Chapter 7 - The Second MercerThe answer was buried inside corporate filings.
Thomas Mercer.
Richard’s cousin.
Daniel remembered him vaguely from childhood holidays.
Thomas had disappeared from family gatherings fifteen years earlier after an argument with Richard.
According to Samuel, Thomas had quietly served as an adviser to Harbor Ridge.
Daniel found him living outside Richmond.
Thomas opened his door and immediately said, “I wondered when you'd come.”
Inside, Daniel showed him Richard’s notebook.
Thomas looked devastated.
“I warned him.”
“About Lorraine?”
“About all of them.”
Thomas explained that Harbor Ridge had originally been legitimate.
Richard considered investing.
Lorraine pushed aggressively for it because Peter Lang promised extraordinary returns.
When costs exploded, Lorraine secretly invested more Mercer money to avoid admitting the first investment was failing.
Then she forged Richard’s approval.
“Just like mine,” Daniel said.
Thomas nodded.
Richard discovered the deception.
That destroyed the family relationship.
“Why did Dad stop speaking to you?”
“Because Lorraine told him I was blackmailing her.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
Thomas opened a cabinet.
He removed an old envelope.
“I was collecting evidence.”
Inside were copies of emails.
One was from Lorraine.
If Richard discovers the second transfer, Daniel loses everything. Fix it.
Daniel read it twice.
“Why didn't you give this to Dad?”
“I tried.”
Thomas looked ashamed.
“But Lorraine offered to repay money I'd lost personally if I stayed quiet.”
“You took it?”
“Yes.”
Daniel stood.
“You let my father believe you betrayed him.”
“I did betray him.”
Thomas didn't defend himself.
That honesty somehow made Daniel angrier.
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
Daniel walked toward the door.
Thomas called after him.
“There’s something else.”
Daniel stopped.
“Your father discovered Lorraine's plan involving your marriage before he died.”
Daniel turned.
“He knew about Maya?”
“He knew Lorraine hated that you were marrying her.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
Thomas continued.
“Richard changed the trust because of it.”
“Changed what?”
“He added Nia.”
“Nia wasn't born when I married Maya.”
“No.”
Thomas looked directly at him.
“He amended it after she was born.”
Daniel felt his anger shift.
His father had protected his granddaughter.
Quietly.
Deliberately.
“Lorraine knew?”
“Eventually.”
Daniel understood.
That was why her resentment toward Nia had intensified.
Nia wasn't simply Maya’s daughter in Lorraine’s eyes.
She was a legal obstacle Lorraine couldn't remove.
Daniel returned home after dark.
Maya was waiting.
“You need to see this.”
Mark had sent another file.
He had checked footage from a security camera mounted over his garage.
The black Mercedes had appeared on their street three times during the previous month.
On one occasion, Lorraine stepped out.
On another, Gregory Vale.
But the third recording showed someone else.
Peter Lang.
He stood outside Daniel’s house for nearly twenty minutes.
Watching.
And when he finally drove away, another figure could be seen sitting in the passenger seat.
May you like
Daniel enlarged the image.
It was Celeste Cross.
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