Elena stood three yards away from the edge of the water, her hands occupied with a heavy silver tray laden with crystal glasses of iced lemonade and freshly sliced fruit. Her dark hair was pinned back in a tight, practical bun that was already coming undone from the humidity, and her gray domestic uniform clung uncomfortably to the back of her neck.

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The heavy oak double doors of the grand library swung shut with a muffled, definitive thud.

Julian and Victoria stood in the center of the Persian rug. Julian was trembling violently, his hands shoved into his pockets, while Victoria maintained an expression of wounded, haughty arrogance.

“Harrison, this is an outrage!” Victoria protested, crossing her arms. “Keeping our phones confiscated and detaining us like criminals! I demand you let us take our son and leave for our penthouse in Manhattan!”

Harrison did not answer from his desk.

Sitting in the leather chair beside Harrison was Elena, dressed in clean clothes, her bandaged hands resting calmly in her lap. Beside Elena sat Arthur Montgomery and Chief Detective Cole.

Harrison picked up the printout of the Macao debt ledgers and tossed it onto the coffee table in front of them.

Slap.

Julian looked down. When he saw the Chinese characters and the five-million-dollar marker ledger, his knees buckled. He collapsed onto the leather sofa, burying his face in his hands with a pathetic, broken whimper.

“Julian...?” Victoria hissed, her eyes darting between her husband and the papers.

“Ten million dollars, Victoria,” Harrison said, his voice quiet, steady, and terrifying. “A ten-million-dollar accidental drowning policy executed twenty-one days ago.”

Victoria’s throat made a dry, audible click. “Harrison... that was standard estate planning! Financial advisors always recommend comprehensive pediatric coverage for wealthy families!”

Harrison tapped his desk remote.

The wall monitor illuminated with the text message timestamped 11:38 AM:

‘The stroller is on the wet stones. Make sure the insurance broker is on standby for the wire.’

Victoria froze. Her face drained of every drop of color until she looked like carved ash.

“You left my grandson on a slick incline with the brakes unlocked,” Harrison said, each word hitting like an iron hammer. “You waited for the wind to do the work, so you could pay off your betting markers and your short positions with blood money.”

Julian began to weep hysterically. “Dad! Please! It was Victoria’s idea! She said the stroller would just tip into the shallow end! She said the gardeners would pull him out immediately and we’d just claim the minor trauma payout! I didn't want to hurt Leo! I swear to God, Dad!”

“You sniveling, disgusting coward!” Victoria shrieked, lunging at Julian, her manicured nails raking across his cheek. “You’re the one who owed millions to the mob! You begged me to find a way out!”

The two conspirators devolved into screaming animals in the middle of the library, clawing and blaming each other in front of the patriarch they had tried to swindle.

Harrison did not flinch. He struck his cane once against the hardwood floor.

The sound echoed like a gunshot.

Both of them fell into an instant, terrified silence.

“You are not parents,” Harrison said softly. “You are predators who preyed on your own flesh and blood.”

The side door clicked open.