Chapter 12 - miles hargrove finally talks)
Miles Hargrove requested Jonathan by name at four seventeen in the morning.
He refused to speak to detectives.
He refused to speak to federal investigators.
He refused to speak to Vivienne.
But he said he would speak to Jonathan if Maya Reed came with him.
The interview took place in a private security room inside Ashcroft Manor while police continued processing the property.
Miles sat handcuffed at the table.
His tuxedo jacket had been removed.
Blood from his fight with Curtis had dried along his collar.
Yet he still looked composed.
Maya entered beside Jonathan.
Miles smiled.
"Anna's daughter."
Maya sat.
"Where is she?"
Miles leaned back.
"You found the file."
"Where is my mother?"
"Geneva, perhaps."
"Perhaps?"
"Halcyon moves people."
Jonathan sat opposite him.
"What is Halcyon?"
Miles looked toward the one-way glass.
"Turn off the recording."
Jonathan shook his head.
Miles smiled.
"Then we're finished."
Maya leaned forward.
"You tried to poison Ethan."
"No."
"You had Mercer poison him."
"No."
Jonathan struck the table.
"Stop playing games."
Miles looked at him.
"I was trying to make Ethan sick enough to remove him from the trust succession."
Maya stared.
"That's poisoning."
"It's coercive medical interference."
Jonathan almost lunged across the table.
Maya stopped him.
"Why?"
Miles looked at Ethan's father.
"Because the moment your son gained access to the full Ashcroft archive, Halcyon would have been exposed."
"So you planned to have him declared incompetent."
"Temporarily."
"Julian?"
Miles's expression changed.
"Different era."
"Did you kill him?"
Miles stared at the table.
"Evelyn administered the final dose."
Jonathan's jaw tightened.
"But you supplied it."
"Yes."
Vivienne had not been wrong.
But she had not known the whole truth.
Maya asked, "Anna?"
Miles looked at her.
"I did not kill your mother."
"Who staged the accident?"
"I did."
Maya froze.
Jonathan stared.
Miles continued.
"At Anna's request."
Maya's anger disappeared beneath confusion.
"What?"
"Your mother needed to disappear."
"Why?"
"Because Evelyn discovered she had copied Halcyon records."
"You helped her?"
"For a price."
"What price?"
Miles smiled faintly.
"Anna was useful."
Maya stood.
"Do not talk about her like that."
Miles's smile vanished.
"Your mother was the most dangerous person I ever met."
Maya stared.
"She cleaned rooms."
"She listened."
Miles leaned forward.
"Rich people forget servants exist. Anna built an intelligence network inside this mansion before anyone knew what the term meant."
Jonathan frowned.
"She worked for you?"
"No."
"For Catherine?"
Miles shook his head.
"Eventually, she worked for herself."
Maya sat again.
"Why Geneva?"
"Halcyon's European center."
Jonathan asked, "What is the project?"
Miles looked at him.
"You still believe Ashcroft Industries became a global empire because your father made good investments?"
Jonathan said nothing.
"Halcyon began as neurological research into memory formation."
Maya felt uneasy.
Miles continued.
"Your grandfather funded it because he wanted medical patents. Governments became interested for other reasons."
"Memory manipulation?"
Miles smiled.
"Crude phrase."
Jonathan's face hardened.
"You experimented on people."
"I was a lawyer."
"That's not an answer."
Miles looked at Maya.
"Anna discovered that Halcyon subjects were being hidden inside ordinary clinical studies."
Maya remembered the list.
Hundreds of names.
"Why was Ethan on it?"
Miles hesitated.
Maya noticed.
"Ethan isn't just an heir."
Miles looked at Jonathan.
"No."
Jonathan's face tightened.
"What did you do to my son?"
"Nothing that wasn't done long before I became involved."
Jonathan grabbed him across the table.
"What does that mean?"
Guards entered.
Maya pulled Jonathan back.
Miles fixed his collar.
Then he said, "Ask Vivienne what happened the night Ethan was born."
Jonathan stopped.
"What?"
Miles looked amused.
"You think family secrets begin with death. They usually begin with birth."
Maya thought of Ethan repeating Anna's words without knowing why.
Trust the glass.
She felt suddenly cold.
"Was Ethan part of Halcyon as a child?"
Miles said nothing.
Maya leaned forward.
"Did my mother protect him?"
Miles's expression shifted.
"Anna protected everyone she could."
"From Evelyn?"
"Sometimes."
"From you?"
He smiled sadly.
"Often."
"Then who was she really afraid of?"
For the first time, Miles Hargrove looked genuinely frightened.
He glanced toward the mirrored window.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Arthur Ashcroft."
Jonathan stared.
"My grandfather is dead."
Miles shook his head.
"Your father."
Jonathan's face emptied.
Maya remembered Jonathan calling Vivienne's husband his father earlier.
Arthur Ashcroft.
The previous chairman.
Dead eight years.
May you like
At least officially.
Miles whispered, "Ask to see the body."
