Chapter 13 - Sutton
The property outside Sutton sat beyond a narrow road lined with maple trees.
Ethan, Claire, Daniel, and two private investigators arrived shortly before dusk.
The farmhouse looked empty.
No cars.
No lights.
The door was unlocked.
Inside were signs of hurried departure.
A cup of coffee half full.
Drawers open.
A coat missing from a hook.
Claire found photographs in the living room.
Rebecca Cross.
Adrian.
A little boy.
Nathan.
Then later images.
Nathan at ten.
Fourteen.
Eighteen.
Twenty-one.
In the most recent photograph, he stood beside Julian Voss.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
The resemblance to Adrian was unmistakable.
Ethan picked it up.
“He’s our cousin.”
Claire looked at him.
Technically half-cousin through their grandfather’s daughter.
Family, in the messy Hale sense.
Daniel called from another room.
“You need to see this.”
The study contained monitors.
Financial records.
Scanned documents.
News clippings about Mercer companies.
Photos of Charles.
Photos of Ethan.
Photos of Claire.
Twenty years of observation.
Claire stared at one wall.
“This is insane.”
Ethan studied the material.
Not obsession.
Preparation.
Someone had documented every major asset Charles touched.
One folder was labeled HAWTHORNE.
Inside were police reports that had never appeared in public databases.
Adrian had apparently gone to authorities after the 2005 assault.
But before formal charges were filed, a witness changed his statement.
The witness?
Graham Mercer.
Ethan closed his eyes.
Of course.
Graham had lied again.
The altered statement said Adrian attacked Charles first.
It also said Ethan was present and saw Adrian behaving violently.
Eleven-year-old Ethan.
Used as an alibi even without being interviewed.
Charles’s plan had worked.
Adrian disappeared days later.
Another file contained hospital records under an alias.
Broken ribs.
Head trauma.
Knife wound.
Adrian had survived.
Barely.
Claire said, “Dad did this.”
Ethan nodded.
There was no longer ambiguity.
A sound came from upstairs.
The investigators moved first.
A door opened.
Julian Voss appeared with his hands raised.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Where is Nathan?”
“Safe.”
“Charles is using his authentication.”
“No.”
“Then how did he submit the Reserve transfer?”
Voss’s expression changed.
“What transfer?”
Daniel showed him.
Voss read the screen.
His face went white.
“That’s impossible.”
“Apparently not.”
Voss walked into the study.
He pulled open a hidden drawer.
Empty.
“No.”
“What?”
“The authentication device.”
“Whose?”
“Nathan’s.”
“Charles took it?”
Voss looked furious.
“Someone did.”
“Where is Nathan?”
“Adrian moved him two days ago.”
“Adrian is here?”
“No.”
“Where?”
Voss refused.
Ethan stepped closer.
“My father is trying to steal almost two billion dollars.”
“Your father has been trying to steal it since 2004.”
“Then help us stop him.”
Voss stared at Ethan for a long time.
“You sound like Jonathan.”
“You knew my grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He saved my life.”
Another secret.
Ethan almost laughed from exhaustion.
Voss continued.
“I worked for Hale Holdings. When Jonathan died, Adrian asked me to protect Rebecca and Nathan.”
“Did Adrian disappear voluntarily?”
“After Hawthorne, he had no choice.”
“He could have gone to police.”
“He did.”
“Graham changed his statement.”
“Yes.”
“And Charles?”
“Charles paid two officers, one prosecutor, and a private investigator.”
“Can you prove that?”
Voss opened a cabinet.
“Adrian can.”
Inside were copies.
Bank transfers.
Affidavits.
Recorded calls.
Enough to destroy Charles’s reputation permanently.
Perhaps enough for criminal charges.
Claire sat down.
All her life, Charles had presented himself as hard, arrogant, demanding.
But fundamentally respectable.
The files revealed something else.
Not one impulsive crime.
A pattern.
Manipulation.
Fraud.
Coercion.
Cover-ups.
Ethan felt strangely empty.
The truth did not bring relief.
Only clarity.
“Where is Adrian?” he asked again.
Voss looked at him.
“He went to find Charles.”
“Where?”
“The Mercer estate.”
Ethan’s phone rang.
Margaret.
He answered.
His mother was whispering.
“Ethan, your father is here.”
He turned toward Claire.
“Mom, leave the house.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
A man spoke in the background.
Charles.
“Give me the phone.”
Margaret cried out.
Then Charles’s voice came through.
“Come home.”
Ethan’s body went cold.
“Let Mom leave.”
“She can leave when you arrive.”
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want.”
“The Reserve.”
“My money.”
“It was never yours.”
Charles laughed.
“You sound exactly like Adrian.”
Ethan looked at Voss.
Charles continued.
“Bring Claire.”
“No.”
“She’s required.”
“For authentication.”
“Yes.”
“You already submitted the transfer.”
“I submitted the request.”
“You still need confirmation.”
“Exactly.”
Ethan understood.
The stolen Nathan device was one authentication.
Charles needed Ethan or Claire for the second.
“Why would I help you?”
Charles’s voice changed.
Because now he had leverage.
“Because Adrian is sitting across from me.”
May you like
Ethan stopped breathing.
“And if you want him alive long enough to tell you what happened in that basement, you’ll come home.”
