent with a scarred eyebrow and a permanent expression of grim professional cynicism.
“Boss, you’re not going to like what we pulled up on Lily’s background,” Marcus said, tossing a thick manila envelope onto the mahogany desk.
Daniel looked up sharply. “What did you find?”
“The mother, Sarah Vance, didn't just vanish,” Marcus said, pulling out a printed police report and a series of financial statements. “She has an extensive record of felony narcotics distribution, child endangerment, and abandonment charges across three different states. She’s currently sitting in a holding cell in Portland after getting picked up on an outstanding warrant two days ago.”
Daniel’s stomach clenched. “Does she know where Lily is?”
“That’s the complication,” Marcus replied grimly. “While Sarah was in the county jail, she spilled the beans to a cellmate about a trust fund set up by Lily’s maternal grandfather—a trust fund worth roughly five hundred thousand dollars that legally reverts to the primary guardian or surviving parent upon the child’s majority.”
A cold fury washed over Daniel. “A trust fund. She doesn't care about the child; she cares about the money.”
“Worse than that,” Marcus added, leaning over the desk. “Sarah has a brother—Lily’s uncle, a guy named Ray Vance. Complete scumbag, local loanshark ties, out on parole. As soon as news hit the local court grapevine that Lily was found under the care of a multimillionaire tech executive, Ray surfaced. He’s already filed a third-party petition claiming custody rights as the sole living adult relative.”
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Daniel stood up so fast his chair rolled back and hit the wall. “He wants to use a six-year-old child as leverage to get his hands on her trust fund?”
“Exactly,” Marcus nodded. “And because family court laws heavily favor biological blood relatives over wealthy benefactors in preliminary emergency filings, his petition is sitting on Judge Harrison’s docket for a hearing this Friday morning. If we don't present an airtight case proving gross endangerment, Ray Vance could walk out of that courthouse with Lily by noon.”
