Chapter 5 - The Man Behind the Lie
Daniel attended the emergency board meeting at three that afternoon.
Victor sat at the far end of the polished walnut table as if nothing had happened.
Sixty-two now, silver-haired and impeccably dressed, Victor Mercer possessed the kind of calm that made other people doubt their own suspicions.
He smiled when Daniel entered.
"Nephew."
"Uncle."
Six directors watched them.
Victor folded his hands.
"I understand you've had an emotional few days."
Daniel sat opposite him.
"Have I?"
"Apparently someone claiming to be Claire has surfaced."
Someone claiming.
Daniel noticed the wording.
"So you heard."
"People talk."
"Fast."
Victor's smile didn't move.
"I've always maintained good relationships."
Daniel looked around the room.
"Then let's save everyone some time. The woman is Claire."
A director gasped.
Victor lowered his eyes as though disappointed.
"Daniel—"
"I had DNA testing ordered this morning."
That was a lie.
Not because Daniel doubted Claire.
Because he wanted to watch Victor react.
For the first time, the older man's fingers tightened.
Barely.
But Daniel saw it.
"The results should be interesting," Victor said.
"They will."
"Trauma can make people vulnerable to manipulation."
"You mean like making an eleven-year-old believe his sister stole millions before killing herself?"
Silence.
Victor's eyes hardened.
"Be careful."
Daniel smiled.
"There he is."
Several directors exchanged glances.
Victor leaned back.
"What exactly are you accusing me of?"
"Nothing."
"Not yet?"
"Not yet."
Victor's face remained controlled.
The meeting continued.
Victor presented concerns about Daniel's use of corporate security, his canceled meetings, and supposed erratic decision-making.
Daniel let him speak.
Because every minute Victor spent building the case against him revealed how frightened he was.
Afterward, as directors filed out, Victor approached Daniel.
"Walk with me."
"No."
Victor's smile vanished.
"You think Claire came back because she loves you?"
Daniel turned.
"Don't."
"She ran once."
"Because you threatened her."
For the first time, Victor stopped pretending.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
"Is that what she told you?"
"Yes."
"And you believe her?"
"I believe the fact that you knew Elise existed."
Victor stepped closer.
"You have no idea what your sister did."
"Then explain it."
"Not here."
"Midnight?"
Victor's expression didn't change.
Daniel's pulse quickened.
"So it was you."
Victor glanced toward a security camera.
"Careful, Daniel. People might think you're becoming paranoid."
Then he walked away.
At 11:40 that night, Daniel entered Mercer Tower through the underground garage.
He had promised Claire he wouldn't go.
Technically, he hadn't promised to go alone.
Rebecca sat in an unmarked car across the street.
Two private security agents monitored the lobby.
Daniel wore a small microphone beneath his shirt.
At midnight, the elevator opened on the forty-second floor.
Victor's old executive office.
The lights were off except for one desk lamp.
Daniel entered.
"Victor?"
A voice came from the shadows.
"Close the door."
Daniel did.
Victor stepped into the light.
"You brought security."
Daniel shrugged.
"You taught me never to enter a negotiation without leverage."
"This isn't a negotiation."
"Then why am I here?"
Victor walked toward the windows.
"Your sister should have stayed dead."
Daniel's fists tightened.
"Say that again."
Victor turned.
"I didn't kill her."
"But you wanted everyone to think she was dead."
"She made that choice."
"Because you threatened me."
Victor said nothing.
There.
Not denial.
Silence.
Daniel moved closer.
"Why?"
"Because Claire found things she didn't understand."
"Four hundred eighty million dollars?"
Victor's eyes sharpened.
"Rebecca works quickly."
Daniel's stomach tightened.
Victor shouldn't know Rebecca was investigating.
Someone inside Daniel's team was reporting to him.
"Hawthorne started with family money," Daniel said.
"Business is more complicated than your sister understood."
"Forgery isn't."
Victor laughed softly.
"You think your father was innocent?"
Daniel stopped.
Victor had finally found the knife.
"What does Dad have to do with it?"
"Everything."
According to Victor, Arthur Mercer knew about Hawthorne.
Not only knew.
Participated.
The money Claire discovered had been part of a secret slush fund used to bribe officials during Mercer's expansion.
Daniel refused to believe it.
Victor smiled.
"Your father was not the saint you created after his death."
"You're lying."
"Ask Claire why she never told you."
Daniel's expression shifted.
Victor noticed.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"She left that part out."
Daniel hated him for seeing uncertainty.
Victor stepped closer.
"The evidence Claire stole doesn't simply destroy me. It destroys the Mercer name. Your hotels. Your foundation. Everything."
"Then why do you want it?"
"Because some mistakes should stay buried."
"You threatened an eleven-year-old child."
"I protected this family."
"You destroyed it."
Victor's calm finally cracked.
"I built what your father was too weak to finish!"
The words echoed.
Daniel heard Rebecca's voice faintly through his earpiece.
We got it.
Not a confession.
But close.
Daniel turned toward the door.
Victor said, "You still don't understand."
Daniel stopped.
"Understand what?"
"The documents your sister hid were copies."
Daniel looked back.
"The originals disappeared before she left."
"Detective Reed mentioned a second copy."
Victor's face changed.
This was new information to him.
Daniel realized his mistake immediately.
Victor had not known.
Now he did.
"What second copy?"
Daniel smiled despite himself.
"You really don't know."
Victor advanced.
"Where is it?"
"No idea."
"Daniel."
"Good night."
Victor grabbed his arm.
Daniel turned.
The two men stared at each other.
Victor released him.
"Find it before Claire does."
"Why?"
"Because she doesn't know the whole story."
"And you do?"
Victor lowered his voice.
"Your mother did."
Daniel froze.
Margaret Mercer had died three years before Claire disappeared.
"What does Mom have to do with this?"
Victor's eyes held his.
"Ask yourself why the recipe book mattered so much."
Daniel left.
Outside, Rebecca met him in the car.
"We have enough recording to make him nervous."
"Not enough for police."
"No."
Daniel stared at the tower.
"Check everything involving my mother and Hawthorne Holdings."
Rebecca nodded.
Then her phone rang.
She answered.
Her face changed.
"What?"
She listened.
"Okay. Don't touch anything. We're coming."
Daniel turned.
"What happened?"
Rebecca looked at him.
"Someone broke into Claire's house."
"Was anyone there?"
"No."
"What did they take?"
Rebecca hesitated.
"Nothing, apparently."
Daniel understood before she finished.
"They weren't stealing."
"No."
They were searching.
And whoever had entered Claire's home hadn't been looking for money.
May you like
They were looking for a twenty-four-year-old secret hidden somewhere inside the memories of a dead woman.
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