Victoria Arrives
Chapter 05 - Victoria Arrives
Victoria entered Saint Matthew’s carrying a white handbag and an expression of controlled concern.
She had changed from her morning clothes into a cream business suit.
“Why was I not told Lucas was here?”
Ethan stood between her and the bed.
“You were called by the school.”
“My phone was off.”
Maya showed her the North River patch.
Victoria’s face did not change.
“He receives counseling there.”
“Without my consent?” Ethan asked.
“You signed the authorization.”
Ortiz placed a copy of the forged form on the counter.
Victoria glanced at it.
“Then perhaps you forgot.”
Lucas held the blue hat tightly.
Victoria looked at him.
“You were told not to remove that.”
Maya moved closer to the bed.
The sentence was captured by the hospital-room safety recorder.
Victoria realized too late.
She shifted her story.
The hat protected Lucas from touching a healing patch.
The private clinic prevented public embarrassment.
Anna’s video was fabricated by people seeking control of the Reed trust.
Ethan asked one question.
“Is Anna alive?”
Victoria did not answer.
Ortiz informed her that she was part of an active investigation and could not remove Lucas from the hospital.
Victoria requested a private conversation with Ethan.
He refused.
She lowered her voice.
“If North River closes, dozens of fragile children will be displaced. Think before you create a disaster.”
The warning followed a familiar pattern.
Expose the crime, and become responsible for the institution’s collapse.
Ethan looked at his son.
“Children needing care are not permission to falsify records.”
Victoria’s calm finally broke.
She told Ethan that Anna had always planned to leave him and take Lucas’s trust.
Lucas began shaking.
Maya asked Victoria to leave the room.
Hospital security escorted her away.
Before the doors closed, she looked at the hat.
May you like
Not at Lucas.
The evidence mattered more to her than the child wearing it.
