Chapter 6 - The Betrayal That Nearly Destroyed Westbridge
Graham survived.
Daniel did not disappear quietly.
He released a series of files accusing Graham of fraud, coercion, and illegal financial activity.
For two weeks, Westbridge nearly collapsed.
Investors panicked.
Employees resigned.
The stock price of its publicly traded subsidiary fell.
Graham worked from his hospital room.
Paige refused to leave.
“You need rest.”
“I need information.”
“You need a doctor.”
“I have one.”
She crossed her arms.
“He says you need sleep.”
“He works for me.”
“He doesn't.”
A faint smile appeared.
“You're difficult.”
“You trained me.”
Graham looked at her.
“Paige.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For accusing you.”
She looked down.
“You were scared.”
“I hurt you.”
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“I don't want to do that again.”
She reached for his hand.
“You won't.”
“What makes you so certain?”
“Because I know you.”
Graham squeezed her fingers.
It was the first time either had said the words without saying them.
Meanwhile, Paige's father revealed the missing piece.
“Daniel wasn't working alone.”
“Who?”
“A board member.”
“Which one?”
Her father shook his head.
“I never learned the name.”
Graham frowned.
“Then why were you blamed?”
“Because Daniel needed someone believable.”
“Why you?”
“Because I knew about the old accounts.”
Paige stepped closer.
“Which accounts?”
Her father looked at Graham.
“Your father's private fund.”
Graham went still.
“My father died with debts.”
“That's what you were told.”
“What are you saying?”
“He left money.”
“How much?”
“Enough to start Westbridge.”
Graham stared.
“What?”
“Your father didn't leave you a failing company. He left you a hidden fund.”
Paige looked at Graham.
“All this time…”
Graham sat back.
His entire life had been built around proving himself.
And now the foundation was a lie.
His father had secretly funded him.
Someone else had known.
Daniel.
The board.
Maybe others.
“Who had access?”
“Three people.”
“Who?”
“Your father.”
“Your mother.”
“And Daniel.”
Silence.
“My mother knew?”
“Yes.”
Graham stood.
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“She was afraid.”
“Of who?”
His father looked at him.
“The same person Daniel worked for.”
“Name.”
“I don't know.”
Then Paige noticed something.
“Wait.”
She opened the original files.
One transaction appeared repeatedly.
Not under a person.
Under a shell company.
Mercer Family Holdings.
Graham stared.
“That doesn't exist.”
“It existed once.”
“When?”
“Twenty years ago.”
Graham searched.
The company had been dissolved.
But one account remained active.
He stared at the screen.
“Chicago.”
Paige nodded.
“We need to find it.”
They did.
The account contained millions.
But more importantly, it contained recorded communications.
One file was labeled with a date.
The day Graham's father died.
Graham opened it.
His father's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, Graham, I failed.”
Graham stopped breathing.
“I built Westbridge because I believed money could protect people.”
A pause.
“It cannot.”
The recording continued.
“There is a man inside the company who will eventually try to take everything.”
Graham's hands shook.
“His name is…”
The recording cut out.
A corrupted file.
Graham stared.
“Who?”
Paige searched the directory.
There was one hidden folder.
PRESERVE FOR PAIGE BENNETT.
She froze.
“Why is my name there?”
Graham looked at her.
“Open it.”
Inside was a letter.
Paige,
If you're reading this, then William Bennett's daughter has reached Graham Mercer.
Paige's heart stopped.
The letter continued.
He will need someone who tells him the truth. He has spent his life surrounded by people who tell him what keeps the company alive. He needs someone who cares whether he survives.
Paige began crying.
Graham looked at her.
“He knew about me.”
“Yes.”
“And he knew you.”
“No.”
The final paragraph changed everything.
Do not trust Daniel Hayes. Do not trust the board chairman. And above all, do not trust the person who claims to have saved Graham from his father's mistakes.
Graham looked up.
“The board chairman.”
Paige shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because that message was written twenty years ago.”
“What?”
“Before Daniel became CFO.”
Graham went silent.
Paige pointed at the signature.
“Your father wasn't warning you about Daniel.”
“Then who?”
She turned the page.
One sentence remained.
The real betrayal is family.
May you like
Graham's face went pale.
“My mother.”
