Chapter 17 - The Dead Man’s Secret
Daniel stared at the photograph until the edges blurred.
His father, Thomas Mercer, had supposedly died in a private plane crash eight years earlier.
The aircraft went down over the Atlantic.
No body was recovered.
A court declared him dead eleven months later.
Daniel had buried an empty coffin.
Nathan studied the photograph. “We verify before we believe anything.”
Evelyn nodded. “For once, your lawyer is useful.”
Daniel ignored the insult.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know now.”
“You had a photo from three weeks ago.”
“My investigator did.”
“Why investigate him?”
Evelyn sat down calmly.
“Because Thomas Mercer stole from my fund before his disappearance.”
Grant barked a laugh. “So this whole thing is about old people stealing from each other?”
Evelyn looked at him. “Your father helped him.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
Daniel’s anger turned to nausea.
Evelyn continued. “Thomas and Charles created a hidden investment structure using Mercer Biotech shares as collateral. When the market turned, Thomas disappeared and Charles carried the debt. After Charles died, Crowe inherited the mess.”
“And you wanted my company.”
“I wanted repayment.”
“You funded forgery, kidnapping, and attempted murder.”
Her eyes hardened. “I funded an investigation. Crowe turned it into something else.”
Emma whispered, “She’s lying.”
Everyone looked at her.
Evelyn did too.
Emma’s chin trembled, but she kept speaking.
“She told the man, ‘If Daddy drinks all of it, he won’t be a problem.’”
Evelyn’s face changed for the first time.
Just slightly.
Enough.
The detective stepped forward. “Ms. Shaw, stand up.”
Evelyn did not move.
Daniel looked at Emma. “Where did you hear that?”
“Behind the flowers before the cake fell.”
Evelyn rose slowly.
As the detective reached for her wrist, every phone in the room buzzed at once.
A news alert.
MERCER BIOTECH CEO UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER VIOLENT WEDDING INCIDENT.
Below the headline was a video clip.
It showed Daniel lunging toward Grant after the cake fell.
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The footage had been edited to remove everything before it.
And it was already going viral.
