Chapter 5: The Brother at the Boardroom Table
Charles closed the door behind him.
I remained seated, staring at the man who had spent twenty-two years standing beside my father.
The man who had attended my wedding.
The man who had once given a speech about how lucky Grant was to become part of the Bennett family.
And now I knew he was my half-brother.
“Don't come any closer,” I said.
Charles stopped.
“Eleanor, I understand this is difficult.””
“You understand nothing.””
He pulled out the chair opposite me.
“May I sit?””
“No.””
He remained standing.
Helen quietly closed the folder.
“I think you two need to talk.””
I looked at her.
“You knew?””
“I knew Charles was aware of the adoption. I didn't know he would come here today.””
Charles gave her a cold glance.
“You're making this sound more dramatic than it is.””
I turned toward him.
“You knew Peter was my father?””
“Yes.””
“For how long?””
“About seven years.””
I stared at him.
“Seven years?””
He nodded.
“And you attended my wedding knowing that?””
“Yes.””
“You watched Grant marry me knowing he was connected to the same family whose shares he was trying to acquire?””
Charles's expression hardened.
“I didn't know about Grant's plan until recently.””
“But you knew about me.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because the truth could have destroyed the company.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Apparently, the company survived thirty-two years without me knowing. It could have survived another thirty minutes.””
Charles ignored the remark.
“Your biological father left behind a complicated estate. There were disputes over voting rights, ownership, and succession. Margaret wanted to protect you.””
“From whom?””
He looked at Helen.
Then back at me.
“From our family.””
I shook my head.
“You're part of that family.””
“Exactly.””
He sat down without permission.
“Peter was brilliant, but he was reckless. He believed the company belonged to him because he had helped build it. My father disagreed. Your mother supported Richard, and Peter never forgave her.””
“Why?””
“Because Peter believed Margaret manipulated the company structure to keep him from gaining control.””
Helen interrupted.
“That isn't what happened.””
Charles turned toward her.
“You don't know everything.””
“I drafted the documents,” Helen replied.
“I know exactly what happened.””
Charles's jaw tightened.
I looked between them.
“Tell me.””
Helen folded her hands.
“Peter attempted to transfer company voting rights without authorization. Margaret discovered the arrangement and stopped it. She then created a private trust for you, ensuring that your biological father's legitimate inheritance would pass to you without giving him control while you were a minor.””
I looked at Charles.
“And you wanted those shares?””
He didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
“Your father left you twenty-eight percent,” Charles said.
“Those shares are valuable, but they also carry obligations.””
“What obligations?””
“Certain voting agreements. Restrictions on transfers. Corporate oversight.””
I leaned forward.
“Are you trying to convince me to give them up?””
“I'm trying to explain that holding them isn't as simple as it sounds.””
“Funny. Grant said almost the same thing when he wanted me to sign the divorce agreement.””
Charles's expression changed.
“Grant is involved in this?””
“He tried to obtain the original trust records.””
Charles looked at Helen.
“Did he get them?””
“No.””
“Then we have a problem.””
I stared at him.
“What problem?””
Charles removed a document from his briefcase.
“Grant has already entered into a preliminary agreement with an investment group. He promised them access to the voting shares.””
“How could he promise something he doesn't own?””
“Because he believed he could obtain them through you.””
I looked at the document.
There was Grant's signature.
A proposed transaction involving the private trust.
And another signature.
Charles Whitmore.
My blood went cold.
“You signed this?””
He didn't deny it.
“I was negotiating on behalf of the investment group.””
“You were helping my husband steal my inheritance?””
“That's an unfair description.””
“Then describe it for me.””
Charles rubbed his temples.
“Grant approached me months ago. He claimed you had agreed to transfer your interest after the divorce. He showed me preliminary legal documents.””
“I never agreed to anything.””
“I know that now.””
“Why did you believe him?””
“Because he had a copy of your signature.””
I felt sick.
The divorce agreement.
The documents I had signed the previous evening.
“Did he forge my signature before yesterday?””
Charles nodded.
“He presented an earlier authorization.””
I looked at Helen.
“Can he use the divorce agreement I signed?””
Helen answered carefully.
“Not automatically. The trust has independent protections. A divorce decree does not transfer beneficial ownership of an inherited trust unless the governing documents and applicable law permit it. We are examining every clause.””
I looked back at Charles.
“Who is the investment group?””
He hesitated.
Then he said, “Northbridge Capital.””
The name sounded familiar.
I remembered seeing it in one of the suspicious transaction records.
“Who controls it?””
Charles leaned back.
“That's what I haven't been able to establish.””
I stared at him.
“You negotiated a multimillion-dollar transaction without knowing who was behind the company?””
“I thought I did.””
“Who?””
“Grant.””
The room went silent.
Helen slowly removed her glasses.
“Charles, what are you saying?””
He looked at me.
“Grant isn't simply working with Northbridge. He believes he controls it.””
“Believes?””
Charles nodded.
“Someone else has been financing the operation. Someone with enough money to purchase influence inside the company.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from Daniel appeared.
Eleanor, emergency. We found the person who accessed the legal archive.
I opened the attachment.
A photograph from the building's security cameras.
A woman entering the server room.
I recognized her immediately.
Margaret's former personal assistant.
She had attended my mother's funeral.
Her name was Susan Miller.
But the photograph wasn't what made my blood run cold.
It was the person standing behind her.
Grant.
I showed Charles.
His face changed.
“That can't be right.””
“Why?””
“Because Grant was supposed to be in Chicago yesterday.””
“He wasn't.””
Charles stared at the image.
Then he whispered something I couldn't hear.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“Grant didn't come to the office to steal your mother's records.””
“Then why?””
Charles pointed at the photograph.
“Look at his hand.””
I enlarged the image.
Grant was holding a small black case.
Charles leaned closer.
“That's not a briefcase.””
“What is it?””
“A biometric access device.””
Helen stood abruptly.
“Where did he get that?””
Charles looked terrified.
“From Peter's old security archive.””
I turned toward him.
“What archive?””
He hesitated.
Then he said:
“Your biological father kept a private record of every secret connected to Bennett Global Holdings.””
My phone vibrated again.
This time, the message came from an unknown number.
Your mother didn't just leave you shares, Eleanor. She left you evidence.
May you like
A second message followed.
And Grant has just found the key.
