Chapter 8 - THE GUARDIANSHIP HEARING
The hearing was scheduled for nine the next morning.
Richard had somehow arranged it despite his arrest.
The judge postponed it temporarily.
But his legal team arrived anyway.
Three attorneys.
Two financial advisers.
And one woman I had never seen before.
She introduced herself as Eleanor Grant.
“I'm representing the trust.”
I looked at her.
“Richard's trust?”
“No.”
“Then whose?”
“Lily's.”
I frowned.
“Who appointed you?”
“Your father.”
She handed me a document.
My father's signature.
The appointment had been made ten years earlier.
“Why didn't I know?”
“Because I was instructed to remain silent until Richard was exposed.”
I stared at her.
“How many people knew?”
“More than you think.”
She opened another folder.
Inside were surveillance reports.
Richard had been monitored for years.
By my father.
By federal investigators.
By independent auditors.
By the foundation's board.
“Then why wasn't he arrested?”
“Because we needed proof.”
I looked at the documents.
“You used my family as bait.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“Your father made that decision.”
I felt angry.
Again.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone had an explanation.
But I was the one who had lived inside the consequences.
My father entered the room.
I looked at him.
“Did you know?”
“Yes.”
“You knew Richard was being watched?”
“Yes.”
“You knew Lily was being watched?”
“Yes.”
“You knew Claire was kidnapped?”
“No.”
He paused.
“Not until it happened.”
I looked at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if Richard believed you knew, he would have moved against Lily sooner.”
I shook my head.
“I hate that answer.”
“I know.”
“You kept deciding what I could handle.”
He nodded.
“You're right.”
For once, my father didn't defend himself.
That made it harder to stay angry.
Then Lily entered.
She ran toward me.
“Daddy.”
I hugged her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
She looked at my father.
“Grandpa?”
He smiled.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
She walked toward him.
Then she whispered:
“I knew you were alive.”
My father froze.
“What?”
Lily shrugged.
“You came to my room once.”
I stared.
“When?”
“When I was four.”
My father looked at me.
“You remember?”
“I remember your voice.”
My father knelt.
“What did I say?”
“You told me to always tell Daddy if I heard someone crying.”
I felt tears fill my eyes.
Lily smiled.
“I listened.”
My father hugged her.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
Then the courtroom doors opened.
The judge entered.
The guardianship hearing began.
Richard's attorneys argued that I was unstable.
That my family history was complicated.
That Lily needed an independent guardian.
That I was emotionally compromised.
They presented my father's disappearance.
My mother's lies.
Daniel's crimes.
Claire's kidnapping.
Everything was designed to make me look incapable.
Then Eleanor stood.
She placed one document before the judge.
“Your Honor, there is another matter.”
The judge looked at it.
“This is the original trust.”
She opened it.
“The beneficiary is Lily Hayes.”
Richard's attorney objected.
Eleanor continued.
“And the trust specifically prevents any attorney or guardian connected to the Hale family from exercising control.”
The judge frowned.
Richard's attorney turned pale.
Then Eleanor presented another document.
“A second clause activates if anyone attempts to remove Mark Hayes as Lily's guardian without evidence of parental incapacity.”
The judge read it.
Then looked at me.
“Mr. Hayes, do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You remain Lily's legal guardian.”
Richard's plan was collapsing.
Then the courtroom doors opened.
Police entered.
A detective whispered something to Mason.
Mason looked at me.
“Richard is missing.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“He escaped custody.”
The courtroom erupted.
I looked at Lily.
Mason stepped closer.
“We have reason to believe he's heading for the hospital.”
“My father.”
May you like
“Yes.”
We ran.
