Chapter 5 - The Woman Grant’s Mother Tried to Bury
Victoria Mercer finally told Grant everything.
She had no choice.
He placed the ledger on the kitchen table.
Then the old photographs.
Then Hannah's mother's letter.
Victoria sat silently.
“Tell me.”
She looked at him.
“Your father was not the man you thought he was.”
“I know.”
“No.”
Victoria shook her head.
“You don't.”
She reached into an old cabinet.
Inside was a cassette tape.
Grant frowned.
“What is that?”
“Your father's confession.”
His hands went cold.
Victoria explained that Eleanor Price had discovered the property fraud in 1994.
Thomas Mercer became obsessed with silencing her.
But he couldn't simply eliminate her.
So he made another plan.
He would ruin her reputation.
He planted evidence suggesting she had stolen money from the community foundation.
Eleanor was publicly blamed.
Margaret defended her.
Thomas threatened Margaret.
Then Eleanor disappeared.
Everyone assumed she had run away.
But the truth was more complicated.
“She was protecting Hannah,” Victoria said.
“From what?”
“From your father.”
Grant stared.
“How?”
Victoria’s voice broke.
“Thomas had discovered Hannah was not actually his biological daughter.”
Grant froze.
“What?”
“Eleanor had been married before. Her first husband was the father.”
Grant's face changed.
“That doesn't explain anything.”
“It does if your father wanted Eleanor’s property.”
He understood.
Thomas could claim family rights only if Hannah’s legal parentage remained undisputed.
So he forged records.
Changed documents.
Erased names.
And eventually used the confusion to gain control over Briar House.
But there was another twist.
Eleanor's first husband wasn't just any man.
He was a founding partner of the company that later became Mercer Vale.
Grant sat back.
“What?”
Victoria nodded.
“Hannah is the legal beneficiary of the original partnership.”
Grant stared at her.
The redevelopment wasn't just about real estate.
Hannah unknowingly owned the controlling interest in the land that Mercer Vale had been built around.
Grant suddenly understood why Richard was afraid.
Briar House wasn't a small nonprofit.
It was the key to the company's original ownership structure.
That evening Grant told Hannah.
She listened without interrupting.
When he finished, she laughed bitterly.
“So I'm apparently worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
“Yes.”
“And I've been eating canned soup for four days.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew?”
“I learned today.”
She shook her head.
“This is absurd.”
“I agree.”
“What happens now?”
“The board could collapse.”
“Because of me?”
“Because of what your family was owed.”
Hannah looked at him.
“And where do you stand?”
He answered immediately.
“With you.”
She swallowed.
“Why?”
“Because I love you.”
Hannah froze.
Grant froze too.
Neither had intended for him to say it that way.
He looked away.
“I'm sorry.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“Don't apologize.”
His eyes met hers.
“I don't know when it happened,” he said. “Maybe when you climbed onto that chair and threatened a ceiling stain.”
A small laugh escaped her.
“Romantic.”
“I have terrible timing.”
“So I noticed.”
He smiled.
Then Hannah kissed him.
It wasn't dramatic.
No cameras.
No audience.
Just a quiet kiss in the kitchen of a building everyone had tried to take from her.
When they pulled apart, she whispered, “This changes nothing.”
Grant nodded.
“Everything.”
Then the front doors burst open.
Police rushed inside.
“Hannah Price?”
“Yes.”
“You’re under arrest.”
Grant stepped forward.
“On what charge?”
“Embezzlement.”
Hannah stared at the officer.
“What?”
The officer handed her a warrant.
“Funds were transferred from the Briar House account into a private investment account registered in your name.”
Hannah’s face went white.
“I didn't do that.”
“I know,” Grant said.
The officer looked at him.
“You need to step back.”
Grant didn't move.
“This is a setup.”
The officer's expression hardened.
“You can explain that to the judge.”
Hannah was handcuffed.
Sophie appeared at the hallway.
“Aunt Hannah!”
Hannah looked at her.
“It's okay.”
“It isn't!”
Grant watched helplessly as they led Hannah outside.
The reporters were waiting.
Someone had called them.
Again.
By midnight, every local news channel carried the same headline.
BRIAR HOUSE DIRECTOR ARRESTED FOR STEALING DONATION MONEY.
Grant returned to his office.
Richard was there.
Smiling.
“You should have taken the deal.”
Grant stared at him.
“You framed her.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Richard shrugged.
“Maybe she framed herself.”
Grant stepped closer.
“If she goes down, I take you with me.”
Richard's smile vanished.
“You wouldn't.”
“Try me.”
He walked away.
Behind him, Richard made one phone call.
“It's time.”
May you like
And somewhere across the city, someone opened a safe containing one final document.
The document that could destroy both families.
