Chapter 4 - The Papers Filed Before the Party
The next morning, Ethan sat in attorney Naomi Brooks’s office while Ethan Jr. slept on a couch nearby.
Naomi placed a court filing in front of him.
“Read the timestamp.”
Ethan did.
10:17 a.m.
The morning before the gala.
The petition had been filed by Vanessa Vale.
She was requesting Ethan’s temporary removal as trustee of the Vale Family Trust.
Her stated reason:
“Escalating instability and violent conduct presenting a danger to the trust’s minor beneficiary.”
Ethan stared at Naomi.
“She filed this before I touched her.”
“Yes.”
“She described me as violent before the fight even happened.”
“Yes.”
Naomi turned another page.
“And this was attached at 9:14 last night.”
Photos of Vanessa’s bruised face.
Photos of the injured bodyguards.
A short video clip.
It began exactly when Ethan slapped Vanessa.
Nothing before it.
No terrified child.
No chain.
No dragging.
No scream.
Just Ethan striking his aunt and fighting two men.
Someone had uploaded the clip to social media.
By morning it had millions of views.
The headline described a wealthy executive “attacking his aunt and security staff during a charity gala.”
Ethan leaned back.
Vanessa hadn’t merely staged a confrontation.
She had prepared the legal paperwork before the confrontation existed.
“Why does she need me removed as trustee?” Ethan asked.
Naomi hesitated.
“That’s what worries me.”
Arthur’s estate was still in probate.
Several trust documents remained sealed.
But under the version Naomi had seen years ago, if Ethan became legally unable to manage the trust before Ethan Jr.’s fifth birthday, control could pass temporarily to the next eligible adult Vale.
Ethan understood instantly.
“Vanessa.”
Naomi nodded.
“For potentially hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Across the room, Ethan Jr. stirred in his sleep.
Ethan looked at him.
Vanessa had used a four-year-old child as bait.
And if Ethan had hit her just a little harder...
If one bodyguard had been seriously injured...
Vanessa might have gotten exactly what she wanted.
Then Naomi’s assistant knocked.
“There’s someone downstairs asking for Ethan.”
“Who?”
The assistant swallowed.
May you like
“Arthur Vale’s former housekeeper.”
“And she says she knows what Vanessa did before the cameras went dark.”
