Chapter 7 - What Was Removed From the Boat
The replacement radio was recovered from a storage shelf inside Mercer House.
It had never been installed.
That mattered.
Ben Walsh explained why.
“Adrian’s original radio was working fine.”
“Then why buy another one?” Maren asked.
“You wouldn’t.”
Owen checked the serial numbers.
The replacement unit Celestine purchased remained unopened.
The original radio had vanished from Adrian’s boat.
Investigators reopened questions surrounding Adrian’s drowning.
But Celestine continued planning her wedding.
Flowers arrived.
Caterers filled the estate kitchens.
A string quartet rehearsed on the lawn.
To everyone outside the investigation, Celestine Mercer was simply a wealthy bride preparing to marry Victor Hale.
Maren found the normality nauseating.
Then Victor appeared outside her apartment.
“You’re making a mistake.”
Maren kept the door between them.
“Leave.”
“You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Celestine is under enormous pressure.”
“From being investigated for stealing from a four-year-old?”
His jaw tightened.
“You think you’re getting Elodie back.”
“I am.”
“You don’t know Celestine.”
Maren almost laughed.
“You finally said something true.”
Victor stepped closer.
“She doesn’t lose well.”
Maren’s skin went cold.
“Is that a threat?”
“It’s advice.”
“No. Advice was when Adrian warned you to stop stealing.”
Victor froze.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Enough.
Maren had her phone recording inside her pocket.
“You knew about the amendment,” she said.
Victor recovered.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You hid it.”
“Goodbye, Maren.”
“And you helped forge my signature.”
He turned.
Maren took the risk.
“What did Celestine do to Adrian’s radio?”
Victor stopped walking.
There.
Another reaction.
Then he looked over his shoulder.
“You should stay away from the wedding.”
“Why?”
“Because if you show up and she thinks you’re taking Elodie…”
He didn’t finish.
Maren’s blood chilled.
“What will she do?”
Victor stared at her.
Then walked away.
Claire listened to the recording twice.
“It isn’t a confession.”
“No.”
“But it shows he believes Celestine may endanger Elodie.”
Maren looked at the clock.
The wedding was thirty-one hours away.
Their emergency custody motion was scheduled for 8:00 the next morning.
Judge Hart was retired, but the current judge, Rebecca Sloan, had agreed to review the new evidence.
At 7:43 a.m., Celestine’s attorney filed an emergency response.
She accused Maren of harassment.
Trespassing.
Emotional instability.
And attempting to “weaponize unrelated financial disputes to disrupt a child’s secure home.”
At 8:52, Judge Sloan entered the courtroom.
Maren expected another delay.
Instead, the judge looked at Celestine.
“Ms. Mercer, I have reviewed the hospital records.”
Celestine sat perfectly still.
Judge Sloan continued.
“The permanent guardianship consent was allegedly notarized at 2:35 p.m. on March 14.”
“Yes.”
“Maren Vale was undergoing emergency surgery from 1:58 p.m. until 4:11 p.m.”
The room went silent.
Maren looked at Claire.
They had known the notary was absent.
They hadn’t known Claire’s subpoena had obtained the surgery log.
Judge Sloan lifted the document.
“It would therefore have been physically impossible for Ms. Vale to sign this paper in the presence of a notary at the stated time.”
Celestine’s attorney whispered urgently.
Celestine’s composure cracked.
Judge Sloan continued.
“I am suspending the permanent guardianship effective immediately.”
Maren stopped breathing.
“Temporary physical custody of Elodie Vale-Mercer is to be transferred back to her biological mother following a supervised transition today.”
Maren’s eyes flooded with tears.
Eighteen months.
Eighteen months of hearing not yet.
And finally—
Today.
But when the court officer called Mercer House to arrange the transfer, nobody answered.
The nanny didn’t answer.
Grant didn’t answer.
Victor didn’t answer.
Then Maren received a photograph from an unknown number.
Elodie stood in her flower-girl dress beneath the wedding arch.
Celestine’s hand rested firmly on her shoulder.
Below the photograph were five words.
May you like
COME TAKE HER IF YOU DARE.
👉 The court had finally returned Elodie to Maren—but Celestine had already decided that no judge was going to take the child away from her.
