Chapter 11 - The Father Without a Name)
Eleanor dismissed the staff.
Only Noah, Vanessa, Margaret, and Adrian remained.
"The man who created Project Winter was Noah's father."
Noah felt the room disappear.
"You said you didn't know who he was."
"I said Grace never told me."
"That's not the same thing."
"No."
Noah stood.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"His name."
Eleanor looked toward the dark windows.
"Thomas Mercer."
Adrian froze.
Margaret whispered, "That's impossible."
Noah looked between them.
"Who is Thomas Mercer?"
Adrian answered.
"Someone who died sixteen years ago."
Noah laughed bitterly.
"Apparently death doesn't mean much in this family."
Eleanor continued.
"Thomas was a financial analyst at Vale International. Brilliant. Quiet. Grace loved him."
"And you hated him."
"I thought he wanted our money."
"Did he?"
"No."
The answer came quickly.
Eleanor looked at Noah.
"I was wrong."
"What happened to him?"
"His apartment burned."
Noah stared.
"Fire."
"Yes."
"Before I was born?"
"Three months before."
"And there was no body."
Eleanor hesitated.
"Officially there was."
"Officially?"
"The body was identified by dental records."
"Then why does Margaret think it's impossible?"
Margaret sat.
"Because I handled Thomas's estate."
Noah looked at her.
"You knew him?"
"Yes."
"Did you know he was my father?"
"No."
"What was strange about his death?"
Margaret folded her hands.
"His body was cremated immediately."
"Why?"
"Instructions from the medical examiner."
"And?"
"A week later, the examiner disappeared."
Noah almost laughed.
"Of course he did."
Eleanor continued.
"Grace believed Thomas had been murdered."
"So she investigated."
"Yes."
"And Project Winter?"
"We believed it was his attempt to expose internal corruption."
"By stealing money?"
"No. By documenting it."
Adrian opened Victor's journal.
"My father wrote that Project Winter could end the Vale family."
Eleanor nodded.
"Thomas created a financial mirror."
Noah frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"A system that copied records of hidden transfers into an external archive."
"Where?"
"We never found it."
Noah understood.
"The ledger."
"Only part of it."
Vanessa finally spoke.
"My father was paid five million dollars after Grace disappeared."
Eleanor looked at her.
"Richard may have helped someone destroy the archive."
Vanessa shook her head.
"Or helped Grace survive."
Everyone looked at her.
She continued.
"He said in his nightmares that he didn't know she was inside."
"Inside the boathouse," Noah said.
"Maybe."
Vanessa wiped her eyes.
"What if someone set the fire thinking Grace was there?"
Noah remembered the old recording.
Richard is terrified.
A knock came.
Security entered.
"Mrs. Vale, Detective Torres is here."
Torres walked in holding a sealed evidence bag.
"We found Richard Carlisle."
Vanessa stood.
"Alive?"
Torres looked at her.
"Yes."
Vanessa nearly collapsed.
"Where?"
"A motel outside Albany."
"Why didn't he contact me?"
"Because someone was watching him."
"Who?"
"He won't say."
Torres looked at Noah.
"But he asked for you."
An hour later, Noah entered Richard's hospital room.
Vanessa waited outside.
Richard looked exhausted.
A bandage covered his forehead.
"You look like Thomas," he said.
Noah's heart accelerated.
"You knew my father."
"Yes."
"Was he really killed?"
Richard closed his eyes.
"No."
Noah stepped closer.
"What?"
"Thomas survived the fire."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"Was Mom with him?"
"No."
"Then what happened at Lake Ashcroft?"
Richard's breathing became uneven.
"Grace confronted me."
"About the money."
"Yes."
"Did you pay someone five million dollars?"
"I did."
"Who?"
"Marcus."
Noah stared.
"Why?"
"To make Grace disappear."
Noah grabbed the bed rail.
Richard looked terrified.
"Not kill her."
"Then what?"
"Hide her."
"From who?"
Richard whispered two words.
"Thomas Mercer."
Noah stepped backward.
"My father?"
Richard nodded.
"Grace discovered Thomas wasn't the man she thought he was."
"What did he do?"
Richard looked toward the door.
Then back at Noah.
"He didn't create Project Winter to expose the Vale family."
May you like
"Then why?"
"To take it."
