Chapter 6 - The Price of Loyalty
Arthur Bennett had been part of the Martell family for thirty years.
He had handled Vincent's father's contracts, managed the family trust, and guided Vincent through the years following his parents' supposed deaths.
Vincent had trusted him more than almost anyone.
Now every memory seemed contaminated.
“Find him,” Vincent ordered.
His security chief nodded.
“Already trying.”
“Where is he?”
“His house is empty. His office was cleared overnight.”
Vincent slammed his hand against the desk.
Grace stood beside the window.
“Maybe he knows we found the recording.”
“Obviously.”
“Then he has a head start.”
Vincent turned toward her.
“Do you have a better idea?”
“Yes. Stop behaving like anger is a strategy.”
His jaw tightened.
She continued.
“Your attorney has been working with these people for years. He knows your security system, your business accounts, and probably every private place you own. Sending men to knock on his door isn't going to solve anything.”
Vincent stared at her.
“What would you do?”
“Find out what he wants.”
“Money.”
“Maybe. Or protection. Or revenge. We don't know.”
Tony looked at the recording device.
“There's another possibility.”
Everyone turned.
“Arthur didn't just help your father with business matters,” Tony continued. “He was involved in your family trust. If Sebastian had a child, Arthur would know.”
Vincent slowly sat down.
“Then we need the original trust documents.”
“Where are they?” Grace asked.
“Stored in a private archive.”
“Can we access it?”
“Yes.”
“Then let's go.”
Vincent looked at her.
“It's not safe.”
Grace folded her arms.
“You're beginning to sound like a broken record.”
“This isn't a restaurant.”
“No. But it is still a place where people make decisions. And I'm not letting you make every decision for me.”
He looked at her for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
The archive was located beneath an old Martell office building.
It contained boxes of financial statements, property deeds, photographs, and legal records.
Vincent found the trust documents after nearly an hour.
One page had been altered.
A beneficiary had been added three months before Sebastian's death.
The name was Daniel Bennett.
Grace frowned.
“Bennett?”
Vincent looked up.
“Arthur's son.”
Tony stepped closer.
“Sebastian had a child?”
Vincent read the document again.
“Apparently.”
The beneficiary was entitled to a substantial portion of Sebastian's estate, but only if his identity remained confidential until he reached thirty-five.
A handwritten note appeared in the margin.
The child must never be connected to the Martell name.
Grace felt a chill.
“Why?”
Vincent turned the page.
There was a photograph attached.
A younger Arthur Bennett stood beside a woman holding a baby.
On the back, someone had written:
Daniel, the rightful heir.
Then Grace noticed something else.
The woman holding the baby wore a small gold pendant.
She recognized it immediately.
Her mother had owned the same pendant.
Grace took the photograph.
“Vincent.”
He looked at her.
“That's my mother.”
Silence.
Tony moved closer.
“That can't be right.”
Grace studied the photograph.
The woman was Margaret.
But the baby was not hers.
“Why would my mother be holding Arthur's child?”
Vincent searched the documents.
A second page revealed the answer.
Margaret had been listed as Daniel's emergency guardian.
Grace looked stunned.
“My mother was protecting this child?”
Tony nodded slowly.
“She must have been.”
“From whom?”
Before anyone could answer, the lights went out.
A metallic crash echoed through the archive.
Vincent grabbed Grace's hand and pulled her behind a concrete pillar.
Tony crouched beside a filing cabinet.
Footsteps approached.
A man's voice called through the darkness.
“Mr. Martell. We know you're here.”
Vincent reached for his phone.
No signal.
The footsteps moved closer.
Grace could hear her own heartbeat.
Then a flashlight beam swept across the room.
A gunshot shattered the silence.
Vincent pulled Grace down.
Glass exploded above them.
“Stay behind me,” he whispered.
Grace shook her head.
“Tony!”
A second shot rang out.
Then a heavy object struck the floor.
Vincent moved toward the sound.
His security team arrived moments later, forcing the attackers to retreat.
Tony was on the ground.
Blood stained his shirt.
Grace dropped beside him.
“Tony! Look at me!”
He struggled to breathe.
Vincent called for medical assistance.
Tony grabbed Grace's wrist.
“Listen.”
“Don't talk. Help is coming.”
“No.”
His fingers tightened.
“Your mother didn't just protect Daniel.”
Grace leaned closer.
“What are you saying?”
Tony swallowed.
“She was trying to protect you from him.”
Grace went still.
“From Daniel?”
Tony nodded weakly.
“He knows who you are.”
Then his eyes closed.
The paramedics rushed in.
Vincent looked toward the doorway.
One of the attackers had dropped a wallet.
Inside was an identification card.
The name belonged to a private security company.
But the photograph was familiar.
It was Richard Callaway.
Only the name printed beneath it was different.
Daniel Arthur Bennett.
Richard wasn't Sebastian's associate.
May you like
He was Sebastian's son.
And he had been hiding in plain sight.
