Chapter 7 : The legal consequences began with temporary protection.
The legal consequences began with temporary protection.
A court order barred Bianca and Marcus from contact with Lucy while the investigation continued.
Bianca was also prohibited from entering Vittorio’s residence except through counsel to retrieve belongings.
Marcus lost all household access.
His role as family associate was suspended.
Not by a beating.
By documents.
That humiliated him more.
He filed a response accusing Vittorio of using the incident to purge him from the family.
He also claimed Emma had manipulated Lucy because Emma feared Bianca would fire her after the wedding.
That accusation mattered.
Emma was now being blamed.
Exactly as she had feared.
Her attorney produced something important in response.
Three weeks before the dog-bowl incident, Bianca had drafted a termination memo for Emma.
Reason:
Encourages emotional dependence and undermines household discipline.
The memo had never been issued.
Marcus commented inside the document:
Wait until after transition. Firing now makes it look personal.
Vittorio read the note.
“Transition.”
The same word again.
Leah nodded.
“They intended to remove Emma eventually.”
“Because she objected?”
“Seems likely.”
Then Emma revealed something she had not initially considered significant.
Marcus repeatedly asked her one question:
“What time does Vittorio usually leave breakfast?”
At first she thought it was scheduling.
Then:
“Which mornings does Lucy go into the study?”
Then:
“How long does she usually cry before he comes out?”
Emma thought the questions were rude.
Now they sounded like measurements.
Vittorio looked at the calendar again.
Marcus had not simply scheduled meetings.
He had studied how quickly Lucy’s distress reached Vittorio and how quickly Vittorio responded.
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Someone had been testing the system.
And the system was a father.
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