Chapter 7 - THE SECOND PERSON
Ryan spent the next morning at Whitmore Holdings.
He had avoided the office since Oliver’s hospitalization.
Now he walked through the lobby feeling as though every face might be hiding something.
His chief financial officer, Daniel Price, met him upstairs.
“You look terrible.”
“My son nearly stopped breathing.”
Daniel’s expression softened.
“I heard.
I’m sorry.”
Ryan closed the office door.
“Do you know Martin Crowe?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Your mother’s security guy?”
“He was paid through this company.”
“That’s impossible.”
Ryan threw a printout onto the desk.
“Then explain it.”
Three payments.
Each labeled CONSULTING SERVICES.
Each approved by an executive account.
Daniel studied them.
“That account belongs to the chairman’s office.”
Ryan went still.
His father was chairman.
“No.”
Daniel turned the page.
“But your father hasn’t personally authorized expenses in almost two years.”
“Who has access?”
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“Your mother.”
Ryan stared at him.
“And?”
A pause.
“Your brother.”
Ryan’s jaw tightened.
“Andrew?”
Andrew Whitmore was Ryan’s older half brother.
Charming.
Expensive.
Always smiling.
And permanently angry that Ryan had been chosen to become CEO.
Ryan called him.
No answer.
He drove to Andrew’s penthouse.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, drawers were open.
Closets empty.
Ryan’s pulse quickened.
Then he heard movement.
He turned.
Andrew stepped from the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?”
Ryan stared at him.
“Where are you going?”
Andrew glanced at the suitcases.
“Vacation.”
“During a family criminal investigation?”
Andrew smiled thinly.
“You always were dramatic.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“Did you pay Crowe?”
Andrew’s smile disappeared.
“What?”
“Did you help Mom set up Maya?”
Andrew laughed.
But his eyes didn’t.
“Why would I care about your wife?”
“Because if Maya is declared unstable and I’m pulled into a custody fight, the board questions my judgment.”
Andrew said nothing.
Ryan’s stomach turned.
“You wanted my job.”
“I deserved your job.”
There it was.
Ryan stared at him.
Andrew stepped closer.
“Do you know what it’s like watching Dad hand everything to you?”
“This is about the company?”
“It’s always about the company.”
Ryan shook his head.
“You nearly killed my son.”
Andrew’s face tightened.
“No.”
Ryan stepped forward.
“You took his inhaler.”
“I never touched Oliver.”
“But you knew?”
Andrew’s silence answered him.
Ryan grabbed his shirt.
“You knew she was going after Maya?”
Andrew shoved him away.
“I knew she wanted custody leverage.
That’s it.”
“Custody leverage?”
“I didn’t know she would take medication from a sick kid!”
Ryan stared into his brother’s face.
Andrew looked frightened now.
Real fear.
Then he said something Ryan didn’t expect.
“You think Mom is doing this for me?”
Ryan frowned.
“She isn’t.”
Andrew backed toward the window.
“She promised me your job, sure.
But that isn’t what she really wants.”
“Then what?”
Andrew swallowed.
“She wants Oliver.”
Ryan felt cold.
“Why?”
May you like
Andrew looked at him.
“Because Oliver is the only person who can unlock the Whitmore trust.”
