Chapter 5 - The Second AttackMargaret was released pending further proceedings under strict conditions.
No contact with Lily.
No contact with Emily.
Daniel moved his family temporarily into a gated apartment.
He believed the immediate danger was over.
Then Lily became sick.
It happened one afternoon after preschool.
Vomiting.
Dizziness.
Extreme sleepiness.
Emily rushed her to the hospital.
Doctors stabilized her.
A toxicology screen showed exposure to a prescription sedative.
Emily almost collapsed.
“How?”
Nobody in the household used that medication.
Then Lily whispered:
“Grandma’s friend gave me candy.”
Emily froze.
“What friend?”
“A lady.”
Outside preschool.
Security footage showed an older woman handing Lily a small chocolate before a teacher intervened.
The woman was identified as Margaret’s longtime assistant.
Helen Ward.
Police questioned her.
Helen claimed Margaret had asked her only to give Lily a gift.
“Did Margaret provide the chocolate?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know what was inside?”
“No.”
Margaret denied everything.
The packaging contained no fingerprints usable for identification.
But phone records showed six calls between Margaret and Helen that morning.
Daniel finally stopped searching for innocent explanations.
He sat beside Lily’s hospital bed.
“I should have protected you sooner.”
Emily answered:
“You should have believed what was in front of you sooner.”
He nodded.
No argument.
Detective Monroe cautioned them.
“We cannot say Margaret personally drugged the chocolate yet.”
Emily understood.
Suspicion was not proof.
But someone had targeted Lily again.
And Margaret’s circle was involved.
That evening Alexander called.
“There’s something else you need to know.”
He had been searching old Carter corporate files.
Margaret had recently borrowed against her company shares.
Almost $120 million.
Daniel stared.
“For what?”
Alexander answered:
“Nobody knows.”
If Lily’s trust activated fully at age five, Margaret’s ability to control certain corporate restructurings would become much weaker.
She had financial reasons to act quickly.
Then Detective Monroe called.
Helen Ward had changed her story.
Margaret had not given her chocolate.
A man had.
His name:
Richard Vale.
Carter Development’s chief financial officer.
Daniel’s closest professional adviser.
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The person who had encouraged Daniel not to sell his shares.
The conspiracy had reached the company itself.
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