Chapter 4 - A Father Sees His Son
Graham entered the room as if crossing a border he no longer controlled.
His eyes went first to Elias, then to Daniel, then finally to me.
They avoided Owen.
That hurt more than I wanted it to.
Elias pointed to the chair beside the wall.
“Sit.”
“I’m not a child.”
“No. Children are usually less expensive.”
Daniel looked down.
I almost smiled.
Graham stayed standing.
“What is this?”
Elias slid the access report toward him.
“Your credentials. Vanessa’s device. Nine million dollars.”
Graham read the page.
His face changed slowly.
“That’s impossible.”
“An overused word today,” Elias said.
“I didn’t approve this.”
“Your credentials did.”
“I said I didn’t.”
“Then perhaps you should stop defending the woman holding the device.”
Graham looked at me.
“You think I’m stealing from Mercer?”
“I think you signed papers asking me to disappear while money was moving through a company tied to Vanessa.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“No. One is financial betrayal.”
I glanced at Owen.
“The other was free.”
Graham flinched.
Good.
Elias watched him with the patience of a man reviewing a disappointing quarterly report.
“Where is Vanessa?”
“At the hotel.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
“Does she have access to your laptop?”
Graham’s jaw tightened.
“She knows the password.”
Daniel exhaled through his nose.
Elias said, “Of course she does.”
Graham rubbed the cufflink again.
“I thought the transfer was for an acquisition.”
“What acquisition?”
“Northline.”
The room went still.
I stared at him.
“You knew about Northline.”
“I knew Ashford was considering buying it.”
“Did you know Vanessa owned it?”
“No.”
The answer came too fast.
Elias heard it too.
“Graham.”
“I didn’t.”
Daniel opened a folder.
“Northline’s beneficial ownership was disclosed in the diligence packet.”
Graham turned.
“What packet?”
“The one sent to your office three weeks ago.”
“I never saw it.”
“Your office acknowledged receipt.”
“My assistant receives hundreds of files.”
I looked at him.
“Convenient.”
He faced me.
“I am telling the truth.”
“Which would be a fascinating new habit.”
His mouth tightened.
Then Owen began to cry.
The sound cut through every adult argument in the room.
I reached toward the bassinet, but the movement pulled at my incision and I winced.
Graham saw it.
For one second, instinct replaced arrogance.
He stepped forward.
Then stopped.
His hands hung uselessly at his sides.
I lifted Owen carefully and held him against my chest.
His crying softened.
Graham stared.
It was the first time he had truly looked at his son.
Owen had Graham’s dark hair.
The resemblance was impossible to miss.
Graham’s throat moved.
“How old is he?” he asked.
I could not believe the question.
“Twenty-six hours.”
He looked away.
Elias’s face hardened.
Graham whispered, “I meant—”
“I know what you meant.”
Owen’s fingers curled around the fabric of my gown.
Graham took one more step.
“Can I—”
“No.”
The word came out before he finished.
He stopped.
I held his gaze.
“You don’t get to meet him because your bank card stopped working.”
“That isn’t why I came.”
“Then why?”
“To talk to Grandfather.”
There it was.
Graham closed his eyes for half a second.
He knew he had said the wrong thing.
I nodded.
“Thank you for being honest.”
Elias stood.
“Daniel, call security at the Drake. No one enters Graham’s suite until our counsel arrives.”
Graham looked up. “You can’t seize my personal property.”
“I can protect company devices purchased on company accounts.”
“My laptop is personal.”
“Then you can prove that in court.”
Daniel stepped into the hallway to make the call.
Graham’s phone rang.
Vanessa.
He stared at it.
Elias said, “Answer.”
Graham pressed speaker.
Vanessa’s voice came fast.
“Graham, where are you?”
“At the hospital.”
Silence.
Then: “Why?”
I almost laughed again.
Graham’s expression went cold.
“Did you use my login to initiate a transfer?”
Another silence.
“Graham, we shouldn’t discuss finances over the phone.”
Elias mouthed one word.
Continue.
Graham’s thumb rubbed the cufflink.
“Did you?”
Vanessa exhaled.
“You told me you wanted Northline acquired quickly.”
“I did not authorize nine million dollars.”
“You said your grandfather was becoming difficult.”
Graham’s face drained.
Elias did not move.
Vanessa continued, not realizing she was on speaker.
“You said once the old man signed the succession papers, none of this would matter.”
Graham whispered, “Stop talking.”
But it was too late.
She laughed softly.
“You’re the one who said Claire and the baby would be gone by the weekend.”
No one breathed.
Then Elias took the phone from Graham’s hand.
May you like
“Vanessa,” he said.
The line went dead.
