Chapter 6 - The Brother Who StayedNathan Hartwell had always considered himself the responsible son.
He was four years older than James.
When they were children, Nathan polished his shoes before school, memorized the names of important guests, and stood beside their father during business dinners.
James climbed trees, rescued injured animals, and spent his summers working on his grandfather's fishing boat.
By eighteen, Nathan was attending prestigious business programs.
By twenty-two, James had joined the Army.
Their father never understood that decision.
“You're walking away from everything we've built,” Robert Hartwell had told him.
James remembered answering, “Maybe I want to build something of my own.”
Robert had not spoken to him for two weeks.
Nathan never forgot that exchange.
Now, almost twenty years later, Nathan sat behind their father's mahogany desk in the executive offices of Hartwell Development Holdings.
The desk was spotless.
The walls displayed photographs of apartment buildings, construction sites, ribbon-cutting ceremonies, and smiling politicians.
Lucas Dane, the company's chief financial officer, stood across from him.
“The closing attorney won't release the transaction,” Lucas said.
Nathan stared at his computer screen.
“I know.”
“They want independent confirmation of James's authorization.”
“We have the consent.”
“They're questioning the signature.”
Nathan looked up.
“Whose side are you on?”
Lucas hesitated.
“I'm trying to protect the company.”
“You protect the company by doing your job.”
Lucas lowered his eyes.
Nathan leaned back.
For years, he had carried the daily burdens of the business.
He had negotiated loans, paid employees, managed contractors, and endured their father's relentless criticism.
James sent birthday cards from overseas.
James arrived home with medals.
James was welcomed like a hero.
And somehow, James had received the same thirty-five percent ownership stake Nathan held.
Nathan found that injustice unbearable.
“He wasn't here,” Nathan said quietly.
Lucas looked confused.
“Who?”
“My brother. He wasn't here when the banks threatened foreclosure. He wasn't here when payroll was due. He wasn't here when Dad got sick.”
Lucas said nothing.
Nathan turned toward the window.
“He gets to arrive with a duffel bag and tell me how to run my business?”
“The shares are legally his.”
Nathan slammed his hand against the desk.
“I know what the shares are!”
Lucas flinched.
The room fell silent.
Finally, Nathan asked, “Did you finish reviewing the reserve-account reconciliation?”
Lucas's face changed.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Some of the transfers are difficult to categorize.”
Nathan watched him.
“How difficult?”
“There are payments to Mason Ridge Advisory that don't have corresponding environmental reports.”
“Consulting fees.”
“Several million dollars?”
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
“Be careful, Lucas.”
Lucas slowly closed his folder.
“I've been careful for twenty-five years.”
Nathan rose.
“Then don't stop now.”
After Lucas left, Nathan opened a locked desk drawer.
Inside was a photograph of himself and James as children.
Nathan had been thirteen.
James had been nine.
They stood beside their father on the porch of Hartwell House.
Robert had one hand on James's shoulder.
Nathan stood alone.
He had always hated that photograph.
His phone buzzed.
Brooke.
He answered.
“What?”
“Detective Reyes called again.”
Nathan's expression hardened.
“What did you tell her?”
“That I would speak to my attorney.”
“Good.”
“Nathan, I can't keep doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“Pretending nothing happened.”
Nathan rose from his chair.
“Don't start.”
“He was screaming.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Brooke.”
“I could hear him through the door.”
“Stop.”
“You told me he'd stay there ten minutes.”
Nathan's silence was immediate.
Brooke began crying.
“I thought somebody would let him out before the guests noticed.”
“You need to calm down.”
“What if that dog hadn't found him?”
Nathan gripped the desk.
“Listen to me carefully. You did what you were told because we needed to keep him away from those documents.”
“He's a child.”
“And he took something that could destroy this family.”
Brooke whispered, “Maybe this family deserves to be destroyed.”
Nathan ended the call.
For several minutes, he remained motionless.
Then he opened a secure storage application on his computer.
A scanned copy of James's signature appeared.
Below it were several draft shareholder resolutions.
One carried an earlier date.
One carried an incorrect middle initial.
A third was the final version.
Nathan selected the files.
He moved them into a folder marked for deletion.
Then he hesitated.
His father had once told him never to destroy a document unless he knew who might possess a copy.
Nathan looked toward the locked cabinet across the room.
Inside was a red accounting binder.
May you like
Its contents were far more dangerous than the forged signature.
And somewhere outside Hartwell House, a nine-year-old boy had seen enough to begin uncovering them.
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