Chapter 4 - SERENA’S FIRST EXPLANATION
Serena hired an attorney.
Smart.
She denied abusing Ethan.
She admitted pulling him by the arm.
Said she was preventing him from crawling toward the staircase.
The video contradicted part of that.
The staircase was behind her.
Still, intent mattered.
She claimed Lily had been provoking incidents and secretly recording private moments to gain influence over me.
Could Lily have had motives beyond protecting Ethan?
Possibly.
Investigators did not simply declare her pure.
They examined her employment history.
Messages.
Financial records where relevant.
Relationship with me.
There was no affair.
That rumor emerged anyway.
Of course it did.
Nanny.
Wealthy widower.
Fiancée.
People write the story they enjoy.
Reality was less sensational.
Lily had a boyfriend in Boston until three months earlier.
We had never had a romantic relationship.
Not then.
She did care about Ethan deeply.
That emotional bond was real.
Serena resented it.
Her attorney argued maternal-role conflict.
Then Serena explained the trust drafts.
She wanted stability if something happened to me.
Reasonable on the surface.
She denied knowing the exact financial consequences.
Emails contradicted that.
She had asked Grant:
Would I have authority over distributions for Ethan’s residence and education?
Then:
What about caregiver compensation?
Specific.
She understood enough.
Still not a crime.
Then investigators identified the unknown person on Lily’s audio.
Grant Mills.
Serena’s lawyer?
No.
Estate-planning lawyer.
The conversation occurred before the incident.
Grant cooperated voluntarily after client-privilege issues were reviewed and Serena authorized limited disclosure in response to developing litigation.
He said Serena was frustrated that I would not sign anything before Rachel reviewed it.
“She kept asking how much control she’d actually have.”
“Did that concern you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she seemed more interested in control than administration.”
He had refused to bypass independent review.
That mattered.
A professional doing his job had stopped Serena from turning drafts into reality.
Then Grant told investigators something none of us knew.
Serena wanted Lily terminated before the wedding because:
“A domestic employee should not be positioned to challenge a spouse.”
Those were Serena’s words.
Not about childcare quality.
May you like
Authority.
The pattern sharpened.
