Chapter 6 - The Trap Collapses
Three days later, Victoria made her final, decisive move.
She scheduled an emergency evening appointment at the estate with a prominent family court psychologist whom she had heavily bribed through a complex chain of shell accounts. The plan was simple: the psychologist would observe Maya in a state of extreme panic, sign an emergency psychological evaluation, and clear the way for Victoria to file for legal custody the following morning.
At 7:00 PM, the psychologist, Dr. Mercer, arrived at the estate. Victoria led him upstairs to the nursery wing, her face wearing the same practiced, tragic expression of a heart-broken stepmother.
"It breaks my heart, Dr. Mercer," Victoria sobbed softly as they walked down the marble corridor. "She’s so aggressive, so unhinged. I fear Richard is in total denial about her condition."
They reached the nursery door. Victoria turned the knob and walked in, holding her small black handbag tightly. Inside the room, little Maya was sitting on the rug near the fireplace, playing quietly with a set of wooden blocks.
"See?" Victoria whispered, slipping her hand into her purse to grip the ultrasonic device. She pressed the hidden button, sending invisible, painful sound waves blasting directly toward the toddler.
She waited for the child to scream, to weep, to run in blind terror.
But Maya didn't flinch. She didn't cry. She simply picked up a yellow block and stacked it on top of a red one.
Victoria’s brow furrowed in confusion. She slammed her thumb onto the button again, holding it down.
Maya looked up, offered a tiny, sweet smile, and continued playing.
"What... what is wrong with this device?" Victoria muttered under her breath, her composure cracking as she violently shook her handbag.
"The device works fine, Victoria," a deep, icy voice echoed from the shadows behind the nursery curtain.
Richard stepped out into the light. He looked towering, formidable, and completely sober.
Victoria gasped, dropping her purse onto the rug. The small black cylinder rolled out, coming to a stop directly at Dr. Mercer’s feet.
"Richard!" Victoria stammered, her face turning chalky white as she tried to recover her sweet tone. "Darling, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Washington—"
"And Maya can't hear your little toy," Richard interrupted, his voice terrifyingly calm as he stepped between Victoria and his daughter. "Because six hours ago, a specialist fitted her with custom high-attenuation earplugs designed specifically to block ultrasonic frequencies."
Victoria froze, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
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"What... what are you talking about?" she whispered.
Richard pulled a sleek tablet from his jacket and held it up. On the screen, playing in full high-definition video with crystal-clear audio, was the recording of her and Julian in the nursery discussing the sedatives, the fraud, and their plan to murder him.
