Chapter 10 — The Man Grant Was Really Working For
Chapter 10 — The Man Grant Was Really Working For
Grant did not deny it.
That frightened me more than anything.
We were standing in the underground garage beneath the Kingsley Grand.
Emma was asleep in my arms.
My mother was sitting against the wall, exhausted.
Daniel had three security officers watching the exits.
And Grant stood twenty feet away with blood soaking through his shirt.
My father's voice was still echoing in my head.
Your husband has been lying about how he first met your daughter.
I looked at Grant.
“You took Emma before.”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
My mother gasped.
Daniel immediately raised his weapon.
I held up my hand.
“Don't.”
Grant looked at me.
“I never hurt her.”
“You took my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
He lowered his eyes.
“Two years ago.”
Emma was three now.
That meant she had been one.
Barely old enough to remember anything.
I felt sick.
“Why?”
Grant didn't answer.
“Why did you take my daughter?”
“I was trying to save her.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
“I know.”
“You expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
“Then tell me the truth.”
Grant looked at Emma.
“I was working for someone.”
“Who?”
His eyes met mine.
“Richard.”
My blood went cold.
“Your father.”
“Yes.”
“And Richard ordered you to take Emma?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Grant swallowed.
“Because your father had disappeared.”
I stared at him.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Eight years ago?”
“No.”
Grant shook his head.
“Three years ago.”
I couldn't speak.
Three years.
That was before Emma was born.
Before Grant's affair.
Before the hotel.
Before I understood what my family really was.
Grant continued.
“Edward didn't disappear eight years ago.”
“You told me he was dead.”
“So did everyone else.”
“Who knew?”
“Richard.”
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Victor?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Daniel.
“How many people knew?”
“Almost everyone connected to Northbridge.”
My stomach turned.
“So my father has been alive this entire time.”
Grant nodded.
“And Richard knew where he was.”
“No.”
Grant shook his head.
“Richard knew where he had been.”
I frowned.
“What happened?”
Grant looked away.
“Edward disappeared again.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because he found out what Richard was planning.”
I tightened my grip on Emma.
“What was he planning?”
Grant whispered:
“To take the trust.”
We moved into a private conference room.
Emma was placed in a secure bedroom nearby.
My mother sat at the table.
Grant remained standing.
I looked at him.
“Start from the beginning.”
He nodded.
“Your father created the private trust after Evelyn was born.”
“Why?”
“To protect the family assets.”
“From Richard?”
“From everyone.”
“Then why did Richard have access?”
“Because he helped create the structure.”
I looked at Grant.
“And you?”
“My father trained me to take over.”
“Take over what?”
“Northbridge.”
My stomach tightened.
“So you were always part of it.”
“Yes.”
“Since childhood?”
“Since I was eighteen.”
I stared.
“And then you married me.”
“Yes.”
“Was that part of the plan?”
He hesitated.
“Yes.”
My chest hurt.
“Why?”
“To get access to the trust.”
“And Emma?”
His face changed.
“She changed everything.”
“How?”
“When I realized you were pregnant, Richard ordered me to make sure the child never became the beneficiary.”
I froze.
“Did you try?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I couldn't.”
“Why?”
Grant looked at me.
“Because she was my daughter too.”
I stared.
“What?”
He shook his head.
“I knew I loved her before she was born.”
I wanted to hate him.
I wanted to believe every terrible thing about him.
But his voice sounded broken.
“That doesn't excuse anything.”
“I know.”
“You still lied.”
“Yes.”
“You still betrayed me.”
“Yes.”
“You still had an affair.”
His face hardened.
“Celeste was part of the plan.”
I stared.
“What?”
“She wasn't my mistress.”
“She wasn't?”
“She was an operative.”
I looked toward the door.
“She knew?”
“Yes.”
“Did she know about Emma?”
“Yes.”
“Did she know about the trust?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she help me?”
“Because she changed sides.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because Richard threatened her family.”
The same story again.
Everyone had been trapped.
Everyone had been compromised.
Everyone had lied.
And somehow, everyone expected me to understand.
I couldn't.
I stood.
“You said you took Emma.”
Grant nodded.
“When?”
“She was one.”
“Where?”
“From your old house.”
I froze.
“The house we lived in before this one?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your security system was compromised.”
“By Richard?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Grant's eyes lowered.
“I was ordered to take her to a private facility.”
“Where?”
“Northbridge.”
My blood ran cold.
“My daughter was inside a Northbridge facility?”
“For six hours.”
“Six hours?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Grant looked at me.
“Your father came.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“Edward arrived.”
“Why?”
“To get her.”
“Did he?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He threatened Richard.”
“With what?”
Grant shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Then what happened?”
“Edward took Emma.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
He looked directly at me.
“I lost contact with him after that.”
My mother suddenly spoke.
“That was the night he came to me.”
I turned.
“What?”
“He brought Emma.”
I stared at her.
“You had Emma?”
“For a few hours.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father told me you were being watched.”
“So you let me believe she was safe?”
“Yes.”
I couldn't breathe.
“All these years…”
My voice broke.
“You all made decisions about my daughter without me.”
Nobody answered.
Because there was nothing they could say.
Then Daniel entered.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
He placed a tablet on the table.
“Northbridge just filed an emergency petition.”
My stomach tightened.
“Against whom?”
“Against you.”
“On what grounds?”
“Parental incapacity.”
I laughed.
Of course.
“How?”
“They submitted psychological evaluations.”
“Fake?”
“Yes.”
“Witnesses?”
“Three.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked at me.
“Your mother.”
I turned.
My mother was crying.
“No.”
Daniel continued.
“Victor Hale.”
“Victor is unconscious.”
“His signature was submitted.”
I felt sick.
“And the third?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Celeste.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Grant stood.
“That's impossible.”
Daniel looked at him.
“She signed a statement claiming Mara has paranoid delusions and has become obsessed with a nonexistent conspiracy.”
I stared.
“They're building the case.”
“Yes.”
“Against me.”
“Yes.”
“Who filed it?”
“Northbridge's legal trustee.”
“Who is that?”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Richard.”
The room went silent.
Grant looked at the floor.
I stared at him.
“So this was the plan.”
“Yes.”
“You marry me.”
“Yes.”
“You gain access.”
“Yes.”
“You make me look unstable.”
“Yes.”
“You take Emma.”
“Yes.”
“Then Richard becomes her guardian.”
Grant closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
I stepped toward him.
“And you?”
He looked at me.
“I was supposed to become the trustee's executive.”
“You would control the company.”
“Yes.”
“You would control the money.”
“Yes.”
“And Richard?”
Grant's voice was barely audible.
“He would control me.”
I froze.
“What does that mean?”
Grant pulled back his sleeve.
There was a scar on his wrist.
Circular.
Like a burn.
I stared.
“What's that?”
“My father's mark.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“He used it as a warning.”
“Why?”
“Because I tried to leave.”
“When?”
“After Emma was born.”
He took a breath.
“I tried to disappear with her.”
My heart stopped.
“You tried to take Emma away?”
“To protect her.”
“From Richard?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He found me.”
“How?”
“Northbridge has people everywhere.”
Grant looked at his wrist.
“He told me if I ever disobeyed again, he would kill you.”
I stared.
“That's why you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“And the affair?”
“A performance.”
“Your cruelty?”
“Part of the performance.”
“The lunch money?”
He looked ashamed.
“Part of it.”
I remembered the hotel lobby.
The cash falling at my feet.
Celeste laughing.
Grant telling me to go home.
I had believed he was humiliating me.
Maybe he had been trying to make everyone believe our marriage was collapsing.
Maybe he had been trying to protect me.
Or maybe that was another lie.
I couldn't know anymore.
Then the lights flickered.
Daniel looked at his phone.
“Security breach.”
“Where?”
“East wing.”
My blood froze.
“Emma.”
We ran.
The bedroom door was open.
The bed was empty.
The window was closed.
The security guard lay unconscious on the floor.
I screamed.
“EMMA!”
Grant ran past me.
He searched the bathroom.
Nothing.
Daniel checked the closet.
Nothing.
Then I saw something on the bed.
A small piece of paper.
I picked it up.
Three words.
Come to Northbridge.
Underneath:
Alone.
I turned to Grant.
“Who took her?”
He stared at the note.
“Richard.”
“How?”
“He has access to everything.”
I felt rage rising inside me.
“I want him.”
Grant looked at me.
“No.”
“I want my daughter.”
“I know.”
“Then take me to him.”
“He'll kill you.”
“Let him try.”
Grant stared at me.
Then he said:
“I know where he keeps his private office.”
“Where?”
“Under the Northbridge headquarters.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Underground?”
“Yes.”
“How do we get in?”
Grant pulled a key from his pocket.
“I have access.”
I looked at the key.
“You've had this the entire time?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you use it?”
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of Richard?”
“Yes.”
I took the key.
“You're coming.”
Grant shook his head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because if he sees me, he'll kill Emma.”
I stared at him.
“Then what do I do?”
Grant looked at me.
“Go in as the woman he thinks you are.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
He reached into his pocket.
Pulled out a small device.
A voice recorder.
“Let him believe you're still unstable.”
I understood.
“Let him think he's won.”
“Yes.”
“And record everything.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“What if he finds out?”
Grant's expression hardened.
“Then we stop running.”
Two hours later, I stood outside Northbridge.
The building rose above the city like a monument.
Glass.
Steel.
Money.
Power.
Everything my family had spent decades building.
Everything Richard wanted.
I looked at the entrance.
Then at Grant.
“Stay here.”
He nodded.
“If I don't come out in thirty minutes…”
“What?”
“Burn the building.”
He stared.
I smiled.
“I'm serious.”
Then I walked inside.
The receptionist looked at me.
“Mrs. Kingsley.”
I smiled weakly.
“I need to see Richard.”
She hesitated.
“He's expecting you.”
Of course he was.
I entered the private elevator.
The doors closed.
The elevator descended.
One floor.
Two.
Three.
Then the display went blank.
I heard a click.
The doors opened.
A corridor stretched ahead.
At the end stood Richard.
He smiled.
“Mara.”
I stopped.
“Where is my daughter?”
He laughed softly.
“You always were direct.”
“Where is Emma?”
“She is safe.”
“Bring her to me.”
“Not yet.”
I stepped closer.
“You wanted me here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to offer you a choice.”
“What choice?”
He held up two documents.
“One gives you back your company.”
The second document.
“What's the other?”
“Your daughter's life.”
I stared.
“What do you want?”
Richard smiled.
“Your signature.”
I looked at the document.
It was the same signature.
The same forged handwriting.
But this time, the page was blank beneath it.
“Sign this,” he said.
“What does it do?”
“You resign.”
“From Kingsley Holdings?”
“From everything.”
I stared.
“And Emma?”
“She comes home.”
I looked at him.
“You think I'll believe you?”
“No.”
He smiled.
“You'll sign anyway.”
I looked at the paper.
Then at him.
And slowly—
I smiled.
Because Richard had made the same mistake Grant had made.
He thought I was still afraid.
He thought I was still the woman who would beg.
He thought my daughter had made me weak.
He didn't understand.
My daughter had made me dangerous.
I picked up the pen.
Richard watched.
I lowered it toward the paper.
Then stopped.
“Before I sign…”
He frowned.
“What?”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“Tell me who Grant is really working for.”
Richard's smile disappeared.
I pressed the hidden recorder inside my sleeve.
And waited.
May you like
Because for the first time—
the man behind everything was standing directly in front of me.
