Chapter 11 - The Man Inside My Own House
His name was Grant Ellis.
He had protected me through threats, lawsuits, hostile deals and two kidnapping attempts abroad.
He knew my routines.
My passwords.
My vulnerabilities.
And every secret inside Protocol Black.
I called him.
He answered calmly.
“Sir.”
“Where are you?”
“Hospital command room.”
“Stay there.”
Pause.
“Of course.”
He knew.
By the time I arrived, Grant had removed his jacket and placed his phone on the table.
No resistance.
“How long?” I asked.
He looked tired.
“Three years.”
“You were working with Victor.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed you were becoming too dependent on the Holloway situation.”
I stared at him.
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“He paid me.”
There it was.
Not ideology.
Money.
“How much?”
“Two million over three years.”
“What did you give him?”
“Business movements. Some political relationships. Nothing that directly exposed Clara.”
I laughed without humor.
“You expect credit for that?”
“No.”
At least he didn’t insult me.
“Did you know Victor planned the attack?”
“No.”
I watched his eyes.
He was telling the truth or very good at lying.
“What did you know?”
“That he wanted leverage over Clara.”
“What leverage?”
Grant hesitated.
“Your files.”
My chest tightened.
Victor knew Protocol Black existed.
Not every detail.
Enough.
He planned to expose me publicly if Clara fought the inheritance battle.
That explained why Clara feared what she found.
She had somehow sensed two men were preparing to turn her life into a battlefield.
“You gave Victor access?”
“Limited metadata.”
My fists clenched.
“Was Clara’s location included?”
Grant looked down.
That was the answer.
Victor knew when Clara left our house.
Where she was going.
When she reached the Holloway estate.
My own security system helped put her in danger.
The failure was mine.
Not morally equivalent to the attackers.
But real.
I sat down.
For the first time that night, the rage disappeared completely.
What remained was shame.
Grant looked at me.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’ll tell everything.”
“Yes.”
“You’ll cooperate fully.”
“Yes.”
“And you will never work for me again.”
His face tightened.
“I understand.”
I returned to Clara.
I told her.
Everything.
No softened version.
No excuses.
She listened silently.
When I finished, she reached for my hand.
“I’m angry.”
“You should be.”
“I don’t know how long I’ll be angry.”
“I’ll wait.”
“But I don’t want you blaming yourself for their violence.”
I looked at her.
“You were tracked through my system.”
“And Victor chose what to do with that information.”
She squeezed my hand.
“Responsibility is not the same as ownership of someone else’s cruelty.”
That sentence broke something open in me.
Then the door opened.
Luke rushed inside with permission from the nurse.
His face was terrified.
“Clara.”
She stiffened.
“What?”
“Victor disappeared.”
I stood.
“Where?”
Luke shook his head.
“But he took Dad’s private plane.”
“Destination?”
“No flight plan.”
Then Luke looked at Clara.
“He also took Evelyn’s original corporate seals.”
Clara frowned.
“Why?”
Because with Evelyn’s seals, forged historical documents and enough compliant witnesses, Victor might try to manufacture an older transfer of the Mercer assets.
But Luke had one more piece of information.
“Victor didn’t leave alone.”
“Who went with him?”
May you like
Luke swallowed.
“Dad.”
