Chapter 8 - THE DEAD HOLLOWAY BROTHER
Thomas Holloway died in an avalanche.
Officially.
Body recovered?
No.
Grant inherited control soon afterward.
Now someone using his credentials approved drilling crews last year.
Fraud?
Maybe.
Then Nathaniel said:
“He’s alive.”
I stared.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Since when?”
“Two years.”
I almost threw my coffee at him.
“Why does everyone in this world treat major facts like optional conversation?”
He accepted that.
Thomas Holloway had disappeared after discovering Grant planned to sell certain timber assets.
He feared retaliation.
According to Nathaniel, Thomas went underground.
No proof.
Then Thomas contacted me directly.
Email:
Your mother saved my life once. I owe you the truth.
I did not reply alone.
Rebecca handled contact.
Video meeting.
Thomas appeared older.
Beard.
Scar.
Alive.
He explained.
Seven years earlier, he discovered Grant’s uncle had manipulated old land records.
Same issue.
When Thomas confronted Grant, Grant denied knowledge.
Then someone sabotaged Thomas’s snowmobile before a backcountry trip.
He survived.
Another rider died in the avalanche triggered nearby.
Authorities assumed Thomas was victim.
He let them.
Why?
Fear.
Then he spent years collecting evidence.
Last year, he secretly returned using old credentials to approve drilling.
Why would he do that?
“To force the old agreement to activate.”
I stared.
He intentionally triggered the penalty clause.
“Why?”
“Because Grant would never reveal the land structure voluntarily.”
That was reckless.
Potentially illegal.
But strategic.
Then Thomas admitted he had been sending anonymous information to Nathaniel.
Not working for him.
Using him.
Again, everyone used everyone.
Then:
“Did you search my apartment?”
“No.”
“Who did?”
Thomas believed Cross security.
Madeline’s father.
Why?
Cross needed the ledger destroyed before financing.
Then Thomas said:
“Daniel knew more than he admitted.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“He knew the mining alliance required neutralizing the Hayes claim.”
No.
Daniel said he knew only about the ledger.
Thomas produced a voice recording.
Grant and Daniel.
Grant:
She cannot appear connected to Reeves after midnight.
Daniel:
I know.
Grant:
The room must believe you chose Cross before anything surfaces.
Daniel:
What happens to her job?
Grant:
That depends on whether she cooperates.
Silence.
Then Daniel:
She doesn’t know anything.
Grant:
Keep it that way.
I closed my eyes.
Daniel had known my employment might be threatened.
He still walked past me.
Still knelt.
Still let them laugh.
That was the final piece.
Not cowardice in one moment.
Participation.
Then Thomas added:
“Mercer knew the gala might be used against you.”
I turned toward Nathaniel.
His face changed.
“How much did you know?”
He had arrived late.
But maybe not accidentally.
Nathaniel answered:
“Enough to know Grant planned a public alliance announcement involving Daniel.”
“And me?”
“No.”
Thomas interrupted:
“You knew Eleanor Hayes’s daughter worked payroll.”
Nathaniel went silent.
May you like
There.
He did.
