Chapter 7 - THE SECOND TOOTH
Dr. Chen advised me not to keep the tooth.
“It has become an object of fear.”
Police photographed and collected it because its delivery might be intimidation.
Chloe’s lawyer said she had no involvement.
Eleanor denied involvement.
Julian said:
“Maybe a staff member thought Victoria would want it.”
Possible.
Creepy.
Not automatically criminal.
Danner denied delivering it.
The door camera did not capture the envelope placement.
The first tooth remained in medical evidence temporarily.
I told police I did not need either returned.
Lily did not need relics.
At therapy, she asked:
“Can teeth make people find us?”
“No.”
“Did Grandma use mine?”
“No.”
I hoped that was true.
Meanwhile, the independent board discovered Sterling Heritage had been paying Danner through a “reputation protection” budget.
Nearly $900,000 over two years.
Some legitimate security work.
Some surveillance of me.
Company funds used to monitor the CEO’s spouse without board approval.
Julian defended it as executive security.
The board suspended him pending investigation.
He lost access to corporate systems.
For the first time since I met him, he had no office to retreat into.
He called through the parenting app.
I’m losing everything.
I stared at the message.
Then answered:
Lily lost two teeth while you adjusted your cuff links.
He did not reply.
That was cruel.
True.
Also designed to wound him.
I showed Dr. Morris, my therapist.
“Did sending it help?”
“For five minutes.”
“Then?”
“I felt like him.”
“Why?”
“Because I used Lily’s pain to hurt someone.”
That became my own line.
I stopped using the parenting app for marital arguments.
Only Lily.
Accountability did not belong solely to the Sterlings.
The corporate investigation found no evidence Julian personally ordered Danner to break laws.
He had authorized surveillance.
Danner chose some methods independently.
Distinctions mattered.
Then Danner approached prosecutors.
He wanted protection before giving documents.
His lawyer said he possessed evidence of financial fraud by Eleanor and Chloe.
Julian too?
“Maybe.”
No immunity was promised.
Cooperation could affect charging and sentence.
Danner surrendered a backup drive.
One folder concerned me.
Another concerned something called:
PROJECT CROWN.
The files remained sealed.
Maya’s face changed when she heard the name.
“You know it.”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“An old Sterling refinancing plan.”
“How old?”
“Twenty-one years.”
I was six.
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Possibly nothing.”
“Maya.”
She sighed.
“It involved your father.”
Again.
Always one step short.
Then Danner revealed why Eleanor had been so desperate about Lily’s trust.
The trust did not merely contain money.
It contained an option.
An option tied to Project Crown.
If exercised, it could change who controlled Sterling Heritage Group.
The option activated only under specific conditions.
One condition had recently occurred.
I asked:
“What condition?”
May you like
Danner looked at me through his attorney.
“The Sterling family tried to remove you from Lily’s trust.”
