Chapter 6 - THE MAN WHO WATCHED MY FATHER DIE
Evan sat on the concrete floor because Luka would not let him come any closer.
I sat across from him with Ivy asleep against me.
My mother stood behind my chair.
Luka leaned against the wall, arms folded.
No one looked comfortable.
No one deserved to.
Evan pressed a cloth against the cut near his hairline.
I did not ask what had happened.
I wanted one answer.
“You saw Charles kill my father.”
Evan stared at the floor.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night Thomas died.”
I felt my mother’s hand grip the back of my chair.
“How?”
Evan breathed out.
“I went to your father’s house because Charles told me Thomas had found something.”
“What?”
“The trust documents.”
“The M-17 trust.”
“Yes.”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“I didn’t know everything then.”
“How convenient.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds like your entire life is one long sentence followed by ‘I didn’t know.’”
He absorbed it.
Then continued.
“Thomas had discovered the donor substitution plan.”
I looked at the signed authorization.
“He knew before the procedure?”
“Not the full details.”
“But he knew something.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because he was trying to stop it first.”
My throat tightened.
That sounded like my father.
Fix the problem before frightening Grace.
Protect her by withholding the truth.
Apparently it was a family tradition.
Evan continued.
“Thomas called me.”
“You?”
“He told me to come alone.”
“Why would he trust you?”
“He didn’t.”
A faint, bitter smile.
“He wanted to see whether I would choose you.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
“What happened?”
“I went.”
“And Charles followed.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
Luka spoke.
“Tracked phone?”
Evan nodded.
“Probably.”
He looked at me again.
“Your father showed me documents.”
“What documents?”
“Proof the M-17 donor material belonged to Matteo Moretti.”
Luka’s jaw tightened.
Evan continued.
“Proof that the trust would transfer to a biological child.”
I felt cold.
“And that I was pregnant?”
“You were four weeks pregnant.”
“So Dad knew.”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Evan’s face changed.
“He told me to take you and leave.”
My eyes burned.
“He said he had enough cash hidden to get us out.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“He didn’t tell you?”
“He said he would give me the location after I made a decision.”
“What decision?”
Evan looked at me.
“Whether I was your husband or Charles’s son.”
Silence.
I could see my father saying it.
Calmly.
No theatrics.
Just truth.
“What did you choose?”
Evan’s eyes filled.
“You.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“You walked out of the hospital with your mistress.”
“I know.”
“You approved the donor.”
“I know.”
“You stole Dad’s letter.”
“I know.”
“And you want me to believe you chose me?”
His voice cracked.
“I tried.”
“Trying is not choosing.”
“No.”
He closed his eyes.
“It isn’t.”
Ivy shifted.
I rocked her gently.
“What happened after Dad asked?”
“Charles walked in.”
My mother’s breathing changed.
Evan looked at her.
“He had Sloane with him.”
“Why?”
“She carried the medication.”
My mother covered her mouth.
I stared.
“What medication?”
“Digoxin.”
The word from the toxicology report.
My stomach twisted.
Evan continued.
“Charles knew Thomas had a heart condition.”
My voice became quiet.
“Did he inject him?”
“No.”
“How?”
“Whiskey.”
My father drank one glass every night.
One.
Never two.
Bourbon.
I could see the crystal tumbler in his study.
“What did Charles do?”
“He poured a drink.”
“He knew Dad wouldn’t take one from him.”
“He told Thomas it was already over.”
“What does that mean?”
Evan looked at me.
“Thomas had already been dosed.”
The room went still.
“Sloane?”
He shook his head.
“His housekeeper.”
I frowned.
“Mrs. Bell?”
“She didn’t know.”
“How?”
“Medication was added to his vitamin bottle.”
My chest constricted.
Charles had not impulsively killed my father.
He had planned it.
“He came to watch.”
Evan nodded.
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
“What did Dad do?”
“He realized.”
“How?”
“He started feeling dizzy.”
Evan swallowed.
“He looked at Charles.”
I could barely breathe.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“What did Charles say?”
Evan stared at the concrete.
“‘You should have left M-17 buried.’”
My mother began crying silently.
I kept my eyes on Evan.
“And you?”
His face twisted.
“I called an ambulance.”
“After?”
“Before he collapsed.”
“Did Charles stop you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because he knew the arrhythmia would look natural.”
I felt rage move through me with terrifying clarity.
“You could have told the paramedics.”
“Yes.”
“You could have told police.”
“Yes.”
“You could have told me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Evan looked at me.
“Because Charles showed me a photograph.”
“What photograph?”
“Of you.”
My skin prickled.
“Where?”
“Leaving your obstetrician.”
I stopped breathing.
“You were already pregnant.”
His voice shook.
“He said accidents happen during pregnancy.”
My hand tightened around Ivy.
“He threatened us.”
“Yes.”
My mother whispered.
“Thomas would have wanted you to tell her.”
Evan looked at her.
“Thomas wanted Grace alive.”
“So you obeyed Charles.”
“Yes.”
“For three years.”
“Yes.”
“You married me before Dad died.”
“Yes.”
“Did you love me before Charles ordered you to approach me?”
“No.”
At least he did not lie.
My chest hurt anyway.
“When did you?”
His eyes filled.
“Before our second date ended.”
I looked away.
“That almost makes it worse.”
“I know.”
Luka spoke from the wall.
“Why M-17?”
Evan rubbed his jaw.
“Charles said Matteo’s estate had become valuable again.”
“Helix-9?”
“Yes.”
“Who found the patent?”
“Sloane.”
Luka’s expression hardened.
Evan continued.
“Halcyon had been licensing technology they didn’t legally own.”
“For years?”
“Yes.”
“If Matteo had a biological heir…”
“The heir could challenge every licensing contract.”
Marianne whispered.
“And control the Moretti voting block.”
“Yes.”
Luka stared at Evan.
“So Charles created an heir he planned to control.”
“Yes.”
“Through you.”
“Yes.”
Luka’s face became murderous.
“He used my dead brother like breeding stock.”
Evan looked at him.
“I didn’t know it was Matteo.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I knew it was an internal donor code.”
“You signed.”
“Yes.”
Luka stepped forward.
I stood.
“Stop.”
He froze.
I looked at him.
“Not here.”
His eyes dropped to Ivy.
Then he stepped back.
Evan looked at me.
“There is more.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Of course there is.”
He reached into his jacket.
Luka moved instantly.
Evan slowly removed a folded photograph.
He slid it across the floor.
I picked it up.
My father.
Outside a bank.
Beside him stood a woman.
Blonde.
Tall.
Older than Sloane.
I looked at Marianne.
“Who is she?”
Her face went white.
“No.”
“What?”
She took the photograph.
Her hand shook.
“Elaine Mercer.”
Sloane’s mother.
I stared.
“You said she betrayed you.”
“She did.”
“Why was Dad meeting her?”
“I don’t know.”
Evan answered.
“Because Elaine switched sides before Thomas died.”
Marianne looked at him.
“That’s impossible.”
“She contacted him.”
“How do you know?”
“I found the messages.”
My mother’s expression shifted.
Years of certainty cracking.
“What messages?”
“Elaine discovered Charles had created Sloane using his genetic material.”
Marianne closed her eyes.
“So Sloane is definitely his daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Did Sloane know?”
“Not then.”
“Does she now?”
Evan hesitated.
“Yes.”
I stared.
“How long?”
“Six months.”
My stomach dropped.
During my pregnancy.
“What did she do when she found out?”
Evan laughed without humor.
“She tried to quit Halcyon.”
“And Charles?”
“Threatened her mother.”
“Elaine is alive?”
“No.”
Evan looked at Marianne.
“She died five months ago.”
Another death.
I almost could not react anymore.
“How?”
“Officially, stroke.”
Luka said, “And unofficially?”
Evan looked at him.
“Sloane thinks Charles killed her.”
My thoughts tangled.
“Then why is Sloane helping him?”
“She isn’t.”
I stared at him.
“She walked out of the hospital with you.”
“She was getting me away from Charles’s security detail.”
I felt my brain reject the sentence.
“What?”
“I left you because Sloane told me Charles had ordered the maternity ward locked.”
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“Then explain.”
Evan leaned forward.
“Sloane found your baby’s preliminary blood markers.”
My heart began pounding.
“She realized M-17 was Matteo.”
“How?”
“She accessed old genomic records.”
“And?”
“She called me.”
His face tightened.
“She said if Charles learned Ivy was a confirmed Moretti heir before we got you out, he would take control of the birth record.”
“So you left me?”
“I went downstairs to stop his legal team.”
“With Sloane.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“We thought we had ten minutes.”
“You told me to call when I could think clearly.”
Pain moved across his face.
“I said the cruelest thing I could think of.”
“Why?”
“So the cameras would show me abandoning you.”
The room became silent.
I stared at him.
“What?”
Evan’s voice dropped.
“Charles believed I was becoming unreliable.”
“He wanted proof I was still following orders.”
“So you humiliated me.”
“Yes.”
“In front of the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“You made me think you were leaving with another woman.”
“Yes.”
“To convince your father.”
“Yes.”
My eyes burned.
“You could have warned me.”
“He had your phone monitored.”
“Write a note.”
“Staff searched your room.”
“Whisper.”
“Microphones.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Grace—”
“No.”
I stood.
“If you had trusted me, we would have found a way.”
He looked up at me.
“I was afraid.”
“You were always afraid.”
The truth sat between us.
His fear did not excuse what he had done.
Maybe it explained some of it.
Not all.
Never all.
“What about Sloane?”
“She was supposed to return to your room.”
“She didn’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Evan looked at his bleeding temple.
“Charles intercepted us.”
I studied him.
“What happened to you?”
“He hit me.”
“Charles?”
“One of his men.”
“And they let you go?”
“No.”
“Then how are you here?”
“Sloane helped me escape.”
My mother frowned.
“Where is she?”
Evan went pale.
“I don’t know.”
Silence.
He reached into his pocket.
This time Luka did not move.
Evan removed a small recorder.
He placed it on the floor.
“She gave me this.”
“What is it?”
“A copy of the call Charles made before Ivy’s conception.”
My hand went cold.
“What call?”
Evan pressed play.
Static.
Then Charles Holloway’s voice.
Older.
Controlled.
“Use M-17.”
A woman answered.
Sloane.
“I need donor consent.”
“You have authorization.”
“Not from the donor.”
“The donor is dead.”
“That doesn’t remove the directive.”
“Destroy the directive.”
A pause.
Then Sloane.
“And Grace?”
Charles answered.
“Grace doesn’t need to know.”
My stomach turned.
Sloane’s voice.
“She has a right to informed consent.”
Charles laughed.
“She has a right to the life we permit her to keep.”
The recording stopped.
No one spoke.
My mother looked physically ill.
Luka’s face was unreadable.
Evan stared at me.
“That is what I was protecting you from.”
I looked at him.
“You also signed.”
“Yes.”
“So you were both protecting me and betraying me.”
“Yes.”
He did not try to escape the contradiction.
For the first time that day, I believed he was telling the truth.
Not enough truth to forgive him.
But truth.
I picked up the recorder.
“We take this to federal prosecutors.”
Marianne shook her head.
“Not yet.”
I turned on her.
“Why not?”
“Because Charles owns people.”
“So we do nothing?”
“No.”
Luka stepped forward.
“We build a case too large to bury.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You’ve been building for twenty-five years.”
“And we were missing the victim who could open the sealed records.”
I stared.
“Me?”
“No.”
His eyes dropped to Ivy.
“Her.”
My entire body chilled.
“How?”
“Matteo’s heir has standing to demand the Moretti biological inventory.”
My mother understood first.
“The cryobank.”
Luka nodded.
“Every M-series sample.”
Evan’s face changed.
“If Ivy’s legal representative files…”
“Halcyon must preserve the records.”
“Yes.”
Luka looked at me.
“And once preservation is ordered, destroying them becomes obstruction.”
I held my daughter.
“She is hours old.”
“And already the most important witness in the room.”
“No.”
My voice became hard.
“She is not a witness.”
Everyone looked at me.
“She is not evidence.”
I pointed at the files.
“She is not a trust.”
I looked at Luka.
“She is not Matteo’s asset.”
Then Evan.
“She is not Charles’s granddaughter.”
Then my mother.
“She is not the reason any of you get to keep secrets.”
I looked down at Ivy.
“She is my daughter.”
Silence.
My mother nodded first.
“You’re right.”
Luka followed.
“Yes.”
Evan closed his eyes.
“I know.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
“You don’t.”
He accepted that too.
A phone vibrated.
Evan froze.
“I thought you destroyed yours.”
“I did.”
The sound came from his jacket.
He searched.
Pulled out a tiny pager-sized device.
His face went white.
“I’ve never seen this.”
Luka grabbed it.
A red light flashed.
Tracker.
“Damn it.”
He crushed it.
Too late.
Outside, tires screamed across gravel.
Marianne ran to the monitor.
Black vehicles entered the warehouse yard.
Five.
Then six.
Evan stood.
“My father.”
Luka looked at him.
“You brought them.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
He loaded his weapon.
I heard doors slam above us.
Men shouting.
My mother opened the safe.
“There is one way out.”
She pulled the entire back wall of the safe.
A hidden tunnel.
Of course.
Before we moved, Evan grabbed my wrist.
I yanked away.
He looked at me.
“Grace.”
“What?”
“If we get separated…”
His face broke.
“Do not let Charles tell you I chose him at the hospital.”
I stared.
“You chose him years ago.”
“Yes.”
His voice trembled.
“But not today.”
A heavy crash sounded upstairs.
Luka shoved open the tunnel.
“Go.”
I entered with Ivy.
My mother followed.
Luka turned toward Evan.
“You too.”
Evan shook his head.
“I’ll delay them.”
“No heroics.”
“This isn’t heroic.”
He looked at me.
“It’s overdue.”
Then he closed the steel door between us.
I heard the lock engage.
“Evan!”
I slammed my palm against it.
He did not open it.
Luka grabbed my shoulders.
“We move.”
“No!”
“Grace.”
“He’ll kill him.”
Luka’s eyes met mine.
“Yes.”
The bluntness stopped me.
Then we heard Charles’s voice above us.
“Where is my son?”
A gunshot cracked.
I screamed.
May you like
The tunnel light flickered.
And Evan’s voice did not answer.
