The rain was pouring hard by the time I pulled into the underground parking garage of the Fifth Street legal building. I carried Hannah upstairs to Marcus's private office on the tenth floor. The room smelled of old leather and warm coffee, a peaceful shield from the storm outside.
Marcus stood up from behind his mahogany desk, his face dark with concern as he looked at us.
Marcus: Let me see her head, Vanessa.
Vanessa: Look right here near her left ear, Marcus. The scalp is red and swollen.
Marcus: Dear Lord... Evelyn actually put her hands on this child?
Hannah: She pulled my hair real hard, Mr. Marcus. And she squeezed my arm when I tried to run to the door.
I gently lifted the sleeve of Hannah’s beige dress. Four dark, purple finger bruises were already forming on her small arm where Evelyn had grabbed her. My eyes filled with tears as I touched the marks softly.
Vanessa: She did this to my baby just to steal an inheritance...
Marcus: Take photos of those bruises right now, Vanessa. Use my desk lamp for clear lighting.
Vanessa: Julian threatened to file an emergency custody injunction today. He said he has witnesses who saw me slap him.
Marcus: Let him file whatever he wants. A judge is not going to look favorably on a father whose sister leaves finger bruises on a seven-year-old girl.
Vanessa: What was in your safe, Marcus? You said on the phone you had something important.
Marcus walked over to a small steel wall safe hidden behind a bookshelf. He clicked the combination dial and pulled out a thick, black leather folder tied with a blue ribbon.
Marcus: This is the original, unedited estate ledger left by Julian's father before he passed away.
Vanessa: I thought Julian’s team had all the estate ledgers?
Marcus: They have the forged ledgers, Vanessa. The ones Evelyn created to hide the fact that the family business is fifty million dollars in debt.
Vanessa: Fifty million in debt? How is that possible? Julian drives a luxury car and lives in a mansion!
Marcus: He lives on credit and stolen trust money. Julian and Evelyn have been illegally borrowing from Hannah’s trust fund for eighteen months to pay off their corporate loans.
My jaw dropped in complete disbelief. I looked down at Hannah, who was quietly coloring a picture at the small coffee table.
Vanessa: They were stealing from her trust fund?
Marcus: Yes. And the annual court audit is scheduled for tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. That is why they were desperate to make Hannah sign that waiver today.
Vanessa: If she signs the waiver, the audit gets canceled!
Marcus: Exactly. Without that waiver, the state auditor will uncover the missing funds tomorrow morning, and Julian will face federal prison time for embezzlement.
Vanessa: Then we are going to that audit tomorrow, Marcus.
Marcus: We aren't just going to the audit, Vanessa. We are bringing the police with us.