Chapter 6 - What Happened the Night Nathan Died
“I ignored his call.”
Gideon said it quietly.
Vivian stared at him.
“Nathan called you?”
“Three times.”
The lake wind moved through the trees.
Gideon looked older than he had a week earlier.
“Why didn’t you answer?”
“I was with someone.”
Vivian understood before he said the name.
“Celeste.”
He nodded.
The cruelty of it struck them both.
Nathan might have been trying to warn Gideon about Raymond while Gideon was betraying Vivian.
“What happened afterward?”
“I woke up at 5:30. There were three missed calls and one voicemail.”
“What did he say?”
“Nothing. Just wind. Then the call ended.”
Gideon’s voice broke.
“At 6:10, the police called.”
Vivian had attended Nathan’s funeral.
She remembered Gideon standing beside the grave without moving for nearly an hour.
She had believed grief had made him unreachable.
Now she realized guilt had been there too.
“Why didn’t you tell investigators?”
“I told them about the calls.”
“About Celeste?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I was ashamed.”
Vivian laughed once, without humor.
“So you protected your reputation.”
“Yes.”
The answer was immediate.
No excuse.
“And that decision may have hidden evidence.”
“Yes.”
Gideon looked at her.
“I will tell the investigators everything.”
He did.
Within hours, detectives recovered archived cell tower data and marina surveillance that had never been examined because Nathan’s death had been classified as accidental.
The evidence placed Raymond near the marina.
But still did not prove murder.
Then Raymond made his mistake.
He called Vivian.
Unknown number.
She answered while federal agents listened.
“Mrs. Mercer.”
His voice was calm.
“Raymond.”
“You always were smarter than Gideon.”
“What do you want?”
“The ledger Nathan took.”
“We don’t have it.”
A pause.
“You found the warehouse.”
Vivian glanced at the agents.
“Maybe.”
“You should have stayed a hostess.”
Vivian’s expression hardened.
“And you should have stayed a friend.”
Raymond laughed.
“Gideon never had friends. He had people who were useful.”
“Is that what Nathan was?”
Silence.
Then:
“Nathan was sentimental.”
“Is that why you killed him?”
Gideon stood behind the glass partition, fists clenched.
Raymond did not answer directly.
“He should have walked away.”
It was enough to deepen the investigation.
But Raymond wanted the original ledger.
The one removed from Gideon’s office.
Investigators believed he had hidden it elsewhere after the break-in.
Vivian remembered something.
The host pin.
The small gold pin she had left on the ballroom table.
It had been given to her by Nathan years earlier when the foundation opened.
On the back were engraved coordinates.
She had always assumed they marked the family’s lake property.
They didn’t.
The coordinates led to an old boathouse once owned by Nathan.
Inside, beneath a loose floorboard, investigators found a waterproof case.
The original ledger.
Bank accounts.
Names.
Payments.
And a recorded statement.
Nathan had known he was in danger.
His recording described Raymond’s scheme: humanitarian freight containers were being used to conceal illegal shipments and launder profits through fake charities.
Nathan planned to expose everything.
He also spoke about Gideon.
“My brother isn’t part of this. He’s arrogant enough to think he sees everything, which is why Raymond can operate under his nose.”
Gideon lowered his head.
Nathan continued.
“If Gideon ever hears this, tell him power isn’t knowing everyone fears you. Power is knowing who would still sit beside you if you lost everything.”
The recording ended.
Gideon left the room.
Vivian found him outside.
He was crying.
Not dramatically.
Silently.
For years, Vivian had wanted proof that something could reach him.
Now she wished it had not required his dead brother.
She stood beside him.
“I should have answered.”
“Yes.”
“I should have protected him.”
“You couldn’t protect someone from a danger you refused to see.”
Gideon looked at her.
They both understood she was talking about more than Nathan.
“I’m going to testify publicly,” he said.
“It may destroy the company.”
“I know.”
“Your reputation.”
“I know.”
“And if your omissions created legal exposure—”
“I know.”
Vivian studied him.
For once, Gideon Mercer was choosing truth when lying might protect him.
Then an agent burst through the door.
“Raymond’s moving.”
“Where?”
May you like
The agent looked at Vivian.
“Your foundation.”
