Chapter 13 - The Room Beneath the Old Mercer Estate)
The old Mercer house had been abandoned for sixteen years.
Its windows were boarded.
Its gardens had grown wild.
The property appeared dead.
But as police approached shortly before midnight, a light flickered beneath the eastern wing.
Grant saw it.
So did Tessa.
The detective ordered them to remain behind the perimeter.
Grant ignored him.
"That's my son."
"You go in there, you create another hostage."
Grant's jaw tightened.
Tessa touched his arm.
"He's right."
Grant looked at her.
She was terrified too.
But thinking clearly.
Police entered through the front and rear.
Minutes passed.
Then ten.
Then fifteen.
Grant felt each second physically.
Finally, a voice came through the radio.
"Main floor clear."
Another voice.
"Second floor clear."
Grant stared at the house.
Impossible.
Then Tessa remembered the hidden corridor at Grant's home.
"Basement."
The detective looked at her.
"Plans show no basement."
"Neither did Grant's house show a service tunnel."
Police searched.
Behind a collapsed bookshelf, they found a concealed staircase.
The underground level was larger than expected.
One room contained monitors.
Photographs.
Files.
Years of Mercer family surveillance.
Grant.
Elise.
Julian.
Noah.
Company executives.
Board members.
Vivienne.
Even Tessa.
Police found Marcus Vale unconscious near the rear corridor.
Alive.
Injured.
Someone had struck him before officers arrived.
And in a locked room at the end of the hallway, they found Noah.
Alive.
Wrapped in the blue hospital blanket.
Grant heard the radio call.
He stopped breathing.
"Child located. Child alive."
His knees almost gave way.
He ran.
No one stopped him.
Grant reached the underground room as a female officer carried Noah out.
The baby was crying.
Grant took him.
Noah immediately buried his face against his father's chest.
Grant held him so tightly the officer gently reminded him to be careful.
Tessa reached them seconds later.
She covered her mouth.
Noah heard her voice and reached one hand toward her.
Tessa began crying.
Grant pulled her into an awkward embrace with Noah between them.
For one minute, nothing else mattered.
Then detectives called Grant into the surveillance room.
Dozens of screens lined the wall.
Most were inactive.
A few displayed static.
One showed the Mercer mansion.
Grant stared.
Live feed.
His home.
From a camera he did not know existed.
Another screen showed Julian's penthouse.
Another showed Mercer Global's executive floor.
Grant felt sick.
On the desk sat a folder.
His name was written on it.
Inside were reports covering twelve years.
His habits.
Travel schedules.
Financial decisions.
Arguments with Elise.
Medical appointments.
Security weaknesses.
Someone had been studying him long before Noah was born.
Tessa opened another file.
Elise Mercer.
The earliest report was dated seven years earlier.
Before Grant and Elise were married.
"This didn't start with the trust," Tessa whispered.
Grant looked through the pages.
Elise's friendships.
Her family.
Her finances.
Her relationship with Grant.
Someone had been tracking whether their marriage would produce an heir.
Noah had been part of a plan before he existed.
The detective called them toward another table.
A laptop had been left running.
One folder was open.
PROJECT SUCCESSION.
Grant stared at the title.
Inside were profiles of potential future guardians for Noah.
Vivienne ranked first.
Julian ranked second.
Several distant relatives followed.
Tessa's name appeared at the bottom.
Beside it was one word.
UNCONTROLLED.
Grant looked at her.
Tessa stared at the screen.
Another document contained instructions.
Phase 1: Isolate Elise.
Phase 2: Discredit instability claims.
Phase 3: Remove Elise.
Phase 4: Establish Vivienne dependency.
Phase 5: Remove Grant if necessary.
Grant's face went cold.
"Remove."
The detective said nothing.
Grant continued reading.
Phase 6: Guardian controls Noah voting block.
Phase 7: Consolidate Mercer leadership.
At the bottom of the document was an authorization code.
F67.
No name.
No signature.
Police searched the room for Vale's associates.
None found.
When Vale regained consciousness, he refused to speak.
He asked for an attorney.
Grant stood outside the ambulance.
Vale looked through the open rear doors.
Their eyes met.
Grant approached.
"You took my son."
Vale smiled weakly.
"No."
Grant's body became rigid.
"Police found you here."
"They found me where I was left."
"Who brought Noah?"
Vale's smile widened.
"You still haven't figured it out."
Grant stepped closer.
"Who is the Founder?"
For the first time, Vale's expression changed.
Then he laughed.
"That's not a person."
Grant stared.
"What is it?"
Vale looked toward Noah in Tessa's arms.
Then back at Grant.
"It's a promise."
The ambulance doors closed.
Grant stood in darkness.
Behind him, police removed boxes of evidence from the house.
Noah was safe.
Vivienne was in custody.
Vale was alive.
The operation had been exposed.
For the first time, Grant believed they had finally reached the center of the conspiracy.
Then a detective ran out of the old house.
"Mr. Mercer."
Grant turned.
"We found something else."
"What?"
"A body."
Grant froze.
"Who?"
The detective hesitated.
"A woman."
Grant looked at Tessa.
The detective continued.
"She's been dead for approximately a year."
Tessa's face went white.
May you like
Grant already knew what he feared before the detective said the name found on the identification.
"Maria Torres."
