Chapter 16 - Locker 317
Daniel survived.
Barely.
The bullet missed his heart by less than an inch.
State police put him under guard.
Ethan and Claire went to Union Station with two detectives before dawn.
Locker 317 contained one red duffel bag.
Inside were copies of checks, property deeds, photographs, and a hard drive wrapped in a towel.
There was also a sealed laboratory envelope from Merritt Reproductive Institute.
Ethan stared at it.
"Open it," Claire said.
He did.
The paternity report was eight years old.
Probability of paternity: 99.998%.
Emma was his daughter.
Ethan sat down on the station bench.
He covered his face with both hands.
Claire sat beside him.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Ethan whispered, "Eight years."
"I know."
"First steps. First words. First day of school."
"You can't get those back."
He looked at her.
"That's supposed to help?"
"No. It's supposed to keep you from wasting the next eight years mourning the first eight."
His eyes filled.
He nodded.
One detective plugged the hard drive into an isolated laptop.
Folders appeared.
Mercer had kept everything.
Payments from Richard Bennett.
Payments from shell companies.
Surveillance photos of Mara, Ruth, Emma, Vanessa, Claire.
And one folder labeled CONTINGENCY.
Inside was a video.
Richard Bennett appeared on screen, older and sick, sitting in his study.
"If you're watching this," he said, "then Grant Mercer has failed to keep the Ellis matter contained."
Ethan stared at his dead father.
Richard continued.
"Emma Ellis is my granddaughter. Ethan is her father. That fact must never become public until the river rights transfer is complete."
Claire felt sick.
Then Richard leaned closer to the camera.
"If Mercer has gone beyond my instructions, understand this: I authorized concealment. I did not authorize harm."
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"How noble."
The video continued.
"There is one person who can legally stop the transfer. Claire Bennett."
Claire froze.
"Me?"
Richard explained.
Months before he died, he had quietly transferred a voting share of the family trust into a marital contingency account tied to Ethan's spouse. He had expected Claire to be obedient.
"Your signature is required to finalize the hydro lease," the detective said.
Claire stared at Ethan.
"So that's why Mercer started watching me."
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
May you like
Mercer's voice said, "Now you understand why I couldn't let you die in the river too soon. I still need your signature."
