Chapter 17 - The Man at the Head of the Table
Arthur laughed when Rosa said the name.
Not because it was funny.
Because his mind rejected it.
"Uncle Charles is eighty-one years old. He can barely walk."
Rosa's expression did not change.
"He can talk. And everyone listened."
Charles Bennett had been Arthur's father's older brother and the former chairman of Bennett Holdings. He lived quietly in a private estate outside Greenwich and had spent years presenting himself as the family's harmless old patriarch.
Arthur had eaten Thanksgiving dinner with him three months earlier.
Leo had sat on his lap.
"Why would he do this?" Arthur asked.
Rosa looked at Collins. "Because the trusts were never supposed to belong to the children. That's what he said. He said Arthur's father had betrayed the family by locking money away where Charles couldn't control it."
Collins obtained financial warrants before sunset.
The records were devastating.
Meridian Youth Initiative, the shell charity used for the attempted $8.6 million transfer, had paid millions over six years to consulting companies connected to Charles Bennett.
The Mercer trust had been drained through the same network.
Victoria, Pike, and Blake were not inventing a scheme.
They had joined one already running.
Arthur drove with Collins to his uncle's estate.
Charles received them in a library larger than most apartments.
He sat beside a fire in a cashmere robe, silver cane resting against his chair.
"Arthur," he said warmly. "You look tired."
Arthur remained standing.
"You tried to steal my son's trust."
Charles sighed. "Straight to drama. Your father had the same weakness."
"Sophie Mercer. Leo. Rosa. How many people?"
The old man's eyes sharpened.
"Careful. Accusations can outlive evidence."
Collins stepped forward. "We have bank records, witness testimony, recorded conversations, forged petitions, and a cooperating physician."
Charles looked at her, unimpressed.
"Then arrest me."
Collins did not move.
Charles smiled.
"You can't yet."
Arthur hated that he was right.
They had evidence of the network, but not yet proof that Charles ordered Leo's confinement.
Charles leaned back.
"Victoria was ambitious. Graham was greedy. Blake was stupid. Don't confuse their failures with my intentions."
Arthur stepped closer.
"You held my son three months ago."
"And he spilled cranberry sauce on a ten-thousand-dollar jacket. Children are destructive creatures."
Arthur's hands curled.
Charles smiled again.
"There. That temper Graham warned us about."
Then he said quietly, "Ask yourself why every trap they built for you fit so perfectly."
Arthur froze.
May you like
Charles tapped his cane against the floor.
"Someone inside your house told them exactly how you would react."
