Chapter 9 - SCOTT VALE’S REAL FATHER
Arthur Marchand was Scott Vale’s biological father.
Not Richard.
Another family secret.
Another false birth story.
I did not meet him alone.
Priya joined remotely.
French counsel sat beside me.
Hotel security waited outside.
Arthur entered with a cane and no visible fear.
He looked at me for a long moment.
“You have Robert’s eyes.”
“I’ve heard enough family observations this week.”
He almost smiled.
“Fair.”
“Scott is your son?”
“Yes.”
“Does Scott know?”
“Yes.”
“Does Lorraine?”
“Yes.”
“Did Richard Vale know?”
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
Lorraine had been with Richard as a teenager.
Then apparently had an affair with Arthur?
Timeline.
Scott was born before she married Robert Hollis.
But who was the father?
Richard believed Scott was his.
Arthur claimed otherwise.
“Proof?”
Arthur placed DNA results on the table.
Scott and Arthur.
Parentage probability.
99.99%.
I stared.
“Why was Richard listed?”
“To protect Lorraine.”
“From what?”
“Me.”
I laughed.
“At least you’re honest.”
“Sometimes.”
“Why?”
Arthur’s face hardened.
“My family did not approve of her.”
“So you let another man raise your son?”
“Richard loved her.”
“That does not answer.”
“No.”
Arthur looked down.
“I was a coward.”
Apparently cowardice was hereditary among men connected to me.
“What happened to Richard?”
Arthur’s expression changed.
“He discovered Scott was mine.”
“How?”
“Letters.”
“And?”
“He confronted me at the Sacramento warehouse.”
“My father’s property.”
“Yes.”
“Was Dad there?”
“Yes.”
My pulse quickened.
“What happened?”
“Richard hit me.”
Arthur touched the side of his jaw as if remembering.
“Robert separated us.”
“And the collapse?”
“An accident.”
I stared.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
“What caused it?”
“Structural failure.”
“Was there negligence?”
“Yes.”
“Whose?”
Arthur looked away.
“Mine.”
Silence.
“You owned the contractor.”
“Yes.”
“Dad covered for you.”
“Yes.”
There.
Lorraine’s claim had truth inside it.
“My father protected you after your negligence killed Richard Vale.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because exposing me would have destroyed Bennett Commercial too.”
I felt sick.
Dad.
The man whose memory I had treated like moral ground.
He covered up negligence.
Maybe not murder.
But a death.
“Did Lorraine know?”
“She knew enough.”
“Scott?”
“He learned later.”
“How?”
“I told him.”
“Why?”
“Because he deserved to know who his father was.”
I laughed bitterly.
“After how many years?”
“Thirty-one.”
“Generous.”
Arthur absorbed it.
“Scott did not react well.”
“So he blamed my family.”
“Yes.”
“Then he researched me.”
“Yes.”
“Planned to marry me.”
Arthur hesitated.
“That was Lorraine’s idea.”
I stared.
“Lorraine wanted Scott to marry me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed combining Scott with a Bennett heir would restore what Richard lost.”
“That is insane.”
“Yes.”
“Did you support it?”
“No.”
“Then why did you help fund my consulting office?”
“Guilt.”
I almost laughed.
“Your family has very expensive forms of guilt.”
Arthur smiled sadly.
“True.”
“Did Mark know you were Scott’s father?”
“No.”
“Lorraine says Mark ruined the plan by falling in love with me.”
“That appears true.”
I hated hearing it from another source.
Maybe Mark had actually betrayed Scott for me.
Then later betrayed me anyway.
People were capable of both.
“Why are you meeting Lorraine now?”
Arthur leaned back.
“Because Scott has become dangerous.”
“How dangerous?”
“He forged your guarantee.”
“I know.”
“Created the French company.”
“I know.”
“Moved money through Monaco.”
“I know.”
“He is trying to trigger the Sacramento reversion clause.”
“I know.”
Arthur’s face changed.
“You know more than Lorraine said.”
“Why does he need the clause?”
“To force a sale.”
“To who?”
“NorthStar Freight Systems.”
The logistics company planning near the rail corridor.
“How much?”
“If the route is confirmed?”
He hesitated.
“One hundred forty million.”
I closed my eyes.
“Of course.”
Arthur continued.
“If Scott can force the partnership into distress, NorthStar acquires the land cheaply. Scott receives a fee.”
“How much?”
“Twenty million.”
“Lorraine?”
“Five.”
“Mark?”
Arthur shook his head.
“Nothing.”
That surprised me.
“He’s expendable.”
I stared.
“So the fake divorce…”
“Removes him from you.”
“The forged house deed?”
“Moves assets away before financial claims explode.”
“The Hawaii trip?”
“Gets Mark and the family out of position while Scott creates the European structure.”
“And me?”
Arthur looked at me.
“You were supposed to discover the financial fraud.”
“What?”
“Scott expected Elena.”
My skin crawled.
“He knew I hired a forensic accountant?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Mark.”
Of course.
“Mark told Scott?”
“Months ago.”
I felt the old anger.
Arthur continued.
“Scott wanted you to freeze accounts.”
“Why?”
“To trigger defaults.”
The business credit line.
The villa.
Cedar Crest? No different story. Here credit line.
“Defaults create distress.”
“Yes.”
“And distress helps force asset sales.”
“Yes.”
I stared.
My response had been anticipated.
Just like Europe.
Just like the fake documents.
I was not escaping the plan.
I was moving through it.
“Why tell me?”
Arthur looked tired.
“Because Scott threatened Lorraine.”
I almost laughed.
“That bothers you now?”
“She is still his mother.”
“And what am I?”
“The woman he underestimated.”
That sounded like a line from a bad movie.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“Scott.”
He answered.
“Where are you?”
I heard Scott’s voice faintly.
Arthur put it on speaker.
Scott laughed.
“Dad.”
I stared.
He knew.
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“Leave Claire alone.”
“No.”
“Your fight is with me.”
“No.”
“My fight was with you.”
Past tense.
Arthur went still.
Scott continued:
“Claire is business.”
I felt cold.
Then:
“And Mark?”
Scott laughed again.
“Mark was useful.”
My husband.
His half-brother.
Used.
“Where is Lorraine?” Arthur asked.
Pause.
“With me.”
I sat forward.
Scott continued.
“Tell Claire to check her hotel safe.”
My eyes moved across the room.
I had used the safe for my passport copy and jewelry.
Nothing else.
Security opened it.
Inside was an envelope.
It had not been there that morning.
My name.
Handwritten.
I opened it.
A legal document.
SALE AUTHORIZATION - BENNETT COMMERCIAL HOLDINGS.
My forged signature.
Again.
But this one had something worse.
A real witness signature.
MARK HOLLIS.
My husband.
Dated yesterday.
I stopped breathing.
Arthur stared.
May you like
Scott’s voice came through the phone.
“Ask Mark how much he got for finally choosing his real family.”
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