Chapter 10 - THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE
Daniel identified the nursing company within two hours.
It was not a normal postpartum service.
It specialized in private psychiatric recovery.
Discreet admissions.
Secure residential facilities.
Patients could be admitted voluntarily.
Or under court-authorized emergency guardianship.
I stared at the website.
“They were going to lock me away.”
Rebecca answered carefully.
“That appears to have been the intention.”
Dominic stood suddenly.
“No.”
Everyone looked at him.
“My mother said the guardianship was temporary.”
Rebecca’s expression did not change.
“She lied.”
He paced across the room.
“No.”
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
He had spent his entire life believing obedience would eventually earn safety.
Now he was discovering that Eleanor had never intended to protect anyone except herself.
Daniel found the facility.
Lake Arbor Recovery Center.
Two hours north of the city.
Private grounds.
No public patient directory.
Arthur looked at me.
“You’re not going there.”
“I know.”
“I mean nobody from this family goes there without law enforcement.”
I nodded.
Then Dominic said something that changed everything.
“My mother owns property near Lake Arbor.”
Daniel turned.
“What property?”
“A house.”
Dominic frowned.
“She inherited it from my grandmother.”
“Address?”
He gave it.
Daniel searched.
The house sat less than one mile from the recovery center.
My father’s security team contacted local authorities.
By afternoon, detectives obtained enough evidence from the forged documents to secure a search warrant.
I did not go with them.
I stayed at my father’s home.
But three hours later, Daniel called.
His voice was controlled.
“We found something.”
My father put him on speaker.
“What?”
“A room upstairs.”
My heart started pounding.
“What kind of room?”
Daniel paused.
“A nursery.”
I touched my stomach.
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
Daniel continued.
“Fully prepared.”
Crib.
Clothes.
Formula.
Diapers.
Everything for a newborn girl.
My daughter.
My knees felt weak.
“They knew the gender.”
Dominic whispered.
I turned toward him.
Only our closest family knew we were having a girl.
Daniel kept speaking.
“There’s another bedroom.”
“What’s in it?”
“A hospital-style bed.”
Restraint rails.
Medication cabinet.
Locked windows.
Soundproofing.
The room disappeared around me.
Eleanor had not merely wanted temporary control.
She had prepared a place for me.
And a separate room for my baby.
Dominic sat down.
He looked physically ill.
“My mother said she wanted to help after the birth.”
No one answered him.
The police found files in a locked desk.
Printed custody forms.
Medical authorization paperwork.
A draft petition claiming I posed a danger to my child.
Photographs of the nursery.
Notes about feeding schedules.
Then they found a handwritten letter.
It was addressed to Dominic.
He had never received it.
Rebecca read it aloud.
Once the baby arrives, everything changes.
Vivienne will be exhausted and emotional.
Do not let guilt weaken you.
Remember what is at stake.
The Laurent assets secure your daughter’s future.
You are not taking anything from Vivienne.
You are protecting what should belong to your child.
Dominic covered his face.
I felt no sympathy.
Then Rebecca reached the final paragraph.
If Vivienne refuses treatment, Weller will handle medication.
My father immediately looked at Daniel.
“Find Weller.”
Daniel’s answer came quietly.
“We already tried.”
May you like
Arthur frowned.
“He left the country this morning.”
