Chapter 5 - The Man Hunting His Own Family
Desmond disappeared for nineteen hours.
Then he sent Grant a photograph.
Jolene's aunt Evelyn stood beside a warehouse door.
Alive.
The message contained only four words.
BRING THE LOCKBOX.
Grant stared at the image.
"What lockbox?" Jolene asked.
He turned his phone toward her.
She looked confused.
"My mother had a lockbox."
"Where?"
"At the Savannah Union Station."
Grant immediately understood.
Desmond wanted him to retrieve the ledger.
But he didn't have the access code.
Only Jolene's family did.
He arranged for Jolene to remain under hospital security.
He left with Trent and two trusted men.
The lockbox was hidden behind a wall panel in an abandoned storage room.
Jolene's mother's name was written on the brass plate.
Grant entered the code.
The door opened.
Inside was a stack of photographs, a USB drive, and a handwritten notebook.
No ledger.
Trent picked up the notebook.
"Boss."
Grant opened it.
The first page contained a list of names.
Politicians.
Police officers.
Businessmen.
Judges.
Then he saw a name that made him stop.
Victor Langford.
Monica's father.
Grant's jaw tightened.
The next page showed payments from Desmond to Victor.
The dates went back twelve years.
This wasn't recent corruption.
It was a partnership.
Grant turned another page.
Then another.
The final entry had been written five months earlier.
Jolene's death.
Approved.
Grant felt sick.
"Her death was ordered?"
Trent nodded.
"But why?"
Grant looked at the USB drive.
"Let's find out."
They returned to the warehouse.
The drive contained video recordings.
The first showed Desmond.
The second showed Victor.
The third showed Richard Holloway.
Grant stared at his father.
Richard was speaking to someone off camera.
"Thomas discovered everything."
Victor's voice answered.
"And Jolene?"
"She knows nothing."
"We can't risk it."
Richard slammed his hand against the desk.
"You will not touch that girl."
Victor smiled.
"You can't protect everyone."
Richard looked exhausted.
"Then I'll protect her until I die."
The recording ended.
Grant sat down.
His father's final act had been to protect Jolene.
Not destroy her.
Desmond had twisted the truth for years.
Grant watched the second recording.
Victor was speaking.
"The boy will be valuable."
Grant froze.
The baby.
They knew about the child.
Before he did.
A third recording appeared.
Desmond said:
"Grant will never know. The girl will disappear, and when the child is born, we'll take him."
Grant's hands tightened.
They had planned everything.
Jolene's disappearance.
The fake death.
The wedding.
The baby.
Even Monica.
The next recording showed something unexpected.
Monica.
She was crying.
"Please leave him out of this."
Victor's voice replied:
"You are marrying Grant. You are already in it."
The screen went black.
Grant looked at Trent.
"Find Monica."
They did.
She was at her father's house.
Grant confronted her.
"You knew."
Monica shook her head.
"I knew something was wrong."
"You knew about the baby."
"I learned yesterday."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because my father threatened my brother."
Grant stopped.
"Your brother?"
Monica nodded.
"He has a gambling debt."
"How much?"
"Enough to ruin him."
Grant looked at her.
"Monica, where is your father?"
"I don't know."
Grant stared.
She whispered:
"Desmond took him."
Grant understood.
The real war had begun.
He returned to the hospital.
Jolene was gone.
The room was empty.
A nurse stood crying near the door.
"They came with fake credentials."
Grant's blood ran cold.
"Who?"
"Two men."
"How long ago?"
"Twenty minutes."
Grant looked at the empty bed.
Her coat was gone.
Her shoes were gone.
Only one thing remained.
The ultrasound photo.
He picked it up.
On the back, someone had written:
COME ALONE.
Grant's phone rang.
Desmond.
"You have one hour."
Grant's voice became lethal.
"If you touch her—"
"You'll do what?"
Grant closed his eyes.
"Kill me?"
Desmond laughed.
"No."
A pause.
"You'll do exactly what your father did."
Grant's eyes narrowed.
"What did he do?"
"He surrendered."
The call ended.
Grant looked at Trent.
"Get every man we have."
May you like
"How many?"
"All of them."
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