Chapter 3 - SHADOWS OF THE PAST
By the end of their first week at the estate, subtle changes began to alter the daily life of the Wagner manor.
Dr. Evans, the family physician, completed a thorough medical examination. Aside from mild malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, and signs of prolonged emotional stress, the four girls were physically healthy. However, Dr. Evans noted a striking anomaly in their medical charts: their neurological growth markers and cognitive test scores were nearly off the charts for five-year-olds.
They learned the layout of the fifty-acre estate within two days. They solved three-hundred-piece jigsaw puzzles in less than twenty minutes. Yet, despite their brilliant minds, they remained mute around house staff, speaking only in hushed, secret whispers among themselves in their corner pillow fort.
The only person they allowed within four feet of their circle was Charles.
On a rainy Thursday afternoon, Charles entered the sunroom to find Maya standing before a full-length portrait of Rebecca. The young girl was staring up at the painting with intense, quiet concentration.
"She had kind eyes," Maya said softly, without turning around. It was the first time she had spoken to Charles without her sisters standing beside her.
Charles walked up, standing three feet behind her. "She did. Her name was Rebecca."
"Where is she?"
"She passed away three years ago," Charles replied. "She was very sick, and the doctors couldn't fix her."
Maya turned her small head, looking up at Charles with an expression far too mature for a child. "Our father tried to fix people too. He said he was building a lock so nobody's body could break."
Charles felt a chill run down his spine. "What kind of lock, Maya?"
Maya reached into the tiny pocket of her white dress and pulled out her gray plush rabbit—the one with the red ribbon around its neck. She pinched the wooden button sewn into the rabbit's left ear.
CLICK.
A tiny, concealed seam along the rabbit's felt spine popped open, exposing a small, high-density metallic micro-drive hidden inside the cotton stuffing.
"Daddy put this inside Barnaby before he went into the car," Maya whispered. "He told me never to give it to Uncle Arthur. He said if Uncle Arthur got it, bad men would take us to a lab."
Charles slowly knelt down, his heart pounding against his ribs. "Did your uncle know about this?"
"He searched our bags," Maya said. "He threw away our clothes, but we hid the rabbits inside our coats. He thought they were just dirty toys."
Before Charles could answer, the heavy double doors of the sunroom swung open. Harrison, his head of legal and security, stepped into the room, his face pale and tight with anxiety.
"Charles," Harrison said low, gesturing toward the study. "We have a situation. You need to see this immediately."
Charles patted Maya’s head gently. "Stay with Mrs. Gable in the kitchen, Maya. I'll be right back."
In the study, Harrison slammed down a stack of legal notices on the mahogany desk.
"Arthur Vance just filed an emergency injunction in Cook County Superior Court," Harrison reported, his voice grim. "He's claiming that the custody transfer he signed at the gala was executed under duress and coercion. He's demanding the immediate return of the children to state foster care under his supervision."
"On what grounds?" Charles demanded, his jaw clenching.
"He claims he has a superior financial backer who has posted a ten-million-dollar trust fund for the girls' education," Harrison replied. "The backing firm is Aegis Biopharma—a major Swiss pharmaceutical conglomerate."
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Charles’s eyes darkened as he connected the dots. Aegis Biopharma was the exact same parent firm that owned the offshore shell corporation in Geneva receiving data from Richard Vance’s private server.
"They don't want the children," Charles realized, holding up the tiny micro-drive Maya had just handed him. "They want what Richard Vance hid inside them."
