Chapter 9 - Grant’s Last Weapon
The next morning, Grant changed his strategy.
The confident businessman disappeared.
The calm son disappeared.
Instead, he became something else.
A victim.
His attorney stood before the jury.
“My client was manipulated.”
Everyone looked surprised.
The attorney continued.
“Grant Moore was not the mastermind.”
I almost smiled.
Because this was exactly what Grant did.
When control disappeared…
He changed the story.
The prosecutor watched silently.
He knew.
Everyone knew.
Grant was creating another version of himself.
A new character.
The innocent son.
The man who was also betrayed.
Then Grant took the witness stand.
The courtroom became tense.
He looked at my parents.
Then at me.
“Lauren.”
Hearing my name from him felt strange.
He had spent years using my name.
But he rarely said it to my face.
“I know you hate me.”
I said nothing.
“I understand why.”
The prosecutor watched carefully.
Grant continued.
“But there are things you don't know.”
That sentence caught everyone's attention.
Because Grant was good at creating curiosity.
Even now.
Even when trapped.
He knew how to perform.
“I didn't start this.”
The courtroom went quiet.
The prosecutor stood.
“Mr. Moore, are you claiming someone else instructed you?”
Grant looked down.
“Yes.”
The judge allowed him to continue.
Grant took a breath.
“My father knew more than he admitted.”
The room exploded.
My father immediately stood.
“That is a lie.”
The judge ordered silence.
Grant looked at him.
“I learned from you.”
My heart dropped.
Because now the trial was becoming something bigger than fraud.
It was becoming a battle over who created the monster.
The prosecutor approached.
“Mr. Moore, are you saying Warren Moore instructed you to use your sister’s identity?”
Grant hesitated.
That hesitation told me everything.
He wasn't telling the truth.
He was telling a version of the truth.
The most dangerous kind.
“No.”
He finally answered.
“He didn't instruct me.”
“Then what did he do?”
Grant looked at me.
“He looked away.”
The courtroom became silent.
Because everyone understood.
That was the one thing my father couldn't deny.
He looked away.
The prosecutor walked closer.
“So your defense is that you committed fraud because your father failed to stop you?”
Grant said nothing.
The prosecutor continued.
“You created false documents.”
“You used your sister’s military history.”
“You took government money.”
“And your explanation is that someone else should have stopped you?”
Grant's face tightened.
For the first time, his perfect story started breaking.
The prosecutor displayed one final document.
A private message.
Sent from Grant's account.
The message was only one sentence.
“Once Lauren is forgotten, everything belongs to me.”
My mother covered her mouth.
My father closed his eyes.
And Grant finally looked powerless.
Because that sentence destroyed the last version of him.
The victim.
The misunderstood son.
The person who had no choice.
The prosecutor turned toward the jury.
“This was never about protecting a family.”
He paused.
“This was about replacing one member of that family.”
He looked at me.
“Lieutenant Moore was not an obstacle.”
“She was the target.”
The courtroom became silent.
I looked at Grant.
For ten years, I wondered why he hated me so much.
Why he needed me to disappear.
Now I finally understood.
It was never because I had done something wrong.
It was because my existence proved he wasn't what he claimed to be.
He needed me gone.
Because as long as I existed…
The truth existed with me.
The judge announced that the final arguments would begin tomorrow.
The trial was almost over.
But that night, I received a message from the federal investigator.
One sentence.
A sentence that changed everything.
“We found the original file.”
I stared at the screen.
“What original file?”
The reply came seconds later.
“The first document Grant used to erase you.”
My hands went cold.
May you like
Because if they found the beginning…
They might finally discover the person who started the lie.
