Chapter 8 - THE TRAPGrant did not contact the police immediately.
David wanted him to.
Audrey begged him to.
But Grant understood something now.
The police would arrive too late.
Lenora had spent three years preparing.
She had lawyers.
Money.
Connections.
And possibly Ethan.
Grant needed leverage.
He looked at Audrey.
“What exactly does your mother think you have?”
“The original video.”
“You kept another copy.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Audrey shook her head.
“Somewhere she can never find it.”
Grant thought.
Then smiled.
“Good.”
David looked confused.
“What are you thinking?”
Grant turned to him.
“I’m going to give her what she wants.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Grant, you're walking into a trap.”
“I know.”
Grant picked up his phone.
“But I'm building one too.”
That afternoon, Grant made a call.
Not to the police.
To the private investigator his father had hired before his death.
The investigator was retired.
Mostly.
But when Grant mentioned Lenora's name, he agreed to help.
By evening, Grant had a plan.
Audrey would meet Lenora.
Grant would follow.
David would monitor the location.
The real evidence would be uploaded to multiple servers before the meeting.
No matter what happened, destroying one copy would mean nothing.
At 9:00 p.m., Audrey arrived at an abandoned estate outside Hartford.
Lenora was waiting.
She sat in a chair beside a fireplace.
A gunman stood behind her.
And Ethan stood near the window.
Audrey entered alone.
“Where's Grant?”
Lenora smiled.
“Probably following you.”
Ethan laughed.
“I told you he'd come.”
Lenora looked at Audrey.
“Give me the evidence.”
Audrey held up a drive.
“This?”
“Yes.”
“You promise you'll let Caleb go?”
Lenora smiled.
“My grandson is family.”
“He's six weeks old.”
Lenora's eyes hardened.
“And already more valuable than you understand.”
Audrey stepped back.
“What does that mean?”
“It means the trust becomes fully protected once the child is registered as a permanent beneficiary.”
Audrey froze.
“You want Caleb.”
“I want what belongs to him.”
“No.”
Lenora stood.
“Do you know how much money is inside the trust?”
“No.”
“Two hundred million dollars.”
Audrey went pale.
Ethan stepped closer.
“And your husband controls it.”
Lenora smiled.
“Not anymore.”
Suddenly the lights went out.
Audrey stepped back.
A voice came from the darkness.
“Wrong.”
The lights returned.
Grant stood in the doorway.
Lenora stared.
Ethan reached for his gun.
Grant's security team moved faster.
Two men entered from behind.
The gunman was disarmed.
Ethan raised his weapon.
Grant shouted.
“Don't!”
Ethan paused.
Grant looked at him.
“You're my mother's son.”
Ethan smiled.
“And you're the reason I never had a family.”
“What?”
“Your father chose you.”
Grant frowned.
“My father didn't know you.”
“Oh, he knew.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“He knew your mother had another child.”
Grant's expression changed.
“He knew?”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at Lenora.
“She promised me half of everything.”
Lenora snapped.
“Enough.”
But Ethan continued.
“She promised me the company.”
Grant looked at his mother.
“You used him.”
Lenora's face twisted.
“I built everything.”
“You stole it.”
“I protected it.”
“You nearly killed Dad.”
Lenora went silent.
That silence was an answer.
Audrey's eyes widened.
Grant stepped forward.
“Say it.”
Lenora shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain it.”
She laughed.
“You think your father was innocent?”
“What did he do?”
“He was going to destroy us.”
“Us?”
“The company. Ethan. Me.”
Grant stared.
“You killed him.”
Lenora's face crumbled.
“I didn't mean for him to die.”
The room went silent.
David's voice came through Grant's earpiece.
“Got it.”
Grant looked at Lenora.
“Say that again.”
She stared.
“What?”
“You just admitted it.”
Lenora's eyes widened.
Grant smiled.
“The room is wired.”
Her face drained of color.
Ethan suddenly lunged toward Grant.
A gunshot echoed.
Everyone screamed.
Grant fell.
Audrey ran toward him.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Lenora smiled.
Then stopped.
Because Grant looked up.
The blood wasn't his.
It was a hidden ballistic vest soaked with a blood pack.
Grant stood.
“Nice try.”
Ethan was tackled.
Police flooded the estate.
Lenora stared at her son.
Then at Grant.
For the first time in thirty years, she looked powerless.
But as officers handcuffed her, she leaned close to Grant.
“You think this ends tonight?”
Grant said nothing.
Lenora smiled.
“Ask your wife where Caleb was conceived.”
Grant froze.
Audrey went white.
The officers dragged Lenora away.
Grant slowly turned.
“Audrey?”
She couldn't meet his eyes.
And that was when Grant realized.
May you like
His mother had just dropped one final bomb.
And Audrey knew exactly what it meant.
