Chapter 5 - The Brother Nobody Knew
The first bullet shattered the upper glass panel.
Ethan pulled Nora to the floor.
Celeste fired back blindly, forcing Grant away from the door.
“Stop shooting!” Nora shouted.
Maya crawled beneath the desk.
Ethan grabbed the computer tower and ripped the flash drive free.
“We need another way out.”
Celeste pointed toward a narrow window above the cabinets.
“That leads into the catering storage room.”
Ethan climbed onto the counter and forced the window open.
Maya went first.
Then Celeste.
Nora tried to climb, but a sharp cramp tightened across her stomach.
She froze.
Ethan saw her face.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is it the baby?”
“Just help me.”
He lifted her carefully.
For one second, his hand rested against her back the way it had every morning during her pregnancy.
The familiarity made her want to scream.
Instead, she climbed through the window.
They landed among stacks of tablecloths and serving trays.
Celeste locked the storage room door.
Maya looked at Nora.
“You’re bleeding.”
Nora looked down.
A thin line of blood marked the side of her torn dress.
Ethan’s face drained of color.
“We need a doctor.”
“My doctor works for your mother.”
“Not every doctor does.”
Nora pulled away when he reached for her.
“Don’t touch me.”
His hand dropped.
Celeste looked between them.
“We still have four minutes before Vivian’s deadline.”
“We send her the files,” Maya said.
Ethan shook his head.
“She won’t release Julian.”
“How do you know?”
“Because she already decided he was expendable.”
Celeste stared at him.
“That is your brother.”
“And I know our mother.”
Nora looked at the second folder on the drive.
“Succession.”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“What?”
“The other folder was called Succession.”
He plugged the drive into a small catering terminal.
The files opened.
There were legal documents showing Vivian’s plans for Hale Meridian after Nora signed away control.
Julian was not named as the future CEO.
Neither was Ethan.
The position had been assigned to an unknown person.
BENEFICIARY: ALEXANDER MERCER
Maya looked confused.
“Who is Alexander Mercer?”
Ethan stared at the name.
“Grant’s son.”
Celeste shook her head.
“Grant doesn’t have a son.”
A voice came from the doorway behind them.
“Yes, he does.”
Chief Grant stood there, holding the gun.
His expression was no longer calm.
It was furious.
“My son died twelve years ago.”
He closed the door behind him.
“Vivian promised to preserve his name by placing the company in a foundation.”
Ethan looked at the screen.
“This is not a foundation. It transfers ownership to a private trust controlled by Vivian.”
Grant’s eyes flicked toward the document.
For the first time, doubt crossed his face.
“She said the trust was for medical research.”
“She lied,” Nora said. “The same way she lied to everyone.”
Grant walked toward the monitor.
Ethan slowly moved between him and Nora.
Grant pointed the gun at his chest.
“Move.”
Ethan did not.
Grant looked at the files.
Then he saw a payment record attached to Alexander’s name.
The payment had been made twelve years earlier to a private hospital.
A death certificate appeared.
Cause of death: complications from an experimental cardiac implant.
Grant stopped breathing.
Maya whispered, “His son was one of the trial victims.”
Grant’s hand began to shake.
“My son died in a car accident.”
“No,” Nora said softly. “Vivian used him in an illegal trial.”
Grant stared at the screen.
The gun lowered.
For seventeen years, he had protected the woman responsible for his son’s death.
His phone rang again.
Vivian’s voice came through the speaker.
“Time is up.”
A gunshot sounded on the other end.
Celeste screamed.
May you like
Then the call disconnected.
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