Chapter 13 - Marcus
Marcus survived.
Barely.
Someone found him beside his car in the Mercer Foundation garage.
Head injury.
Broken wrist.
No wallet.
No phone.
Police initially believed he had been robbed.
I didn’t.
Neither did Vivian.
At the hospital, she sat beside his bed.
Dad refused to go.
I did.
Not for Marcus.
For answers.
He woke shortly after midnight.
His face was bruised.
His left wrist immobilized.
When he saw me, his eyes filled with panic.
“Where’s my mother?”
“Outside.”
He tried to sit.
Pain stopped him.
“David.”
“What about him?”
Marcus looked toward the door.
“Lock it.”
I did.
“Tell me what happened.”
He swallowed.
“He called me.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“What did he want?”
“To meet.”
“Why?”
“He said Mom was going to betray us.”
“Was he wrong?”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“No.”
At least Vivian wasn’t the only one who had suddenly discovered honesty.
“What happened at the garage?”
“I went to the foundation.”
“David wasn’t there.”
“Someone else was.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Man?”
“Yes.”
“Age?”
“Maybe forties.”
“Face?”
“He wore a cap.”
“That’s convenient.”
Marcus glared.
“You think I did this to myself?”
“No.”
I leaned closer.
“I think you have lied so often that the truth is going to need help.”
He looked away.
I waited.
Eventually he spoke.
“I knew about the warning sensor.”
“Dad’s car.”
“Yes.”
“I thought we were going to make the dashboard lights malfunction.”
“Why?”
“David said Richard would stop driving.”
“That’s your defense?”
“No.”
His voice cracked.
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds like you tampered with a vehicle to frighten an injured man into surrendering control of his company.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
“And you accepted five hundred thousand dollars.”
His eyes opened.
Mom told you.”
“Was it payment?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“I thought for helping with Phoenix.”
“Did you know Westbridge was tied to David?”
“Yes.”
My stomach turned.
“Did you know Hale paid almost double value?”
“Yes.”
“You stole from Dad.”
Marcus looked at me.
“He was never my father.”
There it was.
I stared at him.
“He paid for your education.”
“I didn’t ask him to.”
“He gave you a job.”
“I earned it.”
“He brought you into his home.”
“So?”
“So why destroy him?”
Marcus’s eyes filled with resentment.
“Because he never looked at me the way he looked at you.”
I almost laughed.
Six years apart.
And Marcus still believed he had lost some competition.
“You think I had him?”
“He talked about you constantly.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Every birthday.”
“Every Christmas.”
“Every time somebody mentioned Seattle.”
“He’d pretend he didn’t care.”
“Then he’d sit in his study and stare at your mother’s photograph.”
My throat tightened.
Marcus gave a bitter smile.
“You thought Vivian erased you?”
“She tried.”
“But Richard never stopped waiting.”
I looked away.
Marcus continued.
“And I hated it.”
“Because no matter what I did, I was temporary.”
“You were blood.”
“And I wasn’t.”
I turned back.
“So you decided to steal his company.”
“I decided to take the opportunity David offered.”
“Same thing.”
He said nothing.
“Who attacked you?”
“I told you.”
“I don’t know.”
“Why were you meeting David?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because I had something he wanted.”
“What?”
His breathing changed.
“Protection.”
“From whom?”
“Police.”
“No.”
I leaned closer.
“What did you have?”
Marcus stared at me.
Then whispered.
“Patricia Wynn’s phone.”
The dead notary.
I went still.
“You had it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She gave it to me.”
“When?”
“The day before she died.”
“Why you?”
“She was scared of David.”
“So she trusted you?”
“No.”
Marcus almost laughed.
“She trusted money.”
“She wanted two hundred thousand dollars.”
“For what?”
“Her phone.”
“What was on it?”
“Recordings.”
“Of David?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
Marcus looked toward his cast.
“He took it.”
“The man who attacked you?”
“Yes.”
My pulse sank.
“Any backup?”
Marcus said nothing.
I saw it.
“You made one.”
His eyes met mine.
“Maybe.”
“Marcus.”
“What do I get?”
I almost admired the stupidity.
“You’re bargaining?”
“I need a lawyer.”
“Get one.”
“I need immunity.”
“I can’t give you immunity.”
“But you can talk to prosecutors.”
“I can tell them whether you cooperated.”
He stared at me.
“That matters.”
“Yes.”
“Then I want protection.”
“From David?”
Marcus laughed softly.
“You still think David is the biggest problem.”
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
He looked at the locked door.
Then back at me.
“David didn’t order my attack.”
“How do you know?”
“Because David is missing.”
“What?”
“He never showed up.”
“How do you know he’s missing?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because the man who hit me said something.”
“What?”
Marcus swallowed.
“He said David had become a liability.”
I stared.
“Who said it?”
“The man.”
“What else?”
Marcus’s voice dropped.
“He said this was never David’s operation.”
I felt the floor tilt.
“Whose was it?”
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I swear.”
“What backup did you make?”
He breathed slowly.
“Cloud account.”
“Password?”
“I give it to the prosecutor.”
“Fine.”
I stood.
Marcus grabbed my wrist with his good hand.
I stared at him until he released me.
“There’s one thing you should know.”
“What?”
“The morning Richard crashed, David called someone.”
“Who?”
“I only heard part of it.”
“What did he say?”
Marcus looked terrified.
“He said, ‘Your father is becoming a problem.’”
I stopped.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
That meant David had been talking to someone whose father was involved.
I tried to think.
Then something struck me.
Thomas Reed had a son.
So did several board members.
But one name came first.
Nathan Cole.
He had a son too.
I stepped backward.
Marcus saw my expression.
“What?”
I didn’t answer.
My phone rang.
Ben.
“Isabella.”
His voice was urgent.
“I found Thomas.”
“Where?”
“Police picked him up at O’Hare.”
“He was trying to board a flight to Zurich.”
“Did they arrest him?”
“Yes.”
“On what?”
“Financial fraud.”
I exhaled.
Then Ben continued.
“And he asked for you.”
“Why?”
“He says he knows who sabotaged Richard’s car.”
“We know.”
“No.”
Ben’s voice changed.
“He says David Mercer wasn’t the person who planned it.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Who was?”
Ben paused.
May you like
“Thomas says it was Nathan Cole.”
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