Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Gave Up Everything
Evelyn disappeared.
Her private jet left before authorities could stop it.
Mercer knew she would run.
But he also knew something else.
She wasn't alone.
She had taken records.
Money.
And perhaps the only remaining proof of what she had done after Charles disappeared.
Mercer and Tavlin returned to the family estate.
Lennox slept upstairs.
Mercer stood in his father's old office.
Tavlin entered.
“You haven't slept.”
“Neither have you.”
She smiled weakly.
“We make a terrible team.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“We make a dangerous one.”
She laughed.
For the first time in eighteen months, it felt familiar.
He stepped closer.
“Tavlin.”
“Yes?”
“I need to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Why did Lennox call me Dada?”
She smiled.
“He recognized you.”
“From where?”
“I kept your picture.”
Mercer stared.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted him to know where he came from.”
“You never told him I was his father.”
“No.”
“But you showed him my picture.”
“He knew your voice.”
Mercer remembered.
His old voicemail.
The voice messages he'd sent before everything collapsed.
His laugh.
His greeting.
He had spoken into a phone without knowing a baby was listening.
Tavlin looked down.
“He found the recordings.”
Mercer touched her cheek.
“You loved me.”
“I did.”
“Do you still?”
She froze.
“That is not a question you can ask tonight.”
“I have to.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to know whether I'm fighting for a family that still exists.”
Her eyes filled.
“It exists.”
“But?”
“But I don't know if I can trust it yet.”
Mercer nodded.
“That is fair.”
They heard footsteps.
Julian entered.
“Evelyn contacted me.”
Mercer turned.
“What did she say?”
“She wants a meeting.”
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
Julian hesitated.
“She says she'll give us the records.”
“What does she want?”
“You.”
Mercer frowned.
“Why?”
“She says she wants to explain.”
Tavlin shook her head.
“You'll be walking into a trap.”
“I know.”
“Then don't go.”
Mercer looked at her.
“I have to.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“You promised Lennox you would stay.”
Mercer froze.
“I promised him?”
“You told him.”
“When?”
“When you thought he was asleep.”
Mercer remembered.
He had leaned over the crib.
He had whispered:
“Daddy's not leaving again.”
Tavlin's eyes filled.
“He heard you.”
Mercer took her hand.
“Then I'll come back.”
The meeting happened in an empty restaurant.
Evelyn sat alone.
She looked older.
Tired.
“I didn't mean to hurt you.”
Mercer sat opposite her.
“You destroyed two families.”
“I protected yours.”
“No.”
He placed the ownership records on the table.
“You protected yourself.”
Evelyn sighed.
“Your father was weak.”
“He was honest.”
“He was going to give half the company away.”
“It wasn't his to give.”
She looked at Tavlin.
“He loved her father.”
Tavlin froze.
Evelyn continued.
“They were brothers in everything except blood.”
That explained more than Mercer expected.
His father had not seen Tavlin's family as an enemy.
He had seen them as people he wronged.
Evelyn's voice softened.
“I thought I could fix it.”
“By destroying Tavlin?”
“I thought she would expose everything.”
“She deserved the truth.”
“You don't understand what happens when billion-dollar empires collapse.”
Mercer leaned forward.
“I understand what happens when people lose everything.”
Evelyn stared at him.
Then she placed a drive on the table.
“The records are here.”
Mercer reached for it.
Evelyn stopped him.
“One condition.”
“What?”
“You leave me alone.”
Mercer stared.
“No.”
“Then you get nothing.”
Tavlin spoke.
“Give it to us.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“I am sorry.”
Tavlin didn't respond.
Security entered.
Evelyn handed over the drive.
It contained everything.
Bank accounts.
Forged photographs.
Private investigators.
Payments.
Threats.
And one file marked:
LENNOX.
Mercer opened it.
Inside was a medical report.
Someone had attempted to terminate Tavlin's pregnancy.
The report named the person who authorized the procedure.
Marcus Mitchell.
Tavlin gasped.
She had suspected him.
Now she had proof.
Mercer felt rage explode.
But the file contained something else.
A photograph of Marcus meeting someone.
James Holay.
Mercer's father.
Alive.
Mercer stared.
His father had been working with Marcus.
May you like
Not against him.
With him.
