Chapter 6 - THE ROLE SHE NEVER CHOSE
Victoria had been the most commercially valuable actress at Crosslight Media when Lily was born. Her previous film earned more than $400 million worldwide, and the studio had negotiated a five-picture agreement built around her leading roles. She was also trying to leave Julian. Their marriage had deteriorated during the pregnancy, particularly after Victoria discovered he had been transferring substantial portions of her earnings into company investments without the independent review she wanted.
Julian insisted their financial interests were inseparable.
Victoria disagreed.
Three months before Lily’s birth, she instructed Rebecca’s predecessor to examine her Crosslight contract and establish separate management for her earnings. Julian learned about the request almost immediately.
The contract contained a provision allowing temporary suspension if Victoria became unavailable for production, but it did not automatically transfer her future earnings or personal assets to Julian. He could delay projects, replace her in certain circumstances and enforce negotiated penalties. He could not simply take everything because she became a mother.
Rebecca reviewed the old correspondence and found that Victoria had intended to step away from acting for at least a year after Lily’s birth. She wanted to raise her daughter away from photographers, undergo medical treatment and decide whether to continue working with Crosslight.
Julian called the plan financially catastrophic.
Crosslight had borrowed heavily against expected revenue from her next two films. A prolonged break could force restructuring and expose the company’s weak balance sheet.
“That’s why he wanted me back on set,” Victoria said.
David shook his head. “Possibly. But taking your child away would not guarantee that.”
It was the first useful resistance anyone had offered her that week. Julian might have used the birth crisis to control her, but motive required more than a simplistic claim that motherhood interfered with filming.
The financial documents supplied the missing part.
Crosslight’s debt covenants included a personal guarantee Julian had signed without telling Victoria the full exposure. If the studio failed to deliver its contracted films, lenders could reach several of his private holdings. During Victoria’s pregnancy, the company was closer to insolvency than public reports suggested.
Julian therefore needed her working.
But something else happened shortly before Lily was born. Victoria discovered a related-party production loan routed through a company owned by Charles Larkin. She instructed her accountant to investigate and told Julian she would not sign the next film authorization until she understood the transaction.
Two days later she went into premature labor.
Julian was facing a financial review, a possible separation and the loss of his most valuable performer.
Then Lily was born during a medical emergency.
Victoria spent days recovering.
Julian gained temporary authority over several decisions.
Bright Harbor entered the picture.
The consequences of the first reveal reached Victoria’s current life immediately. Crosslight’s successor company still held distribution rights to some of her most profitable work, and Julian remained entitled to substantial revenue through those agreements. Her current publicist warned that reopening the old contracts could trigger aggressive litigation.
Victoria fired the publicist when he suggested she consider “the child’s long-term reputational value.”
Lily was not an asset to be priced.
Mara faced consequences of her own. Bright Harbor’s counsel sent a letter warning her not to disclose confidential adoption materials and suggesting that allowing Lily onto the red carpet could expose the child to psychological harm.
Mara read the letter with increasing anger.
Then she looked at Lily, who had been frightened by the camera flashes and spent the previous night asking whether Victoria was angry with her.
The agency was wrong to threaten Mara.
It was not wrong that Lily needed protection from publicity.
Mara apologized to her daughter for taking her to the event without explaining how many cameras would be there. She promised that no adult would ask Lily to prove anything publicly again.
That night Victoria received a message from an unfamiliar number.
A photograph appeared first.
It showed Lily as a newborn lying in a hospital bassinet, the pink ribbon visible around her wrist.
Then came the text.
YOU’RE ASKING WHY HE TOOK HER. ASK WHAT YOU FOUND BEFORE THE DELIVERY.
Victoria sat very still.
She had investigated Crosslight’s finances before going into labor.
May you like
Someone knew what she discovered.
And that person believed it was the real reason Lily disappeared.
