Chapter 13 - The Woman Who Came to My Office With a Warning
Hannah Cole entered the conference room carrying a battered laptop and a canvas tote bag.
She looked around nervously.
Rebecca offered her water.
Julian remained near the opposite end of the table.
I sat beside my attorney.
"Thank you for coming," I said.
Hannah nodded.
"I almost didn't."
"Why?"
"Because your brother told me you destroy anyone who crosses you."
I considered that.
"What do you think?"
She glanced toward Rebecca.
"I think he says a lot of things when he's afraid."
For nearly two years, Hannah had worked as Titan's executive assistant.
She managed calendars, travel arrangements, invoice processing, and vendor communications.
She had initially believed in the company.
Nolan's technology impressed her.
The team was small but talented.
And Silas had a gift for making ambitious promises sound inevitable.
The problems began when business expenses stopped looking like business expenses.
"At first, it was lunches," she explained.
"Investor meetings?"
"That's what he called them."
Then came designer clothing.
Luxury hotel bookings.
Vehicle costs.
And transfers routed through entities with vague names that seemed disconnected from Titan's actual business.
"I raised questions," Hannah said.
"What happened?"
"Silas told me I wasn't paid to audit his lifestyle."
Julian's jaw tightened.
Hannah opened her laptop.
"Then I saw the guarantee document."
She turned the screen toward us.
There was my name.
My address.
My signature.
The signature I'd never placed there.
"I knew something was wrong because Silas asked me to find an older document with your signed approval."
My stomach tightened.
"Which one?"
"The Porsche financing paperwork."
I looked at Rebecca.
She made a note.
Hannah continued.
"He said the investors needed a cleaner version of the personal support letter."
"Did you prepare it?"
"No. I sent him the old document because I thought he needed it for reference. Later, I saw a new guarantee in the company folder."
Her voice trembled.
"I should have asked more questions."
Rebecca leaned forward.
"Did you alter the signature?"
"No."
"Do you know who did?"
"I don't. But I have messages showing Silas requested the original document."
That distinction mattered.
We needed evidence, not assumptions.
Hannah showed us correspondence involving another company.
W.M. Property Holdings.
I recognized the initials immediately.
Walter Mercer.
My father.
According to the records, Silas had included a planned transfer to W.M. Property Holdings in a private internal allocation schedule.
The amount was substantial.
Enough to cover multiple outstanding property-related obligations.
I stared at the spreadsheet.
"What is this?"
Hannah hesitated.
"Silas said it was a strategic real estate arrangement."
Julian frowned.
"Titan is a logistics software company."
"I know."
"Why would seed capital be allocated to a family property entity?"
Hannah's eyes moved toward me.
"Because your father was expecting money from the investment."
I leaned back.
For years, my father had portrayed himself as a passive observer.
The quiet parent.
The one who didn't interfere.
The man who watched disagreements unfold and preferred not to choose sides.
But according to Hannah's records, he had been privately discussing the investment proceeds with Silas.
He wasn't merely hoping his younger son would buy him a house.
He had been included in financial plans before the deal was finalized.
"How much did my father know?" I asked.
"I can't tell you everything. But I can show you the emails."
She opened another folder.
One message stopped me cold.
From Walter Mercer to Silas:
Once Apex releases the capital, clear the property exposure first. Gideon doesn't need to know how bad things are. He'll only make it complicated.
I read the sentence several times.
Property exposure.
How bad things are.
My father had been hiding more than pride.
Rebecca asked Hannah to preserve the original files and arranged for secure transfer through the appropriate legal channels.
We thanked her.
Before leaving, she stopped beside me.
"Mr. Mercer?"
"Gideon is fine."
She swallowed.
"I met Felix once. At Titan's office Christmas party last year."
I remembered.
Felix had spent most of that afternoon drawing dinosaurs on a whiteboard.
"He gave me a cookie," Hannah continued. "He said everyone deserved a Christmas present, even if they forgot to bring one."
I smiled faintly.
"That sounds like him."
Her eyes filled.
"I'm sorry your family treated him that way."
After she left, I remained in the conference room.
Julian placed the financial schedule in front of me.
My father's name stared back from the page.
I had grown up believing Silas was spoiled because my parents loved him too much.
Now I was beginning to wonder whether their favoritism had eventually become something far more practical.
Silas wasn't simply their golden child.
May you like
He was their next financial plan.
And they had intended to use Titan's investment to escape a crisis they were deliberately hiding from me.
Related Stories
