Chapter 10 - The Lawyer
Simon Crowe disappeared before dawn.
His apartment was empty.
His office had been cleared.
His passport showed no official departure, but a private plane registered to one of his clients had left for the Caribbean three hours earlier.
Ruiz obtained a federal warrant.
Grant called Hale International’s aviation division and ordered every company aircraft grounded.
Crowe was already beyond United States airspace.
Renata claimed she had no knowledge of his actions.
Through her new attorney, she insisted Crowe had acted without her authorization.
No one believed her.
The recovered footage proved Renata had lied about her alibi.
It showed her confronting Claire moments before her death.
But the missing twelve seconds prevented the video from showing precisely how Claire fell.
Renata’s defense would argue that Claire lost her balance during the struggle.
Adrian claimed he attempted to separate them.
He remained at the Washington conference while his attorneys released a public statement describing the footage as incomplete and manipulated.
Grant watched the statement from his study.
“My brother is discussing grief while preparing his defense.”
Ruiz placed the deposit key on the desk.
“Claire’s final evidence may explain Crowe’s role.”
First Meridian Bank opened at nine.
The private vault was registered through a legal trust that required Grant and Claire’s signatures.
Because Claire was dead, Grant needed a court order to access it.
Edmund Hale solved the problem by arriving at the mansion with the bank’s chairman.
His helicopter landed on the east lawn shortly after eight.
Edmund entered without waiting to be invited.
At seventy-three, he remained tall and imposing.
His silver hair was perfectly arranged.
He wore a charcoal suit despite the early hour.
Grant met him in the atrium.
“You knew.”
Edmund looked at the damaged security equipment and police officers.
“I knew Claire was investigating financial irregularities.”
“You knew Adrian was stealing.”
“I suspected.”
“You allowed him to remain chief financial officer.”
“I needed proof.”
“Claire had proof.”
“She did not give it to me.”
“She was afraid of you.”
Edmund’s expression flickered.
“Claire was afraid of many things near the end.”
Grant stepped forward.
“Do not speak about her as though she was unstable.”
“She accused half the company of conspiring against her.”
“She was right.”
Edmund looked toward me.
“So this is Sofia Bennett’s daughter.”
“My name is Maya.”
“I know your name.”
“Did you order my mother’s death?”
Grant turned toward him.
Edmund’s face remained unreadable.
“No.”
“Harris says you did.”
“Harris has spent decades hiding his own failures.”
“Did you threaten Sofia?”
“I offered her money to remain silent.”
“About illegal payments.”
“About business practices that were legal at the time but would have been misunderstood.”
“Bribery is not a misunderstanding.”
Edmund ignored that.
“Sofia refused the money. I dismissed her.”
“And twelve years later, her brakes were cut.”
“I did not order it.”
“Who did?”
Edmund looked toward the upper bridge.
“Victoria.”
Grant inhaled.
Adrian’s mother.
Edmund continued.
“She had continued using old company accounts without my knowledge. Sofia discovered it. Victoria believed exposure would destroy Adrian’s inheritance.”
“Your wife killed my mother?”
“I learned the truth after Victoria died.”
“And you buried it.”
“Yes.”
The answer was delivered without apology.
My hands clenched.
“You let me believe it was an accident.”
“I believed knowing the truth would only endanger you.”
“You protected the family name.”
“I protected the company that supported thousands of families.”
Grant stared at him with disgust.
“People always become numbers when you need to excuse yourself.”
Edmund looked toward Lily, who stood beside the library doorway.
His expression softened slightly.
“Renata cannot control the trust.”
Grant’s head lifted.
“What?”
“I changed the succession terms after Claire died.”
“You had no authority.”
“As chairman, I had influence.”
“You knew Renata might be dangerous.”
“I knew she had been involved with Adrian.”
Grant nearly struck him.
Harris stepped between them.
“You let him marry her.”
“I warned him.”
“You told me she was appropriate,” Grant said.
“I hoped marriage would separate her from Adrian.”
Ruiz shook her head.
“You gambled with a child’s life.”
Edmund looked at the bank key.
“The chairman of First Meridian will honor the vault request.”
Two hours later, we entered a private viewing room beneath the bank.
The brass key opened Box 771.
Inside were three envelopes, a flash drive, and a sealed DNA testing kit.
Grant picked up the first envelope.
It was addressed to him.
The second carried Lily’s name.
The third was addressed to Maya Bennett.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Maya,
Your mother was brave.
She refused to let powerful people convince her that truth belonged only to them.
I hired you because I wanted to protect you, but also because I needed someone near Lily whom Adrian could not buy.
I should have told you everything.
I am sorry.
The evidence on this drive proves that Simon Crowe created the false accounts and authorization records.
He has worked for Adrian since before Grant inherited his shares.
Crowe also arranged Sofia’s death for Victoria Hale.
He knows where every secret is buried.
If I die, do not trust him.
Claire
Ruiz inserted the flash drive.
The files included payments from Victoria Hale to Simon Crowe shortly before my mother’s crash.
Crowe had been a young legal investigator then.
He had arranged the mechanic who cut the brakes.
Years later, he became Adrian’s attorney.
The final file was a recent email from Crowe to Renata.
CLAIRE WILL BE ON THE BRIDGE.
ADRIAN WILL PRESSURE HER.
YOU MUST MAKE CERTAIN SHE DOES NOT LEAVE ALIVE.
Grant looked toward Ruiz.
“Crowe ordered the murder.”
“No.”
I pointed to the wording.
“He told Renata to make certain Claire did not leave alive.”
Renata had not merely been present.
She had gone to the bridge with instructions to kill.
Ruiz opened the DNA kit.
The label listed two names.
Adrian Hale.
Lily Hale.
Grant stared at it.
Claire had ordered a paternity test.
His voice became almost inaudible.
“She thought Lily might be Adrian’s?”
Edmund sat down.
Ruiz examined the untouched seals.
“The test was never completed.”
Grant looked as though the room had disappeared beneath him.
I opened Claire’s letter to Lily.
The final paragraph explained everything.
Lily, your father is Grant.
Never doubt that.
Adrian has threatened to claim otherwise because he believes a scandal will help him control the company.
The test exists only to prove his lie false.
Grant pressed the letter against his chest.
His phone rang.
The mansion security team was calling.
Lily’s police escort had been attacked.
May you like
Renata was inside the house.
And Lily was gone.
