Chapter 12 - The Brother
Nathan met Adam in a parking garage beneath a Manhattan hotel.
Not dramatic.
Adam insisted.
“I’m tired of rich people choosing cabins.”
Nathan almost laughed.
Adam stepped from behind a concrete pillar.
Thirty-three.
Dark hair.
Work jacket.
No suit.
No security.
Then Nathan saw Richard around the eyes.
It was unsettling.
Adam looked at Nathan.
“Okay.”
Nathan nodded.
“Okay.”
Grace stood slightly behind Nathan.
Adam looked at her.
“Grace?”
She nodded.
“And you’re apparently the reason my week got weird.”
Grace smiled faintly.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot.”
Adam looked at Nathan.
“You really didn’t know?”
“No.”
“About Lily.”
“No.”
“About me.”
“No.”
Adam shook his head.
“Dad was productive.”
Nathan almost laughed.
It helped.
Then Adam’s expression turned serious.
“My mother hated Richard.”
Nathan nodded.
“She had reason.”
“That is not what rich sons usually say.”
“I’m learning.”
Adam looked at Grace.
“She teach you?”
“Mostly through criticism.”
Grace smiled.
“Intensive program.”
Adam liked her immediately.
They moved to a secure apartment.
Adam showed Nathan Elena’s letter.
Written before her death.
Richard tried to contact us when you were eight.
I refused.
I was angry.
Maybe too angry.
But I could not risk letting Charles Whitmore near you.
If Richard ever finds you after I’m gone, decide for yourself.
Do not inherit my fear.
Nathan stopped reading.
Adam looked out the window.
“She died of cancer.”
“I never knew he was looking.”
Nathan handed the letter back.
“Our father made a lot of choices for people.”
“So did Mom.”
“So did everyone.”
Adam looked at him.
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
Adam stared.
Nathan continued.
“If you want nothing to do with Cole Meridian, fine.”
“If you don’t want the name, fine.”
“If you never want to see me again after today, I’ll respect it.”
Adam smiled slightly.
“You rehearsed that.”
“No.”
“Grace?”
She raised one hand.
“I may have explained boundaries.”
Adam laughed.
Good.
Then Lily entered with Eli.
She stared at Adam.
“Who are you?”
Adam crouched.
“Apparently your uncle.”
Lily looked at Nathan.
“Is that true?”
Nathan nodded.
“I found out recently.”
Lily sighed dramatically.
“You don’t know a lot.”
Grace covered her mouth.
Adam laughed so hard he had to stand.
Nathan looked offended.
“I know many things.”
Lily walked closer to Adam.
“You have his eyebrows.”
Adam frowned.
“Bad?”
“Weird.”
Nathan sighed.
Grace lost the battle and laughed.
For five minutes they were almost normal.
Then Adam handed Nathan something.
A key.
“My mother left this.”
“Safe-deposit?”
“No.”
“Storage locker in Oregon.”
“I opened it after you called.”
Inside, Adam had found Richard’s personal video.
Nathan connected the drive.
Richard appeared.
Older than in the tapes.
Tired.
“If Nathan and Adam are watching this together, then perhaps one thing went right after I died.”
Adam looked away.
Richard continued.
“Adam.”
“You owe me nothing.”
“Nathan.”
“You owe this company nothing.”
Both brothers stared.
“I built too much of my identity around keeping control.”
“It cost Elena.”
“It cost Margaret.”
“It may cost me my life.”
Nathan’s throat tightened.
Richard continued.
“If either of you become fathers, do not confuse ownership with love.”
Adam laughed quietly.
“Little late for him.”
Nathan almost smiled.
Then Richard said.
“Marcus has access to aircraft maintenance.”
“Charles has access to the trust.”
“If something happens to me, investigate both.”
Video ended.
Adam looked at Nathan.
“So.”
“Our dad knew someone might kill him.”
“Yes.”
“And still got on the plane.”
“Yes.”
Adam shook his head.
“Control issue.”
Grace and Nathan exchanged a look.
Exactly.
A federal investigator called.
They had arrested Henry Maddox.
The mechanic.
He confessed Marcus paid him to damage a hydraulic component.
Nathan closed his eyes.
There it was.
Murder.
Or attempted murder.
Maddox claimed Charles knew.
He also claimed something strange.
“The component never failed.”
Nathan frowned.
“What?”
The investigator said.
“We’re reexamining the crash.”
Nathan’s stomach tightened.
“What caused it?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Before Nathan could ask more, another call came.
Cole Meridian board.
Emergency meeting.
Marcus had arranged documents before his arrest.
They placed Nathan on temporary leave due to “undisclosed family conflicts and fiduciary exposure.”
Adam stared.
“They fired you?”
“Temporarily.”
Grace asked.
“Does it matter?”
Nathan looked at her.
For the first time in his life, he was unsure.
Then Rebecca—technically still general counsel until her resignation processed—sent one final file.
Interim executive committee.
Chair.
Edward Whitmore.
Charles’s younger brother.
Nathan laughed.
Of course.
Adam looked at him.
“What?”
Nathan turned the laptop.
“They’re still trying to take the company.”
Grace crossed her arms.
“Then stop them.”
Nathan looked at her.
“You said you didn’t care about the company.”
“I don’t.”
“I care that men who hunted my daughter don’t get rewarded.”
Nathan smiled.
May you like
“That sounds almost supportive.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
