Chapter 11 - Victor Had His Own Version of Serena’s Problem
It would have been easy for Victor to become the hero after that.
He wasn’t.
The outside review forced him to confront his own failures too.
He traveled constantly.
He delegated Ethan’s appointments without checking.
He let Serena fire one therapist because she called the woman “disrespectful.”
He stopped speaking to Megan because disagreement made him uncomfortable.
When I mentioned missing therapy sessions, he often answered:
“Serena handles that.”
He had money.
Staff.
Technology.
Every resource imaginable.
And still, he failed to ask basic questions.
One evening he sat across from me in the mansion kitchen.
“I thought providing everything made me a good father.”
I said nothing.
“I’ve spent two years paying people to make sure Ethan is okay.”
“You hired people.”
“Yes.”
“That isn’t the same as knowing.”
He nodded.
Then I had to face my own failure.
I knew Ethan’s routine better than anyone.
I noticed he stopped seeing his therapist.
I noticed Serena increasingly controlled medical information.
I noticed Ethan became anxious whenever she entered the nursery unexpectedly.
I told myself blended families were complicated.
That it wasn’t my place.
That I was an employee.
“Why didn’t you tell me more?” Victor asked.
“I tried once.”
He remembered.
Months earlier, I said Serena was changing too many care routines at once.
Victor responded:
“She’s his stepmother. She needs room to parent.”
I backed down.
“I should have pushed harder.”
Victor shook his head.
“I made it clear I didn’t want you to.”
Both things were true.
That mattered.
The financial consequences continued.
The fake therapy company had to be documented.
The trust needed restoration.
Andrew began repaying funds he had received under false pretenses through an agreement worked out by professionals.
Serena’s cousin returned money paid to her company for services never provided.
The Westchester property transaction collapsed.
The childhood house was never purchased.
Then Victor made one choice I didn’t expect.
He asked Megan to return as Ethan’s independent care monitor.
Not me.
“You’re eligible,” he told me.
“I know.”
“Why not you?”
“Because you employ me.”
He understood immediately.
The whole point of independent oversight was independence.
For once, nobody was choosing the convenient person.
Megan agreed.
That repaired one relationship.
It also created a new problem.
May you like
She didn’t trust Victor.
And she wasn’t afraid to say it.
