Chapter 6 - The Dead ManJulian didn't believe her.
Not at first.
He accused Camilla of lying, manipulating us, buying time.
She simply gave us an address.
A small town on the coast of Maine.
Three hours later, Julian and I were driving north with two private investigators following behind.
Neither of us spoke much.
We weren't husband and wife anymore.
Not really.
But grief created strange temporary alliances.
“You don't have to come,” Julian said.
“My father's death is connected to yours.”
He nodded.
Twenty miles passed.
Then he said, “I'm sorry.”
“For which part?”
“All of it.”
“That isn't an apology.”
“I know.”
He looked through the windshield.
“I've spent the last twelve hours realizing how many times I made you smaller because I was afraid you were bigger than me.”
That was closer.
“You didn't make me smaller, Julian.”
“No.”
He swallowed.
“I just punished you whenever I noticed you weren't.”
I turned toward the window.
An apology could be sincere and still arrive too late.
That was something people rarely understood.
We reached the address shortly after noon.
The house overlooked a rocky stretch of Atlantic coastline.
Julian knocked.
Nothing.
He knocked again.
The door opened.
The man standing there was older, thinner, and heavily scarred along one side of his face.
But Julian recognized him immediately.
“Dad?”
Richard Mercer gripped the doorframe.
For a moment, neither man moved.
Then Julian punched him.
Richard fell backward.
“Julian!”
I caught Julian before he could strike again.
“You were alive?” Julian shouted. “Nine years?”
Richard touched his bleeding lip.
“I had no choice.”
“You had a son.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“You let me bury an empty coffin!”
Richard's face crumpled.
“Yes.”
That single word carried nine years of shame.
We went inside.
Richard told us everything.
He and my father had discovered Malcolm's scheme.
When Daniel threatened to expose him, his boat was sabotaged.
Richard survived an attempt on his own life two years later.
Federal investigators arranged his disappearance while they built a case.
Then the investigation collapsed.
Evidence vanished.
Witnesses changed statements.
Richard remained hidden because Malcolm believed him dead.
“Why didn't you contact Eleanor?” I asked.
“I did.”
My heart stopped.
“When?”
“Six months before she died.”
He opened a safe.
Inside were letters.
My mother's handwriting covered several envelopes.
Richard handed one to me.
For Audrey, when it is safe.
My hands shook.
I opened it.
My darling girl,
If Richard gives you this, then the truth has finally reached you.
Do not build your life around revenge.
I stopped reading.
Tears blurred the page.
My mother had known.
Not everything.
But enough.
She had protected me by keeping me outside the war she had inherited.
Her final paragraph hurt most.
You may someday discover that people you trusted failed you. Do not let their failures teach you that trust itself was foolish. Choose more carefully. Love more wisely. But do not become cold merely because someone else was cruel.
I folded the letter.
Julian stood across the room.
He looked away when our eyes met.
Richard gave us the original Meridian documentation.
Malcolm had stolen Camilla's copy.
He didn't know another existed.
That gave us leverage.
But before we could leave, one of the investigators entered.
“We have a problem.”
He showed us his phone.
Breaking news.
AURELIA MAJORITY OWNER UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR MARKET MANIPULATION.
My photograph filled the screen.
Another headline followed.
Sources allege Audrey Vance engineered acquisition using confidential information.
Malcolm had struck first.
Within an hour, Northstar's partners were calling.
Aurelia's lenders demanded explanations.
The board scheduled an emergency meeting.
Then Evelyn called.
“Audrey, there's more.”
“What?”
“Malcolm sent documents to the SEC.”
“Fake documents?”
“Some are fake.”
“And the others?”
Silence.
“Others contain your signature.”
My stomach dropped.
“I didn't sign anything.”
“I believe you.”
“Will they?”
“I don't know.”
I looked at Richard.
Malcolm wasn't merely running.
He was trying to destroy me before I could expose him.
Julian stepped closer.
“What happens now?”
I put my mother's letter inside my coat.
“Now we go back to Boston.”
“And do what?”
I looked at him.
“What my mother should have been able to do eleven years ago.”
May you like
I picked up the Meridian files.
“We finish this.”
