Chapter 12 - Charles's Last Bargain
Claire entered the interview room without fear.
Charles looked smaller without his tailored suit and private security.
But his eyes remained sharp.
“You ruined my son.”
Claire sat.
“No. You did.”
Charles smiled.
“You think love makes you powerful.”
“No.”
Claire leaned forward.
“I think controlling people because you’re afraid of losing them makes you weak.”
That struck him.
Charles revealed the missing money had not been stolen for personal wealth.
It funded a network of shell companies designed to manipulate Mercer stock.
If exposed, thousands of employees could lose pensions and jobs.
Claire understood his strategy.
He wanted Drew to bury the truth to protect innocent workers.
Charles believed that would prove Drew was ultimately like him.
Claire returned home.
Drew listened.
Then made his decision.
They would expose everything.
But first, they would create a fund protecting employee pensions using Drew’s personal holdings.
He would sacrifice most of his fortune.
Claire stared.
“You could lose almost everything.”
Drew smiled.
“I started with almost nothing.”
She remembered their apartment.
Burned toast.
Bad pasta.
A courthouse wedding.
“You were happier then.”
“So were you.”
They kissed.
For the first time, Claire began imagining a future instead of protecting herself from one.
But that evening Evelyn arrived.
She had found another document.
May you like
A birth certificate.
And the name on it threatened to change the Mercer family forever.
