Chapter 1
Maximilian did not play the recorder immediately.
Anouk came first.
He lifted his daughter into his arms and carried her upstairs while Seraphina remained in the main hall under the watch of two security men.
Anouk’s room looked untouched.
That was almost worse.
Her bed had been perfectly made.
Stuffed animals lined the shelves.
Fresh flowers sat beside the window.
Anyone entering the room would have assumed a six-year-old still slept there every night.
She hadn’t.
“How long?”
Anouk pressed her face against Maximilian’s shoulder.
He forced his voice lower.
“How many nights did she make you sleep downstairs?”
Anouk raised four fingers.
Maximilian closed his eyes.
He had been away five nights.
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“She took my tablet.”
His jaw tightened.
“My phone?”
“She said Daddy was busy.”
He sat on the edge of the bed with her.
“When did you eat?”
Anouk shrugged.
“She gave crackers.”
“Anything else?”
“Sometimes soup.”
Maximilian did not ask more.
He knew enough to stop questioning a frightened child.
His pediatrician arrived within an hour.
Anouk was dehydrated but not dangerously so.
She had lost a little weight.
No serious physical injuries.
The doctor recommended rest, food, fluids, and a child psychologist.
Maximilian agreed to all of it.
Only after Anouk fell asleep beside her teddy bear did he return downstairs.
Seraphina was still there.
Her suitcase remained inside the storage compartment.
She stood with her arms folded.
“You’re being theatrical.”
Maximilian looked at her.
“Four nights.”
“She refused to listen.”
“She’s six.”
“She manipulates you.”
“She’s six.”
Seraphina laughed bitterly.
“You say that as if children can’t be vicious.”
Maximilian did not answer.
He looked toward the staircase.
“Why was your suitcase already there?”
For the first time, Seraphina’s expression changed.
“It wasn’t packed.”
“I didn’t ask whether it was packed.”
She recovered quickly.
“I was reorganizing upstairs.”
“With luggage beside the front hall?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes hardened.
“You want answers? Fine. She hates me. She tells staff I’m replacing her mother. She destroys things. She listens outside doors.”
Maximilian’s attention sharpened.
“Outside which doors?”
Seraphina hesitated.
Too long.
He noticed.
“Which doors?”
“She sneaks around everywhere.”
Maximilian said nothing.
Then he removed the recorder from his jacket pocket.
Seraphina stared at it.
“How long has that been inside the bear?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether you’re asking as my fiancée or as somebody who needs a lawyer.”
Her face went pale again.
Maximilian called Claire Donnelly, his longtime attorney.
“Come to the house.”
“What happened?”
“Bring a digital-forensics specialist.”
A pause.
“Max.”
“Tonight.”
Claire heard his tone.
“I’m coming.”
Maximilian looked at Seraphina.
“You’re leaving this property.”
She lifted her chin.
“And when I start talking?”
“Talk.”
“You don’t mean that.”
He did not answer.
That bothered her.
“You think people in this city fear you now?”
Maximilian’s expression remained calm.
“They’ll fear what they learn.”
“Maybe.”
He looked toward the staircase.
“But tonight I’m more interested in what my daughter learned about you.”
Seraphina was escorted out.
She took no suitcase with her.
Maximilian deliberately left it exactly where it was.
May you like
Untouched.
Because something told him the contents mattered.
