Chapter 8 - Fifty Thousand DollarsThe phone contained almost nothing.
No names.
No obvious messages.
But investigators found a trail of encrypted financial transfers.
One transaction stood out.
Fifty thousand dollars.
The money had moved through several accounts before reaching a wallet connected to Marcus.
The FBI became involved.
Hours of digital reconstruction followed.
Eventually, one name emerged.
Richard Bennett.
Sarah's ex-husband.
Lily's father.
The discovery stunned everyone.
Richard was a respected corporate executive with a luxurious Chicago office, expensive lawyers, and a carefully constructed public reputation.
But his private history with Sarah was different.
Their divorce had become bitter.
A court had recently granted Sarah full custody of Lily and ordered Richard to provide substantial support.
Richard had hated the decision.
He believed money should have given him control.
Now investigators believed he had tried to manufacture a crisis.
If Sarah could be portrayed as unstable, injured, or incapable of caring for Lily, Richard could potentially use the situation to challenge custody.
He hadn't wanted Lily dead.
He had wanted Sarah broken.
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But he had underestimated one crucial person.
His own daughter.
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