Chapter 9
The camera plan finally made sense when Katherine interviewed the baby shower photographer.
Genevieve had called him personally.
Not merely to photograph the staircase.
She asked whether timestamped originals would be retained.
He said yes.
She asked how long.
Six months.
She asked whether video clips could be produced if lawyers requested them.
He thought the question was strange.
He assumed a wealthy family wanted documentation in case of disputes with vendors.
Then the mansion’s private security contractor produced an email.
Genevieve had asked for one guard to remain within sight of the staircase during the shower.
Reason:
Potential domestic volatility.
Sent the day before.
Katherine placed that beside another document.
Genevieve had asked outside counsel seven weeks earlier:
If a foundation chairman publicly assaults a board officer during a dispute involving the chairman’s spouse, what interim governance measures would normally follow?
The lawyer responded generally.
Recusal.
Independent investigation.
Potential temporary removal from certain decisions.
No guarantee.
No automatic loss of authority.
But Genevieve had asked the question before the assault existed.
Rowan stared at the memo.
“She expected me to hit her.”
Katherine answered carefully.
“She considered the possibility.”
“She put herself in front of cameras.”
“Yes.”
“She shoved my pregnant wife.”
“Yes.”
“And then stood there.”
“Yes.”
Katherine refused to say more until evidence connected the planning.
Audrey supplied it.
Genevieve had called her the morning of the shower.
Audrey kept contemporaneous notes because Genevieve routinely dictated tasks quickly.
One line:
If R reacts, board packet moves immediately.
Another:
A.K. house 10:30 if hospital/police delay them.
Another:
Need original blue folder removed before independent review.
There were the three core clues.
The staged accusation against Isolde had been created in advance.
The public confrontation had been positioned where cameras and witnesses could capture Rowan’s reaction.
And Audrey had already been scheduled to enter the house that night if Rowan and Isolde were occupied by hospital or police.
Still, one piece remained unclear.
Did Genevieve shove Isolde primarily to hurt her?
To force medical chaos?
To provoke Rowan?
Or all three?
Audrey could not answer.
She said Genevieve never described the exact confrontation.
Then investigators recovered a voice memo Genevieve had sent herself that morning.
She frequently dictated reminders.
Most were mundane.
Flowers.
Catering.
Guest names.
Then:
“Do not let Isolde leave before speaking about Halcyon.”
Pause.
“If she threatens disclosure, Rowan must see what she does when challenged.”
Another pause.
“Keep this in public.”
The memo did not say:
Push her.
It did not say:
Make Rowan hit me.
But it proved the confrontation was intended to be public.
Katherine looked at Rowan.
“Part of her plan required an audience.”
Rowan thought of Genevieve’s expression immediately after the slap.
She had fallen.
Looked shocked.
Then smiled.
Not because being hit was pleasant.
May you like
Because his reaction gave her something she had prepared to use.
The exact architecture emerged the following morning.
