Chapter 4 - The Night the Truth Came Hunting
They escaped through a rear loading door.
Rain slammed against the pavement.
Mercer kept one hand on Tavlin's shoulder and the other around Lennox's carrier.
Julian followed.
Three vehicles entered the warehouse lot.
Mercer recognized one.
His mother's security company.
His stomach dropped.
“She found us.”
Tavlin looked at him.
“Your mother?”
He nodded.
Julian led them into an alley.
“We have ten minutes.”
“Where are we going?”
“An old safe house.”
Mercer looked at him.
“Who else knows?”
“No one.”
They drove through the city.
Lennox slept.
Tavlin sat beside him.
For the first time, Mercer could study his son's face without fear.
He touched Lennox's little fingers.
Tavlin noticed.
“You've never held him before.”
“No.”
“He likes being held.”
Mercer's throat tightened.
“I would have.”
“I know.”
“No, you don't.”
She looked at him.
“I wanted to.”
“I wanted you to.”
Silence.
“You don't have to forgive me.”
“I don't.”
“But?”
She looked down.
“But I don't hate you.”
That was enough.
At the safe house, Julian finally told Mercer everything.
Their father, Charles Holay, had not died.
He had disappeared.
He had been trying to dismantle an illegal financial network connected to corrupt officials and shell companies.
Their mother, Evelyn, had taken control.
She believed the only way to preserve the family was to protect the empire at any cost.
When Tavlin discovered the old ownership records, Evelyn panicked.
She created the affair photograph.
She forged messages.
She used lawyers.
She isolated Tavlin.
But there was something even darker.
The person who attempted to poison Tavlin's medication was not Evelyn.
It was someone inside Tavlin's own family.
Her uncle.
Marcus Mitchell.
He believed Lennox could be used as leverage.
Tavlin covered her mouth.
“No.”
Julian nodded.
“He knew about the old ownership records.”
Mercer turned to her.
“Your uncle?”
“He told me he loved me.”
Julian's face was grim.
“He loved power.”
Tavlin's eyes filled.
“My mother died protecting me from him.”
Mercer stared.
“What?”
“She knew what he was doing.”
“And?”
“She confronted him.”
Tavlin looked down.
“He caused the accident that killed her.”
Mercer went silent.
Her entire family had been built on secrets.
His had been too.
The difference was that he had benefited from them.
“We need evidence,” Mercer said.
Julian nodded.
“The records are enough.”
“No.”
Mercer looked at him.
“I need something undeniable.”
Julian smiled slightly.
“I know where Father kept it.”
“Where?”
“His private archive.”
“Location?”
Julian reached into his pocket.
“A church.”
“Of course.”
They found the archive beneath an old church outside Boston.
Inside were boxes.
Photographs.
Contracts.
Recordings.
And a video.
Charles Holay appeared on screen.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
“If Mercer is watching this, then I have failed him.”
Mercer's breath caught.
His father spoke directly to the camera.
“Son, I made a terrible mistake.”
He admitted everything.
The company had been founded jointly with Tavlin's father.
The ownership transfer had been fraudulent.
Evelyn knew.
Marcus Mitchell knew.
The network had been used to hide the fraud.
He had spent years trying to correct it.
Then he said something that stunned Mercer.
“I never blamed Tavlin.”
Charles looked down.
“I blamed myself.”
The video ended.
Mercer couldn't speak.
Tavlin touched his arm.
“What are you going to do?”
He looked at her.
“Give your family back what was stolen.”
She shook her head.
“You can't undo the past.”
“No.”
“But you can stop repeating it.”
He nodded.
That was exactly what he intended.
They returned to Boston.
Mercer called an emergency board meeting.
Evelyn arrived.
So did Marcus.
The room filled.
Mercer placed the original ownership documents on the table.
His mother looked at them.
Then at him.
“You don't know what you're doing.”
“I know exactly what I'm doing.”
“You will destroy your company.”
“No.”
He looked at Tavlin.
“I'm destroying the lie.”
Marcus stood.
“You should be careful.”
Mercer laughed.
“That's what people say when they are afraid.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“Your father would hate what you're doing.”
Mercer's eyes hardened.
“My father is alive.”
Everyone froze.
Evelyn's face drained of color.
Mercer continued.
“He recorded everything.”
He turned on the screen.
Charles appeared.
Evelyn whispered:
“No.”
The recording played.
The truth came out.
The room erupted.
Marcus tried to leave.
Security stopped him.
But before he could be arrested, his phone rang.
He answered.
Then his face changed.
Mercer noticed.
“Who was that?”
Marcus stared at him.
“Your mother.”
May you like
Evelyn looked toward the door.
She was gone.
