Chapter 3: The Evidence of Hell
The next three hours were a blur of controlled chaos.
I called everyone. My lawyer, Patricia Alvarez. My head of security. Our family physician, Dr. Rivera.
By 8:00 PM, my penthouse was full of people.
Dr. Rivera examined the children in Sophie’s bedroom. I stood in the doorway, watching as she gently rolled up Sophie’s sleeves.
I had to look away.
Bruises. Dozens of them. Fingerprint-shaped marks on her upper arms. Yellow and purple splotches on her back.
“And Nathan?” I asked, my voice thick.
“He has marks on his ribs,” Dr. Rivera said quietly, her jaw tight. “And Daniel… he’s showing signs of developmental delay. He’s too small for his age. I suspect she’s been sedating him to keep him quiet.”
Sedating him.
My lawyer, Patricia, walked in from the living room. She looked grim.
“I’ve been digging,” she said, pulling me into the hallway. “I accessed the accounts.”
“How much?”
“She’s drained the children’s trust funds. Over $600,000 in the last six months. Small withdrawals at first, then massive transfers.”
“Where did the money go?”
“To her brother,” Patricia said. “Richard Williams. And Daniel… I ran a background check on him. He was released from prison eight months ago. Conspiracy, fraud, assault.”
The pieces clicked together with a sickening sound.
This wasn’t just a bad stepmother. This was a heist.
” Sophie told me something,” I said, rubbing my temples. “She said Isabelle talked about ‘permanent solutions’ once I updated my will.”
Patricia’s face went pale. “She was planning to kill them, Daniel. She was waiting for you to sign the new assets over to her, and then she was going to arrange an ‘accident’ for the kids.”
I felt like I was going to throw up. I had let this woman into our lives. I had slept next to her while she plotted the murder of my children.
“We need to call the police,” Patricia said. “Now. We have the footage, the medical report, the financial theft.”
“Will she be arrested?”
“With what I have? Yes. But we need to move fast. She’s dangerous, and now that she’s cornered, she and Richard might try something desperate.”
I looked back into the bedroom. Sophie was holding Nathan, rocking him, whispering to him that the bad lady was gone.
“Lock it down,” I told my head of security. “Nobody gets in this building without my permission. Triple the guards.”
