Chapter 6 - PAIGE’S EMPTY BEDROOM
Nicole was removed from Paige’s temporary guardianship arrangement pending investigation. June became the child’s sole court-approved guardian, while an independent fiduciary took over the disputed estate accounts. Nicole’s lawyers challenged the emergency orders, arguing that a secretly recorded marital argument could not justify excluding a stepmother from a child she had helped raise for seven years.
Paige did not argue about Nicole being removed.
She asked whether Anita could come home.
That question hurt June because Anita remained in custody while the prosecution reviewed the new evidence. The district attorney moved to reassess the charges, but the judge had not yet ordered Anita released. June explained that the process took time.
Paige looked at her. “Daddy already said she didn’t do it.”
“I know.”
“Then why is she still there?”
June had no answer that would sound fair to a child.
The emotional consequences reached Nicole differently. Her bank access became restricted, her family company faced subpoenas and reporters began questioning whether Arthur’s death was connected to corporate fraud. She issued a statement describing herself as a grieving widow targeted by an opportunistic recording and an employee facing murder charges.
Then Arthur’s company suspended the Meridian relationship.
That decision endangered the entire financial structure.
David Kim warned that if the Meridian debt were not refinanced, lenders might demand immediate repayment from entities connected to Nicole and Charles. The suspicious transaction was not a historical theft safely hidden in old paperwork. It remained active.
Charles reacted by filing a petition claiming the independent administrator was jeopardizing Paige’s assets through unnecessary disclosure. He requested temporary authority to continue managing existing obligations until the dispute was resolved.
Rebecca opposed the petition.
The court denied it.
Charles then moved to his next option.
That evening June discovered Paige’s bedroom had been searched. Nothing expensive was taken. Her jewelry box remained untouched, as did the tablet beside her bed. But every drawer of the music cabinet had been opened, the removable panel lay on the carpet and the small wooden box where Paige kept Arthur’s personal belongings was empty.
The intruder used a valid service entrance code.
Security footage showed a man wearing a maintenance jacket entering the hallway during an afternoon shift change. His face remained partially obscured, but he moved directly toward Paige’s room without searching anywhere else.
Someone knew the recorder had a connection to the music cabinet.
Someone believed more evidence remained there.
June brought Paige to Rebecca’s apartment for the night rather than keeping her at the mansion. Paige carried the dictaphone’s empty protective case even though police still held the device itself.
At bedtime she told June something she had not mentioned before.
“Daddy had two recorders.”
June sat beside her.
“What?”
“One black. One silver.”
“Where’s the silver one?”
Paige shook her head.
“He said I should only find it if someone took the black one.”
June called Rebecca immediately.
The black recorder had reached court.
May you like
Now somebody was searching for the silver one.
And Paige was the only person who knew how Arthur hid things.
