Chapter 7 - THE PLAN FOR NATHAN’S DEATH
Nathan stared at the copy of the document Daniel placed before him.
“It’s fake.”
Daniel nodded.
“The signature is remarkably good.”
“I never signed this.”
“I know.”
Nathan looked at the beneficiary section.
Almost everything transferred to a private family foundation.
The foundation’s controlling trustee was Victoria Whitmore.
Nathan laughed quietly.
“They planned to marry me.”
“Then kill me.”
Daniel did not disagree.
Grace stood beside the window.
“What happens to the Cole Trust if Nathan dies?”
Daniel turned pages.
“Under this forged will, Victoria would claim she was Lily’s legal mother.”
“Because of the altered birth certificate.”
“Yes.”
Grace looked sick.
“She would control Lily’s interest.”
Nathan’s voice became cold.
“And therefore the Whitmore voting shares.”
Daniel nodded.
“It is an elegant structure.”
Grace looked at him sharply.
Daniel corrected himself.
“Legally elegant.”
“Morally monstrous.”
Nathan walked toward the fireplace.
“So Charles’s plan was to make Victoria my wife.”
“Use Lily’s forged birth record.”
“Then remove me.”
Daniel nodded.
“That is what the evidence suggests.”
Grace stared at Nathan.
“When?”
Nathan looked back at the document.
“The will was dated three days from now.”
Daniel answered.
“And your wedding rehearsal dinner is in two days.”
The room fell silent.
Nathan and Victoria had been scheduled to marry Saturday.
Hundreds of guests.
Politicians.
Business leaders.
Judges.
Investors.
Charles had insisted on hosting the rehearsal at the Whitmore estate.
Nathan suddenly remembered something.
“Charles chose the catering company.”
Daniel frowned.
“So?”
“He also chose the bartender.”
Grace’s face changed.
Daniel reached for his phone.
“We need to give that to investigators.”
Nathan nodded.
He looked at Grace.
“I want you and Lily out of the house.”
Grace immediately shook her head.
“Nathan.”
“I mean somewhere secured by federal agents.”
“That’s not running.”
“That’s surviving.”
Grace looked toward Lily.
She finally nodded.
“Only if you come too.”
Nathan gave her a faint smile.
“I have some things to do.”
“No.”
“Grace.”
“No.”
“You keep treating yourself like you are the only person Charles is trying to destroy.”
Nathan stopped.
Grace’s voice lowered.
“Lily needs you.”
“I need you alive.”
The last sentence escaped before she could stop it.
Their eyes met.
Five years vanished for one dangerous second.
Nathan looked away first.
“I’ll be careful.”
Grace almost laughed.
“That is exactly what reckless men say before doing something stupid.”
Nathan smiled despite himself.
“I forgot you did that.”
“Did what?”
“Insulted me while sounding completely reasonable.”
Grace’s expression softened.
“You forgot a lot.”
The moment broke when Lily entered carrying two drawings.
One showed three stick figures.
A tall man.
A woman.
A small girl between them.
Nathan stared at it.
Lily handed it to him.
“That’s us.”
Nathan’s throat tightened.
Grace looked at the picture and nearly cried.
Lily pointed to the man.
“You need hair.”
Nathan laughed.
“I have hair.”
“Not in the picture.”
Nathan crouched.
“Can I fix that?”
Lily gave him a crayon.
Nathan added several ridiculous lines to the stick figure’s head.
Lily giggled.
It was the first time Nathan had heard her laugh.
He looked at Grace.
Grace’s eyes were wet.
Then Lily pointed toward the second drawing.
It showed a large black square.
A woman in white.
A man beside her.
Nathan frowned.
“What’s this?”
“The bad room.”
Grace froze.
“What bad room?”
Lily pointed to the man.
“He came to Grandma Victoria’s room.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Before yesterday?”
Lily nodded.
Grace crouched quickly.
“When?”
“When you were cleaning?”
Lily shook her head.
“Before.”
Nathan felt cold.
“You’ve been in this house before?”
Lily looked confused.
“Grandma Victoria brought me.”
Grace stared at her daughter.
“What?”
Lily repeated.
“She said Mommy was busy.”
Grace went pale.
“I never let Victoria take her.”
Nathan looked at Lily.
“Where did she take you?”
Lily pointed toward the drawing.
“The downstairs room.”
Nathan’s estate had a lower level.
Wine storage.
Gym.
Mechanical rooms.
And an old safe room installed by the previous owner.
Nathan stood abruptly.
“Show me.”
Grace tried to object.
Nathan shook his head.
“We’re all going.”
Lily held Grace’s hand as they descended.
She stopped outside a gray utility door beside the wine cellar.
“That one.”
Nathan opened it.
The room beyond was empty.
Except for a child-sized chair.
A camera tripod.
And a white backdrop.
Grace covered her mouth.
Nathan walked inside.
On a metal shelf sat a folder.
He opened it.
Inside were photographs of Lily.
Different clothes.
Different hairstyles.
Different dates.
In several photographs, Lily wore expensive dresses Grace had never seen.
One image showed Victoria holding her.
Another showed Lily sitting beside Charles.
Grace began trembling.
“What were they doing?”
Nathan turned over a photograph.
A handwritten note read.
PUBLIC FAMILY IMAGE TEST - SUBJECT RESPONDS WELL.
Nathan felt rage rise in his chest.
They had not merely watched Lily.
They had been preparing her.
Grace whispered.
“For what?”
Nathan looked at the photographs.
“To replace you.”
Grace stared at him.
“They were building a story.”
“A story where Victoria had always been Lily’s mother.”
Grace nearly collapsed.
Nathan caught her by the elbows.
This time she did not flinch.
For a moment they stood frozen.
Then Lily pointed toward the corner.
“There.”
Nathan followed her finger.
A tiny blinking light was hidden behind a vent.
The room was still being recorded.
Nathan immediately covered the camera.
A speaker crackled overhead.
Charles Whitmore’s voice filled the room.
“Well done, Nathan.”
Grace grabbed Lily.
Nathan stared at the ceiling.
Charles continued.
“I hoped it would take you longer.”
Nathan spoke calmly.
“Where are you?”
Charles laughed.
“You are still asking the wrong questions.”
Nathan looked around.
“What is the right question?”
Charles answered.
“How much are you willing to lose to keep Grace Bennett alive?”
The speaker went silent.
Then Nathan’s phone vibrated.
A photograph appeared.
Victoria lying in a hospital bed.
Beside her stood a man dressed as a nurse.
He held a syringe against her IV line.
Text beneath the photograph read.
TRADE THE LEDGER.
OR SHE DIES FIRST.
GRACE SECOND.
LILY LAST.
Nathan stared at the screen.
Grace whispered.
“He knows exactly where everyone is.”
Nathan looked at the hidden camera.
“No.”
His expression hardened.
May you like
“He thinks he does.”
*
