Chapter 3 - THE DEAD WOMAN’S LETTER
The letter was hidden behind a painting.
That was Logan’s second mistake.
His first had been bringing Grace into the mansion.
Marcus found the envelope inside a wall safe twelve minutes later.
Logan watched helplessly while the security team searched the property under Ethan’s authority as Grace’s emergency protection detail.
“You can’t open that,” Logan snapped.
Ethan held the envelope.
Laura’s handwriting was on the front.
ETHAN.
His knees almost weakened.
Eleven years disappeared in a second.
He knew that handwriting.
The slight left slant.
The way she crossed her T.
The tiny loop at the end of his name.
Grace stepped beside him.
“That’s Mom’s?”
“Yes.”
His voice cracked.
Grace had rarely heard that happen.
Ethan opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
He read.
Then read it again.
Grace watched his expression change.
“What does it say?”
Ethan did not answer.
“Dad.”
He handed her the page.
Grace read aloud.
“Ethan, if you’re reading this, something happened before I could tell you myself.”
She stopped.
Her hands shook.
Ethan gently took the page back.
“I found something in Mercer Global’s accounts. Payments routed through shell companies. Some of the names are familiar. Some are people you work with. I don’t know how deep this goes.”
Marcus looked at Ethan.
“Mercer Global?”
Ethan continued.
“If anything happens to me, do not trust the official story. Protect Grace. And don’t trust Raymond Mercer.”
Grace looked toward Logan.
“Your father.”
Logan said nothing.
Raymond Mercer was one of the richest real estate developers on the East Coast.
He owned hotels.
Office towers.
Private aircraft.
Politicians attended his fundraisers.
Police commissioners shook his hand at charity dinners.
And Ethan had once believed Raymond was his friend.
Marcus spoke quietly.
“Laura worked for Mercer Global.”
Grace looked at him.
“You knew?”
“She was a forensic accountant.”
Ethan folded the letter.
“She was investigating them.”
Grace stared at him.
“You told me Mom worked in finance.”
“She did.”
“You never told me she investigated crimes.”
“I didn’t know until after she died.”
“That’s a lie.”
Ethan flinched.
Grace’s eyes filled.
“You knew there was something wrong.”
“I suspected.”
“And you never told me?”
“You were eleven years old.”
“I’m not eleven anymore.”
“I know.”
“Then stop protecting me with lies!”
Her voice echoed through the room.
Ethan absorbed it.
He deserved that.
Before he could answer, Dana called from across the room.
“Ethan.”
She was holding a small laptop connected to Grace’s damaged phone.
“Got something.”
Everyone moved toward her.
“The local storage is corrupted,” Dana said, “but Grace had cloud backup running.”
Grace blinked.
“I did?”
“Apparently.”
Logan cursed under his breath.
Dana clicked a file.
Audio filled the room.
Logan’s voice.
“You think your mother died because of bad brakes?”
Grace’s recorded voice answered.
“What are you talking about?”
“You really don’t know, do you?”
Then Tyler’s voice.
“Logan, stop.”
Logan again.
“My dad took care of it. Just like he took care of every other problem.”
Ethan stared at Logan.
The recording continued.
Grace: “You’re saying your father killed my mother?”
Logan: “I’m saying people who threaten my family have accidents.”
Silence.
Then the sound of Grace standing.
Then Logan shouting.
Then impact.
The recording became chaotic.
Ethan reached for the laptop.
Dana stopped him.
“Wait.”
There was more.
A different voice entered the recording.
Older.
Controlled.
Coming through a speakerphone.
Raymond Mercer.
“Logan, what have you done?”
Logan’s recorded voice cracked.
“She knows.”
Raymond answered.
“Then keep her there.”
Grace covered her mouth.
Ethan went completely still.
The recording ended with one final sentence from Raymond Mercer.
“I’ll handle her father.”
At that exact moment, Marcus’s radio crackled.
“Sir, we have movement outside.”
Ethan looked toward the windows.
“How many?”
The answer came fast.
“Twenty vehicles.”
Marcus reached for his sidearm.
“Mercer’s people?”
The radio voice responded.
“No, sir.”
A beat.
May you like
“Police.”
And then the mansion was flooded with red and blue lights.
