Chapter 6 - WHAT HAPPENED AT 11:17
Claire couldn't breathe.
Thomas stood beneath the basement light, his face drained of color.
“I didn't kill Robert,” he repeated.
“You shot him.”
“Yes.”
“Then how was he already dead?”
Thomas closed his eyes.
“Because Harrison had already killed him.”
Harrison smiled.
“You're still telling half the story.”
Owen stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Harrison's men raised their weapons.
Owen stopped.
Claire looked at Thomas.
“Tell me.”
Thomas's voice shook.
“Robert was lying on the floor when I arrived.”
“Why?”
“He had been shot.”
“By Harrison?”
Thomas nodded.
“I was supposed to retrieve the ledger.”
“And you shot him?”
“I thought he was alive.”
Claire stared.
“You thought?”
“He moved.”
Thomas's eyes filled with tears.
“I panicked.”
“You shot an already dying man?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Harrison told me Robert was reaching for a gun.”
Claire shook her head.
“He wasn't.”
“No.”
“Then why?”
Thomas looked at her.
“Because I was afraid.”
Claire turned away.
For twenty-two years, her grandfather's death had been a tragedy.
Now she realized it had been a chain of terrified people making terrible choices.
But there was something else.
She looked at the ledger.
“Why did Harrison need this?”
Harrison answered.
“Because Robert didn't understand what he had.”
Claire glared.
“Then explain it.”
Harrison laughed softly.
“Your grandfather believed the ledger contained proof of corruption.”
“Didn't it?”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“It contained something far more valuable.”
“What?”
“Ownership.”
Claire frowned.
Harrison pointed toward the pages.
“Those people weren't simply paying us.”
“They owned parts of our organization.”
Owen's face changed.
Harrison continued.
“Mercer money wasn't really Mercer money.”
Claire looked at Owen.
“What does that mean?”
Owen didn't answer.
Harrison did.
“For generations, powerful families used criminal organizations to hide their wealth.”
He smiled.
“The Mafia was simply the dirty machinery.”
Claire felt sick.
“And my grandfather found the machinery.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he hide it?”
“Because he discovered who actually controlled it.”
Claire turned the pages.
At the very end was a symbol.
Not a name.
A crown.
Underneath:
THE TRUST.
Owen stared at it.
Thomas whispered:
“No.”
Claire looked at him.
“What?”
Thomas shook his head.
“Your grandfather didn't steal the money.”
“Then who did?”
Thomas looked at Claire.
“Your family owned it.”
Silence.
Claire laughed.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does.”
Harrison's smile returned.
“Robert Bennett wasn't a watchmaker.”
Claire stared.
“He was the original trustee.”
“Of what?”
“The largest private criminal trust in the Pacific Northwest.”
Owen finally spoke.
“Harrison.”
Harrison turned.
“You're standing in front of the woman who legally owns it.”
Claire's heart stopped.
“What?”
Harrison looked at her.
“Your grandfather transferred ownership before he died.”
“To me?”
“Yes.”
Claire shook her head.
“I never signed anything.”
“You were a child.”
“So?”
“Your grandfather created a trust in your name.”
Owen stepped toward her.
“That means—”
Claire interrupted.
“That means this entire organization…”
She looked at the ledger.
“…belongs to me?”
Harrison smiled.
“Not anymore.”
He snapped his fingers.
A man behind him opened a briefcase.
Inside was a stack of legal documents.
Harrison held them up.
“Your mother sold the trust.”
Claire froze.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Sixteen years ago.”
Claire's knees weakened.
“To whom?”
Harrison's smile widened.
“To Thomas Hale.”
Claire turned.
Thomas looked devastated.
“No.”
“You knew?”
Thomas shook his head.
“I knew your mother sold something.”
“You bought it.”
“I didn't know what it was.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear.”
Harrison laughed.
“He's telling the truth.”
Claire stared.
“Then who owns it?”
Harrison slowly pointed toward Owen.
Claire turned.
Owen was silent.
Harrison whispered:
“Your husband-to-be's favorite Mafia boss.”
Claire looked at Owen.
“We've never been married.”
Harrison smiled.
“Not yet.”
Owen's face hardened.
Harrison continued.
“Because the trust has one condition.”
Claire's heart pounded.
“What condition?”
Harrison looked directly at her.
“The heir must marry into the Mercer family.”
Claire stared at Owen.
Owen looked genuinely stunned.
Then Thomas whispered:
“That's why your grandfather chose Owen.”
Claire's world seemed to stop.
“What?”
Owen's expression changed.
Harrison laughed.
“Robert Bennett didn't leave you to Owen's family.”
He paused.
May you like
“He left Owen to you.”
Then the basement doors exploded inward.
