Chapter 8 - THE GRANDMOTHER'S DARKEST SECRET
I wanted the signature to be forged.
So did Grant.
But Eleanor didn't deny it.
She sat in the dusty chair beside the window and stared at the ledger.
“I signed those papers.”
Grant looked at her as if he no longer recognized her.
“Grandmother?”
She closed her eyes.
“Thomas was in trouble. Mercer had threatened to destroy the company, expose our family, and send your father to prison.”
“So you helped him?” Grant demanded.
“I thought I was saving us.”
I stepped forward.
“My father died.”
Eleanor flinched.
“I know.”
“You knew people were laundering money, and you stayed silent?”
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt more than any excuse.
Grant opened another page.
“These transfers continued after Daniel died.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Mercer kept using the companies. Thomas tried to stop him, but by then the evidence implicated all of us.”
“Why didn't you go to the police?” I asked.
“Because Mercer had photographs of you and Rachel. He knew your schools. Your mother's workplace. Everything.”
I stared at her.
“You were protecting us?”
“I told myself I was.”
She began crying.
“But the truth is, I was also afraid of losing my family.”
Grant stepped away.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he looked at me.
“You deserve the truth. All of it.”
I swallowed.
“And what happens when the truth destroys your family?”
He answered without hesitation.
“Then it destroys what needs destroying.”
Something inside me shifted.
For the first time, I saw the man beneath the reputation.
Not the arrogant billionaire who had laughed at his housekeeper.
Not the feared boss whose name made powerful men nervous.
Just a man discovering that everything he inherited might be built on lies.
Victor entered suddenly.
“Sir, we've located Mercer.”
Grant turned.
“Where?”
“Downtown. The Black Orchid Club.”
Grant's expression changed.
“That property belongs to us.”
“Not anymore,” Victor said.
He handed over a document.
A transfer agreement.
Signed that morning.
Grant read it.
Then looked at Eleanor.
“Someone sold the club.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“I didn't.”
Victor continued.
“Mercer's also taken control of two shipping companies and frozen several Whitmore accounts.”
Grant's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A smooth male voice filled the room.
“Grant Whitmore. Finally.”
Grant's eyes hardened.
“Mercer.”
“Your father was smarter than you. He knew when to surrender.”
“What do you want?”
“The Brooks evidence.”
“Come get it.”
Mercer laughed.
“Oh, I intend to.”
Then his voice changed.
“But first, perhaps Emily would like to hear something.”
A familiar voice screamed in the background.
“Emily!”
My blood turned to ice.
“Rachel?”
Mercer chuckled.
“Your sister says hello.”
I lunged for the phone.
“Where is she?”
“Relax, Miss Brooks. Her children are safe. For now.”
Grant gripped the phone.
“If you hurt her—”
“You'll do what, Grant? Threaten me with an empire I already own?”
May you like
Then Mercer delivered his demand.
“Bring Emily and the ledger to the Black Orchid before midnight, or her sister dies.”
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