Chapter 5: The Brother Who Sold Me Out
Nathan Cross arrived at my penthouse the following afternoon wearing a charcoal suit and the same silver watch I'd given him for his thirtieth birthday.
He walked into the living room as though nothing had happened between us.
“Damon,” he said, loosening his tie.
“You sounded dramatic on the phone. What's this about?””
I stood beside the windows overlooking the city.
On the table between us lay copies of the transfer authorization, the shell-company records, and a printout showing the trust's beneficiaries.
“Sit down.””
Nathan glanced at the papers.
Then he looked at me.
“What's all this?””
“Two and a half million dollars left my company five years ago. The money passed through three shell companies before reaching a private trust connected to Elisa Rochefort.””
He picked up the first page.
“That's interesting.””
“Interesting?””
“I mean, I haven't seen this before.””
I slid the beneficiary statement toward him.
“Your name is on it.””
Nathan stopped moving.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he set the paper down carefully.
“I can explain.””
“That's encouraging. Start with the part where you helped someone erase my daughter from my life.””
His expression hardened.
“I didn't know about a daughter.””
“You were a beneficiary of the trust.””
“I had investments with Rochefort Holdings. That doesn't mean I knew what every transaction involved.””
“You received money.””
Nathan's eyes flickered toward the window.
“How much did you receive?””
“Seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.””
He exhaled slowly.
“That was a business payment.””
“For what?””
“A consulting arrangement.””
“Show me the contract.””
Nathan rubbed his forehead.
“I don't have it anymore.””
“Convenient.””
“Damon, I didn't know Claire was pregnant. I swear to you.””
I watched him carefully.
Nathan had always been a terrible liar. When we were boys, he'd stolen cash from our father's desk and tried to blame the housekeeper. He had spent the entire interrogation staring at the floor.
Now he stared directly at me.
That frightened me more than if he'd looked away.
“Did Elisa ever tell you she was threatening Claire?””
“No.””
“Did you know she was following her?””
“No.””
“Did you know someone was using my credentials to move money?””
Nathan's jaw tightened.
“I knew about the money.””
The room seemed to grow colder.
I walked toward him.
“What did you just say?””
He looked down at the papers.
“I knew the funds were coming from a company associated with you. I assumed you'd approved the transaction.””
“You assumed?””
“The paperwork had your authorization.””
“It was forged.””
“I didn't know that.””
“You never thought to ask me why my company was paying you three-quarters of a million dollars?””
Nathan stood.
“Do you know how much I was owed after you pushed me out of Cross Horizons?””
“You left because you wanted to sell our technology to a private equity firm. I refused because it would have cost thousands of employees their jobs.””
“You refused because you wanted to control everything!””
“I refused because it was the right decision.””
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“You always do that. You make a decision, call it noble, and expect everyone else to thank you for it.””
I felt the old argument rising between us.
But this wasn't about our company.
It was about Claire and Elena.
“Did you know what that money was for?”” I asked again.
Nathan's face changed.
Just slightly.
But enough.
“I was told it was compensation,” he said.
“For what?””
“For helping Elisa manage a personal matter.””
“What personal matter?””
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Was it Claire?””
Nathan closed his eyes.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
“You knew.””
“I didn't know everything.””
“But you knew enough.””
He sat down heavily.
“Elisa said Claire was threatening you. She told me Claire had discovered confidential information about the company and was trying to blackmail you.””
“That's a lie.””
“I know that now.””
“When did you find out?””
Nathan looked at the papers.
“Two years ago.””
I stared at him.
“Two years ago?””
“I received an anonymous email. It contained a photograph of Claire and a little girl outside a grocery store.””
My heart pounded.
“You saw Elena?””
“I didn't know who she was at the time.””
“What did the email say?””
Nathan swallowed.
“It said that if I ever contacted you about the trust, my financial records would be sent to the authorities, along with evidence suggesting I'd helped embezzle money from the company.””
I studied him.
“Did you contact the authorities?””
“No.””
“Did you contact me?””
“No.””
“Did you try to find Claire?””
Nathan shook his head.
“I was afraid.””
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
“You were afraid of losing money. Claire was afraid her child would be killed.””
“I know.””
“No, you don't.””
My voice echoed through the room.
I pointed toward the door.
“Get out.””
Nathan stood slowly.
“Damon, please.””
“Get out.””
He gathered his coat but left the papers on the table.
At the door, he turned back.
“There's something else you should know.””
I didn't respond.
Nathan swallowed.
“Elisa didn't choose Claire at random. She knew about her before you ever met her.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What does that mean?””
Nathan hesitated.
“Ask her father.””
Then he left.
I stood alone in the living room, listening to the elevator doors close.
For several minutes, I didn't move.
Finally, I called Jonathan.
“Send me everything we have on Nathan. I want his communications with Rochefort Holdings, his trust records, and the original transfer authorization.””
“Understood.””
“And find out what Nathan meant when he said Elisa knew Claire before I met her.””
“I'll investigate.””
I ended the call and looked at the photograph of Claire and Elena that I'd placed on the table.
Elena was smiling in the picture.
Claire looked exhausted but happy.
Someone had taken that ordinary moment and turned it into a weapon.
I picked up my phone and called Marcus.
“Where is Claire now?””
“At your residence, sir. The medical team cleared her for discharge this afternoon. She's resting in the guest suite, and Elena is with her.””
“Good. I want you to review every security camera around the property.””
“Is there a specific concern?””
“Someone has been watching them for years. I want to know whether anyone followed them here.””
Marcus paused.
“Understood.””
I ended the call and headed home.
When I arrived, I found Elena sitting cross-legged on the kitchen floor, surrounded by strawberries.
She was arranging them into little piles.
Claire stood at the counter, holding a mug of tea.
“You're home,” she said.
“I am.””
Elena looked up.
“Damon, do you know how to make star pancakes?””
I loosened my tie.
“I was hoping you would teach me.””
She grinned.
Claire watched us with an expression I couldn't quite read.
For a moment, I imagined what our lives might have looked like if no one had interfered.
A kitchen full of laughter.
A little girl stealing strawberries.
Claire rolling her eyes at my terrible cooking.
The ordinary life I'd never known I wanted until it was too late.
Then Marcus appeared in the doorway.
“Sir, we found something.””
I followed him into the study.
He closed the door and placed a tablet on the desk.
“Three nights ago, a black SUV was parked across the street from Claire's shelter. It stayed for forty-seven minutes.””
He played the security footage.
The vehicle was partially obscured by a tree, but its license plate was visible.
Marcus enlarged the image.
“It's registered to a private security firm that provides services to Rochefort Holdings.””
I leaned forward.
“Who was driving?””
“We identified the vehicle's assigned operator.””
Marcus tapped the screen.
A personnel photograph appeared.
Victor Hale.
The same name Claire had written in her notebook.
“Find him,” I said.
“We're already trying. His employment record shows that he resigned from Rochefort Holdings three months ago.””
“Where is he now?””
Marcus shook his head.
“His last known address is vacant.””
I stared at the screen.
“Keep looking.””
Marcus hesitated.
“There is one more thing.””
“What?””
“The SUV was parked outside the shelter the night before Claire received the threatening photograph.””
I felt the anger return, sharper this time.
Someone had been close enough to watch Elena leave preschool.
Close enough to know where Claire slept.
And close enough to follow them all the way to the shelter.
I returned to the kitchen.
Elena had arranged the strawberries into a heart.
“Look!”” she said proudly.
“That's beautiful.””
“Mommy says hearts mean you love someone.””
I looked at Claire.
“Yes,” I said quietly.
“They do.””
Then I noticed something beside Elena's little pile of strawberries.
A folded sheet of paper.
“What's that?””
Elena picked it up.
“It was in Mommy's bag. She said I could draw on the back.””
I turned the paper over.
It was a printed photograph of Claire standing outside a building.
On the reverse, someone had written a short message in black ink.
You have been warned.
Below it was a date.
Tomorrow.
May you like
And beneath the date was an address.
The Rochefort family estate.
