Chapter 15 - The Father’s Choice
Edmund did not deny Claire’s accusation.
He sat inside Grant’s study while federal agents searched the mansion and corporate offices.
For the first time, he looked old.
“I knew Victoria contacted Crowe,” he said.
I stood across from him.
“You knew she planned to kill my mother.”
“I knew she intended to frighten Sofia.”
“Claire said you could have stopped it.”
Edmund stared at his hands.
“Victoria told me the brake line would be damaged enough to cause a minor accident.”
“You believed her?”
“No.”
The answer was almost a whisper.
“But I did nothing.”
“Why?”
“Because Sofia had copied records that could have led to criminal charges.”
“So you let her drive.”
“I told myself Crowe would not truly kill a mother with a child at home.”
“You told yourself whatever allowed you to protect the company.”
“Yes.”
There was no defense left.
Only confession.
Grant stood near the fireplace.
“You spent my entire life teaching me that weakness destroyed families.”
Edmund looked at him.
“I was wrong.”
“You buried Maya’s mother. You buried Claire. You allowed Adrian to become the same kind of person you were.”
“I never wanted this for him.”
“You rewarded him every time he chose power over people.”
Edmund’s eyes filled with tears.
It was the first emotion I had ever seen from him.
Grant did not soften.
“Federal agents will want your statement.”
“I will give it.”
“You will resign from Hale International.”
Edmund looked toward the window.
“If I resign now, the company may collapse.”
“Then it collapses.”
“Thousands of employees—”
“Do not use them as human shields again.”
Edmund nodded slowly.
The dynasty he protected for decades was ending in the room where his son refused to continue it.
News of the investigation spread before noon.
Adrian was formally charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, embezzlement, and Claire’s murder.
Renata faced the same murder charge, along with child abuse and kidnapping.
Simon Crowe had not been found beneath the sanatorium ruins.
Search teams discovered blood and part of his coat near the lower roof.
No body.
Ruiz believed he escaped through an old drainage channel.
A nationwide manhunt began.
Grant moved Lily and me into a secure hotel controlled by federal agents.
The mansion contained too many hidden passages and compromised systems.
Lily refused to sleep unless the lights remained on.
I sat beside her until after midnight.
“Is Renata coming back?”
“No.”
“The lawyer came back before.”
“Police are looking for him.”
“She said police can be bought.”
“Some people can.”
Lily looked frightened.
“But Detective Ruiz cannot?”
“I do not believe so.”
“Can Daddy?”
“What do you mean?”
“Can somebody buy Daddy?”
I understood the question.
Lily had watched adults exchange loyalty for money her entire life.
“No.”
“Uncle Adrian bought Renata.”
“Your father is not like them.”
“He did not see.”
The words held no accusation.
Only hurt.
“He sees now.”
Lily touched the trimmed section of her hair.
“Mommy saw.”
“Yes.”
“She knew Renata was bad.”
“Yes.”
“Why did Mommy meet her?”
“Because your mother wanted to protect you and your father.”
Lily looked toward the window.
“She should have run.”
I had thought the same thing.
Claire had been brave.
She had also been trapped by the belief that she could control people who had already decided to kill her.
Courage did not always mean confronting danger.
Sometimes courage meant leaving.
Claire learned that too late.
A knock sounded at the hotel door.
Grant entered after a federal agent checked the hallway.
He carried Lily’s stuffed rabbit, cleaned and repaired.
“I found him under the bed.”
Lily took it.
“Thank you.”
Grant sat near the doorway.
“I have something to tell you.”
Lily waited.
“I am going to testify against Uncle Adrian and Grandpa Edmund.”
“Will Grandpa go to jail?”
“Maybe.”
“Are you sad?”
“Yes.”
“Are you still going to do it?”
“Yes.”
Lily considered this.
“Good.”
Grant almost smiled.
His phone rang.
Detective Ruiz.
Simon Crowe had contacted a television network.
He claimed he possessed evidence proving Claire had embezzled from the foundation and fabricated the murder conspiracy.
He offered an exclusive interview in exchange for legal protection.
The network planned to broadcast it live the following night.
Grant looked at me.
“He is going to destroy Claire publicly.”
“He will not appear unless he believes he controls the situation.”
Ruiz spoke through the phone.
“We can trace the broadcast signal, but we need him to remain on air.”
“How?”
“Someone must confront him live.”
Grant knew what she was asking.
“I will do it.”
Lily stood.
“No.”
Grant looked at her.
“The lawyer lies to you.”
“What should I do?”
Lily held the stuffed rabbit tightly.
“Let Mommy talk.”
Claire’s recordings contained more than financial evidence.
They contained her own account.
Her own voice.
Instead of allowing Crowe to tell the world who Claire had been, we would let Claire answer him.
But as Grant prepared to leave, Lily whispered something to me.
“The lawyer has another video.”
“What video?”
“The one from Mommy’s room.”
“What did it show?”
May you like
Lily’s face became pale.
“Daddy.”
