Chapter 4 - The Brother Who Did Not Exist
Charles Mercer was Julian’s older half-brother.
Or at least that was what Julian claimed.
The story came reluctantly.
Piece by piece.
Julian’s father, Edward Mercer, had been twenty-one when Charles was born.
The mother was not Julian’s mother.
She was a young bookkeeper named Helena Ward.
Edward never married her.
Charles took the Mercer name anyway.
Then, when Charles was seven, Helena disappeared.
Official records showed she moved abroad.
Charles disappeared with her.
Except he had not.
According to Julian, Edward quietly placed Charles with relatives in Canada and spent decades pretending his first son never existed.
“Why?” Clara asked.
Julian stared at the seatback.
“Because Charles saw something.”
“What?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I was six when I first met him.”
Clara frowned.
“You met him?”
“He came to the house.”
“When?”
“After my grandfather’s funeral.”
“What happened?”
“My father hit him.”
Julian’s voice was flat.
“Charles laughed.”
Clara had never heard Julian speak about childhood with fear.
Until now.
“He told my father he knew where Grandfather’s ledgers were.”
“What ledgers?”
“The original Mercer accounts.”
Clara sat opposite him.
Captain Grant had dimmed the cabin lights.
Most passengers were pretending to sleep.
Nobody near Row 2 was sleeping.
Julian continued.
“My grandfather built Mercer Shipping before Mercer Meridian existed. Some of the money was legitimate.”
“Some?”
“Some wasn’t.”
“What kind?”
“Bribes. Smuggling. Sanctions violations. Cash movement for political families. Whoever needed money invisible.”
Clara’s stomach tightened.
“And Charles found records?”
“He said he did.”
“Did your father believe him?”
“Yes.”
“What happened next?”
“Charles disappeared again.”
Clara looked at Serena.
“How do you know Charles?”
Serena hesitated.
Julian’s expression sharpened.
“Don’t.”
Clara noticed.
That was not Julian protecting Serena.
It was Julian afraid of what Serena might say.
Serena folded her arms.
“I met him before I met Julian.”
Julian stared at her.
Clara felt something shift.
“How long before?”
“Two years.”
“And what did he want?”
Serena looked toward Julian.
“Access.”
“To what?”
“Julian.”
The answer was so simple Clara nearly missed it.
Serena had not merely become Julian’s mistress.
She had been placed near him.
Julian’s face hardened.
“You told me you met Charles afterward.”
“I lied.”
“You lied to me?”
Serena laughed bitterly.
“You’re offended?”
Clara almost admired the absurdity.
Julian had brought his mistress onto his wife’s flight, but discovering the mistress had manipulated him seemed personally insulting.
“Why did Charles send you?” Clara asked.
Serena swallowed.
“He said Julian was moving money that didn’t belong to him.”
“Was he?”
“I don’t know.”
“You slept with him for two years and never asked?”
“I didn’t sleep with him for information.”
Julian scoffed.
Serena snapped.
“Not at first.”
Clara leaned forward.
“Then when?”
Serena looked ashamed for the first time.
“Charles paid me.”
Silence.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Julian stared.
“For what?”
“Copies.”
“What copies?”
“Emails. Schedules. Investment memoranda.”
Julian’s voice became dangerous.
“You gave him company documents?”
“You lied to me too.”
“I never paid you to betray me.”
Serena laughed.
“No. You just bought jewelry with your wife’s money.”
Clara interrupted.
“Stop.”
They both looked at her.
“This isn’t about either of your wounded egos.”
She turned to Serena.
“Why is Charles moving money into Crescent?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell him about the company?”
“No.”
“Did Julian?”
“No.”
Clara looked at her husband.
“Who created Crescent?”
Julian hesitated.
“My father.”
Clara stared.
“Edward?”
“Yes.”
“Using my identity?”
“I didn’t know that part.”
“Bullshit.”
“I knew Crescent existed. I didn’t know you were listed as owner.”
“Then who did you think owned it?”
Julian went quiet.
Clara felt fury rise.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
She stopped.
“Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Your father discovered money tied to my family. Edward offered him a structure to isolate it.”
“Why would my father cooperate?”
“He didn’t understand what Crescent would become.”
“You expect me to believe my father helped your family hide money?”
“No.”
Julian’s voice softened.
“I think he tried to trap them.”
Clara stared.
“The night before your father died, he met Charles.”
The aircraft hum suddenly seemed louder.
“You said the calendar showed C.M.”
“Charles Mercer.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you know they met?”
“I found a photograph years later.”
“Where?”
“In my father’s safe.”
“Do you still have it?”
“No.”
“Convenient.”
“Charles took it.”
“When?”
“During a break-in at my parents’ house.”
Clara stood.
She needed space.
Too much of her life was being rewritten within one flight.
Her father.
Her husband.
The company.
The money.
Even Serena.
Nothing was what it seemed.
Daniel called again.
“We located Raymond Pike.”
Clara’s attention snapped back.
“Where?”
“He’s driving south.”
“Toward what?”
“Hard to tell. But we obtained his original police radio logs.”
“And?”
“The official accident time was 11:17 p.m.”
“I know.”
“Pike called dispatch at 11:02.”
Clara’s heart slowed.
“That’s before the crash.”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“There’s missing audio.”
“Missing?”
“Seventeen minutes erased.”
“Can it be recovered?”
“Maybe.”
Julian watched her.
Clara ended the call.
“Raymond Pike reported my father’s crash fifteen minutes before it happened.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Clara’s voice hardened.
“That’s murder.”
Serena whispered, “Oh my God.”
Julian looked toward Clara.
“I didn’t know.”
She believed him.
Not because she trusted him.
Because he looked devastated.
That almost made things worse.
“What do you know?”
Julian pressed his fingers against his forehead.
“My father told me Pike had covered up something after the crash.”
“What?”
“I assumed he changed the timeline.”
“Why?”
“To hide who was there.”
Clara leaned forward.
“Who was there?”
Julian looked at Serena.
Then at Clara.
“Charles.”
Clara’s stomach twisted.
Daniel sent a message.
WE RECOVERED PART OF THE RADIO AUDIO.
Then an audio attachment appeared.
Clara played it at low volume.
Static.
A younger Raymond Pike speaking.
“…vehicle located near marker eighty-three…”
Static.
“…one male unresponsive…”
Then another voice in the background.
Clara could barely hear it.
She increased the volume.
A man said:
“Take the case before his daughter sees it.”
Clara froze.
Julian froze too.
Because they both recognized the voice.
Not Charles.
May you like
Not Edward.
The man speaking at her father’s crash site was Julian Mercer.
