Chapter 12 - The Offer
My father finally asked to see me alone.
I refused.
He sent a letter instead.
Daniel wanted to throw it away.
Maya told us to read it.
Dad offered a deal.
If I signed over temporary voting control of the Mercer shares for ten years, he would withdraw the paternity challenge.
He would testify against Victor.
He would tell police everything Richard had planned.
In exchange, I would ask prosecutors for leniency regarding his role.
I laughed when I finished reading.
“He still thinks this is a negotiation.”
Maya disagreed.
“He’s scared.”
“Good.”
“He may know where Victor and Richard are.”
That mattered.
Hale arranged a recorded meeting.
Dad entered wearing an expensive navy suit.
The same kind he wore to board meetings.
He looked at my stomach.
“How are you?”
I almost walked out.
Daniel answered for me.
“Don’t.”
Dad sat.
“Claire, I never wanted you hurt.”
“You tried to drug me.”
“Victor handled that.”
“You covered it up.”
“I panicked.”
“You tried to steal Ethan’s phone.”
“I was protecting Rachel.”
“You falsified paternity evidence.”
“I wanted time.”
“For what?”
Dad’s mask finally slipped.
“To fix what Eleanor did.”
“She protected her company.”
“She humiliated me.”
His fist tightened.
“For forty years, I lived inside a family that reminded me I wasn’t really one of them.”
“So you decided to do the same thing to my daughter?”
His face changed.
“I wanted equality.”
“No.”
“You wanted control.”
Dad leaned forward.
“Do you understand what happens when that child is born?”
“Yes.”
“You control the company.”
“My daughter becomes beneficiary.”
“You control it for her.”
“Until she’s old enough.”
“And what happens to Rachel?”
“She lives her life.”
“What happens to me?”
“You live yours.”
His expression filled with disbelief.
For my father, a life without control was no life at all.
Then Hale entered.
“Where is Richard?”
Dad looked toward his attorney.
Nobody spoke.
“Where is Victor?”
Still nothing.
Hale placed photographs on the table.
Victor’s abandoned car.
Richard’s empty office.
Hospital maps.
Dad stared at them.
Finally he whispered.
“Richard is worse than you think.”
My stomach tightened.
“How?”
Dad looked at me.
“He doesn’t care about the trust anymore.”
“Then what does he want?”
“To make sure Eleanor’s final plan fails.”
“How?”
Dad closed his eyes.
“He believes if the baby dies because of a documented hereditary complication, the trust can be challenged permanently.”
Dr. Shaw had already warned us of manipulation.
But this was different.
Richard wanted to use my daughter’s genetic marker against her.
He wanted to fabricate a medical explanation.
Hale demanded Richard’s location.
Dad refused until prosecutors offered protection.
Then he gave one address.
An old Mercer family hunting property three counties away.
Police raided it that night.
Victor was there.
Alive.
Richard was not.
Victor surrendered immediately.
Inside the house, police discovered stolen hospital equipment.
Medication.
Forged forms.
And photographs of me entering Dr. Shaw’s clinic.
But the most alarming item was a calendar.
September dates had been crossed out.
August dates remained.
One date was circled.
August 21.
Five days away.
May you like
Underneath, Richard had written two words.
Early delivery.
