Chapter 11 - The Grave With Two NamesThe cemetery was almost empty the next morning.
Fog lay low across the grass.
Victor insisted on following me.
Daniel stayed near the entrance.
I walked toward my father's grave.
There was a second grave beside it.
The stone was old.
The name had been damaged.
Only the first part remained visible.
M... MERCER
I stopped.
Victor came closer.
"That's not possible."
"Why?"
He pointed.
"The grave predates Richard's."
Someone had buried a Mercer beside him years before my father died.
There was a fresh envelope beneath the flowers.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
My father.
Mom.
Caleb.
And a fourth person.
Dr. Samuel Reeves.
The photo had been taken twenty-two years ago.
On the back:
FOUR PEOPLE ENTERED THE DEAL. ONLY ONE KEPT HIS PROMISE.
I heard footsteps.
Dr. Reeves appeared behind a tree.
He looked older.
Tired.
But calm.
"You shouldn't have come."
I turned.
"You signed my daughter's death certificate."
His expression tightened.
"I signed what I was told to sign."
"Who told you?"
"Your mother."
Mom stepped out from behind another tree.
I stared at her.
"You knew I'd come."
She didn't deny it.
Reeves continued.
"Your father was too close."
"To what?"
"The Mercer accounts."
"Did you poison him?"
"No."
"Lily?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Reeves looked at Mom.
She began crying.
"Tell her."
Mom closed her eyes.
"I didn't know."
"Stop saying that."
"I didn't."
"Then explain."
She looked at the grave.
"Your father created the trust because he discovered that his own father had stolen money."
I frowned.
"Richard's father?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Through Mercer Holdings."
I looked at Caleb.
"Caleb inherited it."
"Partially."
Victor corrected.
"Martin Mercer controlled it."
"Your grandfather," Mom said, "used the company to launder money for politicians, developers, and criminals."
Daniel interrupted from behind us.
"There are names in the ledger."
Reeves nodded.
"And those names could still destroy people."
"That's why they wanted Richard dead."
"Yes."
"And Lily?"
Reeves looked at me.
"She was never supposed to be involved."
"What happened?"
"She saw the notebook."
"Which notebook?"
"The ledger."
My chest tightened.
"She found it in Mike's office."
Reeves swallowed.
"She took it."
"And then?"
"She gave it to your father."
I stared.
"Then why did she die?"
Reeves looked toward Mom.
"Because someone panicked."
Mom whispered,
"Tyler's father."
I froze.
"Mike?"
"No."
"My brother?"
"He wasn't there."
"Who?"
Mom said,
"Irene."
I stared at her.
"My brother's wife?"
Mom nodded.
"She was working for Mercer."
The revelation hit like a physical blow.
I remembered Irene smiling at the birthday dinner.
Covering her mouth when Tyler poured the soda.
Calling it harmless.
Recording the confrontation on her phone.
She had always been close to Mom.
Too close.
Daniel pulled out his phone.
"Irene is gone."
Mike had disappeared with Tyler from the cemetery.
"Where are they?"
A location came through.
His phone was being tracked.
An abandoned farmhouse outside town.
We drove there.
The place was deserted.
Tyler's backpack lay on the porch.
Mike's phone was inside.
No Mike.
No Tyler.
But there was a note.
I opened it.
YOU TOOK MY FAMILY FROM ME.
Then another line.
NOW I'LL TAKE YOURS.
I turned.
Daniel was staring at the house.
"Stephanie."
"What?"
He pointed toward the window.
I saw a shadow.
Someone was watching us.
Victor opened the front door.
Inside was a video screen.
It displayed Mike and Tyler.
They were tied to chairs.
I screamed.
A timer appeared beneath them.
00:59:59
And then a voice came through the speakers.
Caleb Mercer.
"You wanted the truth."
He paused.
"Now you have one hour to choose which truth you can live with."
The screen split in two.
On the left was Mike.
On the right was Tyler.
Then a third box appeared.
Me.
Recorded live.
A message appeared.
May you like
ONE OF THEM KNOWS WHERE THE ORIGINAL LEDGER IS.
FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEFORE THE CLOCK HITS ZERO.
Related Stories
