Chapter 7 - Why Me?“Why did he call me the key?”
My voice shook.
Quinn was checking the bullet hole in the wall.
“He might not have meant literally.”
“He said my name without saying my name.”
Nathan looked at the server.
“There has to be something.”
My mother sat on the floor.
Her hands were trembling.
“Your grandfather knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That Martin would come after you.”
“Why?”
She looked at me.
“Because he left the company to you.”
I laughed.
It came out wrong.
“You're joking.”
“No.”
“He left it to me?”
“He created a trust.”
“What trust?”
“Mercer Strategic Defense.”
I stared at her.
“That company belongs to Dad.”
“On paper.”
“Then why doesn't he control it?”
“Because your grandfather never transferred the controlling shares.”
Quinn turned.
“How many?”
My mother whispered.
“Fifty-one percent.”
Silence.
Nathan's eyes widened.
“That means Claire owns the company.”
“Not exactly.”
“What does it mean?”
My mother looked at me.
“You become controlling trustee at twenty-six.”
My heart stopped.
“I turn twenty-six next month.”
Quinn closed his eyes.
“That explains everything.”
“What?”
“The birthday.”
My father's obsession with this birthday.
His sudden fear.
The letter.
The timing.
“He knows the shares transfer soon.”
I stared at the server.
“So this entire dinner was about that?”
“Partly.”
“What else?”
My mother didn't answer.
Nathan stepped closer.
“Mom.”
She looked at him.
“Your grandfather believed someone inside the family was helping Martin.”
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“He never told me.”
Quinn suddenly pointed toward the terminal.
“Wait.”
A folder had appeared.
Newly unlocked.
TRUSTEE TRANSITION.
He opened it.
A video loaded.
My grandfather sat behind his desk.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
“If you are watching this, Claire, you are old enough to know why I chose you.”
I swallowed.
“Your father believes power belongs to whoever can take it.”
Grandfather looked directly into the camera.
“But real power belongs to whoever refuses to use fear.”
His eyes softened.
“I know Martin will attempt to stop the transfer.”
The screen changed.
Documents appeared.
Bank accounts.
Contracts.
Shell companies.
Payments.
Names.
Political donors.
Consultants.
Military subcontractors.
Then one account stood out.
MERCER FAMILY HOLDINGS.
My father's name.
Quinn highlighted a payment.
“That's enormous.”
Nathan stared.
“What is it?”
“Thirty million.”
My mouth went dry.
“Thirty million from where?”
Quinn opened the transaction details.
“Government procurement account.”
Mom covered her mouth.
“Oh God.”
There was another payment.
Then another.
Hundreds.
But one destination appeared repeatedly.
A company in Delaware.
Northstar Meridian LLC.
“Who owns it?”
Quinn checked.
He stopped.
“Your father.”
I stared.
“Then what?”
He opened the registry.
The owner had changed.
Recently.
The company was now controlled by another person.
“Who?”
Quinn read the name.
“Nathan Mercer.”
Nathan went white.
“What?”
I looked at my brother.
He shook his head.
“I've never owned anything.”
Quinn checked the timestamp.
The transfer had happened six months ago.
Nathan's hands started shaking.
“Someone used my identity.”
My father had framed him.
But why?
Quinn clicked another document.
A legal statement appeared.
My signature was at the bottom.
I stared at it.
“I never signed this.”
Mother stepped closer.
“What is it?”
Quinn's voice went quiet.
“A confession.”
My stomach dropped.
“Whose confession?”
He looked at me.
“Yours.”
The room went silent.
Then the server chimed.
A new file appeared.
CLAIRE MERCER CONFESSION.
Nathan stared.
“You're being set up.”
I couldn't speak.
Quinn opened the file.
The screen showed me sitting in a chair.
Speaking directly into a camera.
“I stole the money.”
My face went cold.
“I destroyed the records.”
My voice.
My face.
My words.
Except I had never said them.
Quinn whispered,
“Deepfake.”
Then a second video appeared.
My father walked into the fake recording.
He leaned close to the camera.
May you like
And said,
“She will confess before sunrise.”
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