“She says the money was never the important part.”
He handed the letter to Mara, but kept his eyes on Elodie.
His wife had written that the trust existed for one purpose: to make sure Elodie could never be pressured into believing that love had to be earned by being convenient. Education, housing, medical care, independence. Those were the legal categories. But beneath them, she had written the reason in plain language.
Give her enough security to say no.
Cassian closed his eyes.
On the other side of the glass, Sabine was speaking rapidly to an officer. Adrian stood with his arms folded, his face set in a hard expression that no longer looked controlled so much as cornered.
Mara finished reading and exhaled.
“This explains why they cared about the trust.”
The account statement from the case explained the rest.
A transfer request had been prepared to move a large portion of Elodie’s annual trust allowance into an overseas educational account. The receiving institution was legitimate, but the consulting company listed to manage housing and expenses belonged to Adrian. The forged authorization would have allowed Sabine to act as Elodie’s temporary educational guardian while Cassian supposedly remained in the United States for the wedding and honeymoon.
Mara looked grim. “The trust office would have called you eventually.”
“Eventually,” Cassian said.
Elodie whispered, “They said by then it would be too late.”
Cassian turned to her.
She told them the rest.
Sabine had promised the trip was a surprise. When Elodie refused to pack, Adrian told her adults sometimes had to make decisions children did not understand. Elodie had heard him say the photographs and letters would be gone before Cassian returned from the rehearsal dinner.
Then Sabine had said the sentence Elodie could not stop hearing.
The child had to disappear before the wedding.
Cassian pressed both hands flat against his knees to keep them from shaking.
Mara asked Elodie if she could tell the officer exactly what she had told them.
Elodie looked at her father.
Cassian wanted to say no.
Not because the truth should be hidden, but because he suddenly understood how much adults had already asked this child to carry. He wanted to take every question away from her.
Instead, he gave her the choice the others had tried to steal.
“You do not have to do anything this minute,” he said. “You can talk when you’re ready, and I will stay with you.”
Elodie thought for a long moment.
Then she nodded.
“I want them to know I didn’t misunderstand.”
Cassian stayed beside her while she spoke.
An hour later, Sabine asked to see him alone.
