Chapter 8 - THE MAN SHE THOUGHT WAS DEAD
Claire couldn't move.
Her father stood twenty feet away.
Older.
Gray at the temples.
A scar crossed his left cheek.
But there was no mistaking him.
She had spent twenty-two years believing he had abandoned her.
Then she had believed he was dead.
Now he was standing in front of her.
Alive.
Her father looked at Owen.
“I told you to stay away from my daughter.”
Owen stepped forward.
“You disappeared.”
“I had to.”
“You left her.”
“I saved her.”
Claire finally found her voice.
“Stop.”
Both men looked at her.
She walked toward her father.
“Why?”
His face crumpled.
“I couldn't protect you.”
“You left me.”
“I know.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I know.”
“Mom said you abandoned us.”
“She lied.”
Claire stopped.
“Why?”
Her father looked toward the house.
“Because Harrison forced her.”
Claire looked at Owen.
Owen's expression remained unreadable.
Her father continued.
“Your grandfather discovered the trust.”
“I know.”
“He discovered the people controlling it.”
“The names in the ledger?”
“Yes.”
“Who are they?”
Her father shook his head.
“Not here.”
Claire stepped closer.
“I deserve the truth.”
“You do.”
He looked at Owen.
“But not from him.”
Owen's jaw tightened.
Claire turned.
“Why shouldn't I trust him?”
Her father answered.
“Because Owen's father wasn't the only Mercer involved.”
Claire's eyes narrowed.
“Owen was?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“His mother.”
Owen's face changed.
“My mother?”
Her father nodded.
“She helped create the trust.”
Claire looked stunned.
Owen stared at him.
“My mother died when I was twelve.”
“She didn't die.”
Owen went still.
“What?”
“She disappeared.”
Thomas whispered:
“That's impossible.”
Her father looked at him.
“Nothing about this family is impossible.”
Then a gunshot came from inside the house.
Claire screamed.
Owen pulled her down.
His security team stormed the building.
Minutes later, they found her mother alive in a locked room.
Claire ran to her.
“Mom!”
Her mother collapsed into her arms.
“I thought I'd never see you again.”
Claire held her tightly.
Then she asked the question she had been carrying for years.
“Why did you tell me Dad was dead?”
Her mother looked toward her husband.
“I was protecting you.”
“Everyone says that.”
Her mother began crying.
“Harrison threatened to kill you.”
Claire's anger softened.
“What happened the night Grandpa died?”
Her mother closed her eyes.
“Your father and I were supposed to leave with you.”
“But?”
“Robert refused.”
“Why?”
“He knew Harrison was coming.”
Claire looked toward her father.
“He stayed behind.”
“Yes.”
“Did he die?”
“No.”
“Then why disappear?”
Her father answered.
“Because Harrison wanted me to take responsibility for Robert's death.”
Claire stared.
“He framed you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was the heir.”
Claire frowned.
“What heir?”
Her father looked at her.
“Your grandfather had named me as trustee before you.”
“But then?”
“I refused.”
“Why?”
“Because I discovered what the trust really was.”
Claire looked at the ledger.
“What is it?”
Her father whispered:
“A financial network connecting organized crime to legitimate institutions across the country.”
Claire's heart pounded.
“How many people?”
“Hundreds.”
“Then why is everyone fighting over it?”
“Because whoever controls the trust controls the money.”
Owen finally spoke.
“And the evidence.”
Her father looked at him.
“Yes.”
Claire noticed the tension between them.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Her father reached into his coat.
He pulled out a second ledger.
Claire stared.
“You have another one?”
He nodded.
“This is the original.”
Owen's eyes widened.
“The first ledger.”
Her father nodded.
Claire looked at the book.
“Then what's the one Harrison wanted?”
“A decoy.”
Claire turned toward Owen.
“Then why did my grandfather put the fake one in the vault?”
Her father smiled sadly.
“Because he knew one day you'd open it.”
Claire felt a chill.
“He expected me?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After you learned enough to stop trusting everyone.”
Claire looked at the three men standing around her.
Owen.
Thomas.
Her father.
Then her mother whispered:
“There's one more thing.”
Claire turned.
Her mother was crying.
“Your grandfather wasn't killed because of the ledger.”
“Then why?”
“Because he discovered who ordered the murders.”
Claire stared.
“Who?”
Her mother looked directly at Owen.
“Owen's father.”
Claire's heart sank.
But then her mother added:
“And Owen knew.”
Owen's face hardened.
“That isn't true.”
Her mother shook her head.
“You were there.”
Owen looked at Claire.
“I didn't know until years later.”
Her father interrupted.
“You knew.”
Claire stepped backward.
She didn't know whom to believe anymore.
Then her father quietly said:
“The person who ordered Robert Bennett's murder wasn't Owen's father.”
He looked toward Thomas.
“It was Thomas's father.”
May you like
Thomas went completely still.
And Claire realized the family betrayal was much bigger than she had imagined.
