Chapter 14 - The Night Grace DiedThe secret Charles Brooks never wanted Audrey to knowDad sat across from me.
For once, he had no strategy ready.
No answer.
No shield.
“Tell me.”
He took a breath.
“Your mother did not die alone.”
I waited.
“You were there.”
The room blurred.
“I was?”
“You were twenty-one.”
“I remember.”
“She called me.”
“At the hospital?”
“No.”
“Where?”
“At the house.”
I frowned.
“I don't remember.”
“You had been asleep.”
Dad's voice broke.
“Grace was supposed to meet someone.”
“Mercer?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She believed he had information about Meridian.”
“What happened?”
“She never made the meeting.”
“Why?”
“Because someone came to the house first.”
“Who?”
Dad looked at me.
“A man wearing my military credentials.”
I felt cold.
“What?”
“He impersonated me.”
“He got inside?”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“Meridian.”
I closed my eyes.
“Mom stopped him.”
“How?”
“She locked the information away.”
“And then?”
“The man attacked her.”
I stared at Dad.
“Did he kill her?”
Dad nodded slowly.
“But the official report says heart failure.”
“She suffered cardiac arrest during the struggle.”
My throat tightened.
“Why hide that?”
“Because we couldn't prove who he was.”
“And you thought telling me would put me in danger.”
“Yes.”
I stood.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
I walked to the window.
For twenty years, I had mourned a woman I thought had simply died.
Now I learned she had spent her final moments protecting something she believed could destroy our family.
“What was Meridian?”
Dad answered:
“A system.”
“For what?”
“Predictive intelligence.”
I turned.
“What does that mean?”
“It combined military, financial, communications and geopolitical data.”
“For what purpose?”
“To identify threats before they happened.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It was.”
“And Mercer wanted it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever controlled it could identify vulnerabilities before governments knew they existed.”
I understood.
“And Mom discovered someone was misusing it.”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Dad looked down.
“We never proved that.”
“Then why are Dominic and Mercer fighting now?”
“Because one of them found the missing component.”
“The case.”
“Yes.”
Before I could speak, Elena entered.
“We have them.”
“How?”
“Dominic contacted a private lawyer.”
“Where is he?”
“In custody.”
My heart jumped.
“What about Mercer?”
“Gone.”
“What did Dominic say?”
“He wants a deal.”
I looked at Dad.
Elena continued.
“He claims he can identify the person who funded the operation.”
“Who?”
“He says Victoria isn't the mastermind.”
I frowned.
“Then who?”
Elena placed a file on the table.
Inside was a photograph.
A man.
Older.
Distinguished.
Political.
My breath caught.
I knew him.
Everyone did.
A former high-ranking federal official.
Dad stared at the picture.
“He's still alive?”
“Yes.”
“What did he have to do with Meridian?”
Elena answered:
“He created it.”
Silence.
I looked at Dad.
“Why would he target our family?”
Dad's answer was quiet.
“Because your mother took something from him.”
“What?”
“The final key.”
“The one in the house?”
“Yes.”
I looked at the case.
“So Meridian isn't gone.”
“No.”
“And Mercer?”
“He wants the key.”
“Dominic?”
“Wants immunity.”
I thought for several seconds.
Then I asked:
“What does he know?”
Elena smiled faintly.
“Enough to save himself.”
“Then bring him to me.”
That afternoon, Dominic sat in a secure interview room.
He looked older.
Smaller.
Nothing like the man who had once stood beside my hospital bed complaining that my recovery was inconvenient.
He looked at me.
“I never wanted this.”
I sat down.
“You wanted my money.”
“I wanted security.”
“You wanted access to my family.”
“I was desperate.”
“You abandoned me.”
He looked down.
“I was afraid.”
“For yourself?”
“Yes.”
I laughed quietly.
“That was always the problem.”
He stared at me.
“I can tell you who funded Mercer.”
“Who?”
He leaned forward.
“But I need something.”
“What?”
“Protection.”
“No.”
“Audrey.”
“No.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
I stood.
“You've spent two years treating me like an investment.”
He swallowed.
“Then what do you want?”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“The truth.”
He hesitated.
Then whispered:
“The person behind Meridian is someone your father trusted.”
I froze.
“Who?”
Dominic looked toward the door.
Then said:
“General Charles Brooks's closest friend.”
May you like
My blood ran cold.
End of Chapter 14The mastermind wasn't Mercer. It was the man who had stood beside Charles Brooks for decades.
