Chapter 5
By noon, the story was everywhere.
News vans appeared outside my gate.
Reporters called my office.
Parents from Lily’s school sent messages.
Some were supportive.
Others were not.
One headline called me “the billionaire father who looked away.”
I wanted to throw my phone through the wall.
Instead, I turned it off.
Lily did not need to see strangers judging her pain.
The company board scheduled an emergency meeting for four that afternoon.
Grant had requested it.
Of course he had.
Thomas advised me not to attend alone.
I brought him and my security director.
Grant was already sitting at the conference table when I walked in.
So was my mother.
I stopped.
“What is she doing here?”
Margaret looked exhausted.
“I’m a shareholder.”
“You’re also a witness.”
Grant leaned back.
“Daniel, don’t turn this into a family fight.”
I stared at him.
“You framed me for child neglect.”
“I did no such thing.”
“You helped Vanessa lock Lily in a closet.”
Several board members looked shocked.
Grant smiled.
“Do you have proof?”
I placed a flash drive on the table.
His smile disappeared.
My mother whispered, “Daniel.”
I ignored her.
The chairman cleared his throat.
“We are here because the company is facing serious reputational damage.”
“Created by Grant.”
Grant laughed.
“That’s convenient.”
Thomas spoke.
“We have recordings showing Mr. Grant Carter discussing a plan to make Daniel appear negligent and initiate proceedings involving his daughter’s trust.”
Every face turned toward Grant.
He stood.
“I will not sit here while a lawyer repeats insane accusations.”
“You won’t have to,” I said.
I nodded toward the screen.
The recording played.
Grant’s voice filled the room.
Once Daniel looks negligent, we file the petition.
Nobody moved.
Then Vanessa’s voice.
He signs these, the board removes him, the court reviews the trust, and everyone gets what they need.
Grant’s face turned gray.
The chairman paused the recording.
“What exactly were you trying to get?”
Grant looked around the table.
“This is manipulated.”
I almost laughed.
Vanessa had used the same excuse.
My mother lowered her head.
The chairman looked at her.
“Margaret, were you present?”
She whispered, “Yes.”
Grant turned toward her.
“Mom.”
She finally looked at him.
“I’m done lying for you.”
Something changed in Grant’s face.
Pure hatred.
He pointed at her.
“You knew about Claire.”
The room went silent.
My mother flinched.
“What did you say?” I asked.
Grant realized his mistake too late.
I walked toward him.
“What did Mom know about Claire?”
“Nothing.”
“You just said she knew.”
“Daniel, sit down.”
I moved closer.
“Tell me.”
Thomas stepped between us before I could grab him.
Grant smiled.
“Ask Mom why Claire was driving to the accountant’s office the night she crashed.”
My entire body went cold.
Claire had died from cancer.
But months before her diagnosis, she had survived a serious car accident.
She had always said another vehicle forced her off the road.
Police never identified the driver.
“What are you talking about?”
Grant picked up his jacket.
“You’re so busy blaming everyone else. Ask your perfect dead wife what she was hiding from you.”
I lunged.
Thomas caught my arm.
“Daniel.”
Grant walked toward the door.
Security blocked him.
“You’re not leaving with company devices,” I said.
He stared at me.
“You can’t hold me here.”
“No. But I can remove your access.”
The chairman spoke.
“Effective immediately, Grant, you are placed on administrative leave pending investigation.”
Grant looked at the board.
“You’re choosing him?”
“We are choosing evidence.”
Grant turned to our mother.
“You did this.”
She shook her head.
“No. You did.”
He left.
I followed my mother into the hallway.
“What happened the night Claire crashed?”
Margaret started crying.
I had not seen my mother cry in years.
“Grant called me afterward.”
“Afterward?”
“He was scared.”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
“He said Claire had discovered the missing money.”
“I know that.”
“He said she was going to meet an accountant.”
“And?”
Margaret covered her mouth.
“He followed her.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“He swore he only wanted to talk.”
“No.”
“He said he tried to get her to pull over.”
My vision blurred.
“He was the other car?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do know!”
People in the conference room heard me shout.
My mother collapsed into a chair.
“He said she sped up. He said he moved beside her. He said he never touched her car.”
“But she crashed.”
“Yes.”
“And you protected him.”
“I was terrified.”
“You protected him.”
“He was my son.”
“So was I!”
My voice broke.
“And Claire was my wife.”
Margaret cried.
“I thought if I told you, I would lose both my sons.”
“You lost me anyway.”
I walked away.
Thomas followed.
By the time we reached the elevator, my hands were shaking violently.
Claire’s accident had happened six years earlier.
She survived.
Two years later, cancer took her.
Grant had probably convinced himself the accident did not matter anymore.
It mattered to me.
It mattered because Claire had been investigating him when it happened.
My phone turned on automatically after connecting to my car.
Dozens of messages appeared.
One was from the police detective handling Vanessa’s case.
Call me immediately.
I called.
Detective Alvarez answered.
“Mr. Carter, Vanessa posted bail.”
My stomach tightened.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“Where is she?”
“We don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“She left with her attorney.”
I looked back at the office building.
“Grant just left too.”
There was a pause.
Then Alvarez said, “Go home.”
“Why?”
“Because we searched Vanessa’s phone.”
My grip tightened around the steering wheel.
“And?”
“We found messages between her and Grant.”
“I already know they were working together.”
“That’s not what concerns me.”
“What does?”
“Yesterday morning, before police arrived at your house, Vanessa sent him a message.”
Alvarez read it to me.
If Lily talks, we lose everything.
May you like
Grant had answered one minute later.
Then make sure she doesn’t.
