He handed her an old photograph. It showed a young man who looked unmistakably like a younger version of him. Beside him stood a young woman who looked shockingly like Marina, except with a different hairstyle. Around the woman’s neck was the same pendant Marina had worn her entire life.
“My mother never spoke of my father,” Marina whispered, trembling.
“I know,” he replied. “She left my life before I ever knew she was expecting a child. I never knew what happened to her after.”
Before Marina could respond, the door opened again. A woman with sharp intelligence in her eyes entered, carrying a stack of documents, her expression firm.
“My name is Raisa Fenwick. I specialize in cases of domestic and institutional abuse. Judge Callister contacted me because your situation requires immediate intervention.”
Marina straightened slightly. “What situation?”
Raisa spread the files across a small table. “Cassian Vautrin has a hidden history that was buried by people he paid well. Seven years ago, his previous partner was declared dead from a fall that was ruled accidental. The medical report was altered. Witnesses were silenced. And Sabine was in his life at the time.”
A cold shock ran through Marina’s veins. “Are you saying he might have…?”
“Yes,” Raisa answered. “And he will not hesitate to harm you again.”
Another man entered. He was older, carrying a tension in his shoulders. “I am Harold Madsen. I was the detective originally assigned to the death of Cassian’s former partner. I was removed from the case without explanation. I retained copies of witness interviews. You need to see them.”
He handed over statements from neighbors who had heard screams. A concierge who had seen bruises. A driver who had heard threats.
Then a nurse appeared, a woman named Iris Venn, holding medical notes.
“These are the real injury records from Cassian’s previous partner,” she said softly. “The original files were replaced with falsified ones. I kept the true documents because I feared something like this would happen again.”
The room spun around Marina.
Judge Callister leaned forward. “There is something else. If you consent, we can perform a voluntary DNA comparison. If the result confirms what I believe, then you are not alone in this world any longer.”
Marina nodded slowly. “I want the truth.”