Chapter 5 - Grant Declared War on His Own Empire After Learning Why Sadie's Father Had Died Protecting HerThe warehouse erupted.
Grant ordered his men to stand down.
Half obeyed.
Half didn't.
The difference was enough.
Gunfire tore through the room.
Paul tackled Grant to the floor.
Sadie crawled behind a steel crate.
Landon turned his weapon on Gabriel.
For thirty seconds, the Hale empire fought itself.
Then silence.
Gabriel escaped.
Six men were down.
Nobody was dead.
Grant stood slowly.
He looked around.
“This ends tonight.”
Landon laughed.
“You mean the war?”
“No.”
Grant looked at the Hale crest.
“The empire.”
He turned to Sadie.
“Come with me.”
She followed him into the underground office.
Paul locked the door.
Grant opened the memory chip.
A video appeared.
Arthur Bennett.
Alive.
Sadie's heart stopped.
“Arthur?”
He looked older.
Tired.
Terrified.
But alive.
“Sadie,” he said.
She covered her mouth.
“If you're seeing this, then I'm already gone.”
Grant stared.
Arthur continued.
“I'm sorry.”
Sadie was crying.
“I didn't steal from Grant.”
“I found out someone was using his organization to sell information.”
Grant's eyes hardened.
“I tried to stop them.”
Arthur looked directly into the camera.
“The person who ordered everything is Gabriel Hale.”
Sadie whispered:
“Your uncle.”
Grant nodded.
Arthur continued.
“He ordered me to help him move money.”
“I refused.”
“He threatened you.”
Grant's breathing stopped.
“Your sister has the ledger.”
Sadie looked confused.
“I don't have a sister.”
Arthur smiled sadly.
“You do.”
The video ended.
Grant stared.
“What?”
Sadie shook her head.
“My mother told me I was an only child.”
Paul looked at the file.
“There may be another explanation.”
They searched old records.
A birth certificate.
Two daughters.
One living.
One listed as deceased.
The second child had been taken from the hospital.
Her name:
Lydia Bennett.
Sadie couldn't breathe.
“My sister is alive.”
Grant looked at her.
“The ledger may be with her.”
They found Lydia in Queens.
She was twenty-eight.
A school counselor.
She had no idea who they were.
Until Sadie showed her the pendant.
Lydia's face changed.
“I've seen that.”
“Where?”
“My mother had one.”
Sadie cried.
“She gave me this.”
Lydia stared.
“She gave me mine too.”
They compared the pendants.
They fit together.
A hidden message appeared.
THE SISTERS HOLD THE KEY.
Grant looked at the two women.
Gabriel needed both.
That was why Sadie had been targeted.
Lydia had been hidden.
Their father had split the secret between them.
Grant's phone rang.
Gabriel.
“You found her.”
Grant didn't answer.
Gabriel laughed.
“You should understand something.”
“What?”
“The ledger isn't about money.”
Grant stared.
“Then what?”
“Names.”
“Whose?”
“Everyone.”
Gabriel's voice became colder.
“Judges.”
“Police.”
“Politicians.”
“Businessmen.”
“People who built this city while pretending men like me didn't exist.”
Grant closed his eyes.
“And you want control.”
“I want obedience.”
“Why?”
“Because your father taught me one lesson.”
“What?”
“People only behave when they're afraid.”
Grant looked at Sadie.
“No.”
Gabriel laughed.
“You sound like your mother.”
Grant froze.
“My mother?”
“She knew what your father did.”
“You're lying.”
“She begged him to stop.”
“What did he do?”
“He ignored her.”
Then Gabriel said:
“And your mother is the reason he stopped.”
The call ended.
Grant looked at Paul.
“Find out what happened to my mother.”
Paul nodded.
“She died in a hospital.”
“No.”
Grant's voice shook.
“Not the official story.”
They searched.
The records had been sealed.
Then Lydia found something.
A photograph.
Grant's mother.
Standing beside Edward Bennett.
Sadie's father.
And a young woman.
His mother was smiling.
Grant had never seen that photograph.
On the back:
THE NIGHT WE DECIDED TO END IT.
Sadie read the words.
“Your mother and my father were working together.”
Grant nodded.
“They were trying to destroy the empire.”
“Why?”
“Because they realized what it had become.”
Sadie looked at him.
“Then your mother didn't abandon you.”
“No.”
She reached for his hand.
“She was trying to save you.”
Grant looked at their hands.
This time he didn't pull away.
“I've spent my entire life hating the wrong people.”
Sadie whispered:
“Not anymore.”
Grant looked at her.
“No.”
He finally knew who he had to fight.
Not an enemy outside.
Not a rival organization.
His inheritance.
May you like
His blood.
His own name.
Related Stories
