Chapter 4
Maximilian moved Anouk out of the main mansion for two weeks.
Not because Seraphina could return.
She could not.
Because every room had become part of the investigation.
He took his daughter to a smaller lakefront house north of the city.
No parties.
No capos.
No business meetings.
Only Maximilian, Anouk, a rotating nanny, and security outside.
The first night Anouk refused to sleep unless Maximilian sat on the floor beside her bed.
He did.
At two in the morning she asked:
“Are you leaving again?”
“Not tonight.”
“Tomorrow?”
He stopped.
His instinct was to promise no.
Dr. Kane had warned him against promises he could not keep forever.
“I have work sometimes.”
Anouk clutched the teddy bear.
“Then Seraphina comes back?”
“No.”
That promise he could make.
She fell asleep holding his sleeve.
Maximilian remained on the floor another hour.
The next morning Claire arrived with news about the suitcase.
Seraphina’s lawyer agreed to a supervised inventory because both sides claimed some documents inside might belong to Maximilian.
They opened it with attorneys present.
Most contents were ordinary.
Clothes.
Shoes.
Jewelry case.
Toiletries.
Then Claire found an envelope containing two USB drives.
Howard immediately objected.
“Those are my client’s.”
Claire said:
“Then they remain untouched pending agreement.”
Another item mattered more.
A printed travel itinerary.
Maximilian’s.
Marked in red.
Return date:
Saturday.
Beside it, handwritten:
7:40 earliest.
Maximilian had arrived Friday at 5:18 p.m.
A full day early.
He looked at Claire.
“She didn’t expect me.”
“No.”
“She expected something tomorrow.”
“Probably.”
Another document was a reservation confirmation for a downtown hotel beginning Friday night.
Seraphina had planned not to sleep at the mansion after the confrontation.
That made the suitcase more significant.
She had prepared an exit.
But why?
The recorder provided no answer yet.
Maximilian asked Daniel to prioritize Friday audio from previous weeks.
Meanwhile, Claire hired an independent forensic accounting firm to examine whether Seraphina had accessed any legitimate Rourke companies.
Maximilian’s family history complicated everything.
He controlled several lawful businesses.
Commercial real estate.
Restaurants.
Freight interests.
Hospitality.
He also carried a surname associated with decades of organized crime.
Some allegations were historical.
Some were exaggerated.
Some were true.
Seraphina knew enough to cause damage regardless of whether every document she possessed was actionable.
“You are vulnerable to reputation even when the law is unclear,” Claire told him.
“I know.”
“If she releases old material, banks could leave.”
“I know.”
“Partners could demand reviews.”
“I know.”
Claire watched him.
“You’re being unusually reasonable.”
“My daughter slept under stairs for four nights.”
May you like
Maximilian looked toward Anouk playing outside.
“My tolerance for protecting appearances is lower than it was last week.”
