Chapter 6 - Hannah Thought Her Brother Had Been Kidnapped Again—Until She Discovered He Had Chosen to Betray Her for a Reason No One Saw ComingMichael left one note.
I need to finish what Mom started.
Hannah panicked.
Elias wanted to go after him.
Benjamin stopped him.
“He's not a child.”
“He's my son.”
“He chose this.”
Hannah looked at the note.
“What did Mom start?”
Benjamin answered.
“The Mercer Safehouse Network.”
Hannah frowned.
“What?”
Over the next several days, they discovered that Jean had spent years creating a network of safe residences for people escaping organized crime.
The Grand Meridian was one of them.
Michael had discovered that someone was dismantling the network.
He had followed the trail.
And the trail led back to one name.
Grant Keller.
Even in prison, Grant still had contacts.
Hannah visited him.
Glass separated them.
He looked thinner.
Afraid.
“Where is Michael?”
Grant laughed.
“You're still protecting him.”
“Where is he?”
“You think I know?”
“You do.”
Grant leaned closer.
“You really never understood me.”
“I understand you perfectly.”
“No.”
His smile was bitter.
“I was told to marry you.”
“I know.”
“I didn't know I would love you.”
Hannah froze.
Grant's eyes filled with something that looked like regret.
“I did.”
She stared.
“You don't get to say that now.”
“I know.”
“You humiliated our children.”
“I know.”
“You cheated.”
“I know.”
“You tried to steal from my family.”
“I was trying to survive.”
“You chose greed.”
“I chose fear.”
Hannah looked at him.
“Same thing.”
Grant looked away.
Then whispered:
“Michael went to the one place Victor was afraid of.”
“Where?”
“Your father's original headquarters.”
Hannah's heart stopped.
“Where?”
Grant smiled.
“Under the city.”
Hannah left.
The tunnels beneath Chicago were old.
Some had been abandoned for decades.
Others were privately owned.
Elias led them.
They discovered an underground command center.
Old servers.
Maps.
Photographs.
Records.
And Michael.
He was standing in front of a wall.
Hannah ran to him.
“You idiot.”
He hugged her.
“I knew you'd come.”
“Don't ever do that again.”
“I won't.”
“What did you find?”
Michael pointed to the wall.
A giant family tree.
Mercer.
Kane.
Shaw.
And one final branch.
Keller.
Hannah stared.
Grant's family had been connected to Victor for generations.
Not just Grant.
His father.
His grandfather.
The Keller family had managed the financial side of Victor's empire.
Grant had been raised to marry a Mercer heir.
Hannah wasn't an accident.
She was the target.
The entire marriage had been arranged before she even met him.
Hannah felt sick.
Then Michael pointed at another name.
Ethan Keller.
Grant's younger brother.
“Who is he?”
Grant's brother had been missing since childhood.
Then they found the photograph.
Ethan was alive.
And he was working for the Federal Bureau investigating Northbridge.
Hannah understood.
The Keller family had two sons.
One was used by Victor.
One turned against him.
Ethan had spent years gathering evidence.
He was the reason Grant had panicked.
He was the reason the investigation finally had a chance.
And now he wanted Hannah to cooperate.
She agreed.
Together, they built the final case.
Victor.
Grant.
Northbridge.
The hidden accounts.
The Mercer Trust.
Everything.
But there was one final piece.
The person who had helped Victor hide the original crimes.
A judge.
Benjamin knew the name.
When he said it, Hannah froze.
“Judge Daniel Shaw.”
“Your father?”
“No.”
Benjamin looked away.
“My brother.”
Hannah stared.
“You've known?”
“Yes.”
“For thirty years?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you expose him?”
Benjamin's voice broke.
“Because I was afraid.”
Hannah finally understood.
Fear had controlled every adult around her.
Her father.
Her mother.
Benjamin.
Michael.
Grant.
Victor.
May you like
And she had inherited all of it.
She decided to end it.
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