Chapter 14 - “Make Him Hit Me”
Bodyguard Daniel Price testified first.
The courtroom was packed.
Vanessa refused to look at him.
Daniel admitted Vanessa had paid both guards an additional $50,000 before the gala.
Their instructions were specific.
Remove Ethan Jr. from the children’s room.
Bring him into the ballroom.
Attach the decorative chain to the boy’s safety harness.
Frighten him.
Make sure Ethan saw.
“What did Ms. Vale say she expected Ethan to do?” Naomi asked.
Daniel swallowed.
“She said, ‘Make him hit me.’”
The courtroom went silent.
“And if Mr. Vale didn’t react?”
“She told us to increase the pressure.”
Ethan’s hands tightened beneath the table.
Naomi glanced toward him.
Claire’s words echoed in his mind.
Stay calmer than she expects.
He forced his hands open.
Daniel continued.
Vanessa had arranged for one camera angle to remain active—the one focused on Ethan.
Everything showing what happened to Ethan Jr. had been disabled.
She had also notified police beforehand, claiming she feared Ethan would become violent.
The entire scene had been constructed to manufacture evidence.
Vanessa suddenly stood.
“He’s lying!”
Her attorney grabbed her arm.
She shook him off.
“You pathetic coward!”
The judge ordered her to sit.
Daniel looked directly at her.
“You told us nobody would care what happened to the kid.”
Vanessa froze.
Then Daniel produced his phone.
He had secretly recorded part of Vanessa’s instructions because he feared she would refuse payment.
The audio played.
Vanessa’s voice was unmistakable.
“Ethan only has one weakness. That boy. Use him.”
Ethan lowered his head.
Not because he was weak.
Because if he looked at Vanessa in that moment, he didn’t trust himself to remain calm.
Then another voice appeared on the recording.
The second bodyguard.
“What happens when Ethan gets arrested?”
Vanessa answered immediately.
“I take the trust.”
There it was.
Motive.
Planning.
Intent.
But Naomi knew the financial motive still needed one final piece.
Arthur’s blue ledger was entered into evidence.
And the final page contained a transfer no one had found before.
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$2.8 million.
Sent only six days after Claire Vale died.
