Chương 6
“Fair.”
Julian left the office.
He walked quickly toward the family sitting room.
Grace was on the rug with Amara, helping her stack wooden blocks that belonged to a toy chest nobody had opened in years.
Julian stopped in the doorway.
The sight struck him harder than he expected.
Amara had found Lily’s old blocks.
Grace noticed his expression and immediately looked at the toy chest.
“I’m sorry.”
Julian said nothing.
“I didn’t know whose they were.”
“You couldn’t.”
Amara held up a red block.
“This one is a house.”
Julian looked at it.
“It’s a rectangle.”
“It’s a house.”
“Right.”
Grace studied him.
Something in his face must have warned her.
“What happened?”
Julian entered and closed the door behind him.
“My brother knew your name.”
Grace went still.
Amara continued stacking.
“He knew about the key.”
Grace’s hands dropped to her lap.
“Did Claire tell him?”
“Apparently.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No.”
That answer came easily.
Then Julian added, “Not completely.”
Grace rubbed her palms against her skirt.
“What did he say?”
“That Claire was afraid of something my father left behind.”
Grace looked confused.
“I thought your father died years before she did.”
“He did.”
“What did he leave?”
“I don’t know.”
Amara placed another block on top and knocked the whole tower over.
She laughed.
Neither adult did.
Julian crouched beside the coffee table.
“Grace, I need the key.”
Her face closed.
“No.”
“My house is being watched.”
“That makes me less interested in giving it to you.”
“You think I can protect you without knowing what they want?”
“I think Claire trusted me with it for a reason.”
“She knew you for three visits.”
“She knew you for years.”
The sentence landed cleanly.
Julian’s mouth tightened.
Grace saw it and softened her voice.
“I’m not saying that to hurt you.”
“Then don’t.”
“I’m trying to explain why I can’t just hand it over because you’re angry.”
“I’m not angry.”
Grace looked at him.
Julian looked back.
Amara said, “You look angry.”
Julian glanced at her.
She stacked another block.
Grace’s mouth twitched despite herself.
Julian noticed.
“You find this funny?”
“No.”
“You do.”
“A little.”
Julian stood.
For a moment, some of the pressure drained from the room.
Then his phone vibrated.
Adrian.
Julian answered.
“You have something?”
“Enough to ruin dinner.”
Julian walked toward the windows but stopped several feet away.
“Stonebridge?”
“Yeah.”
Adrian’s voice was brisk now.
“Denise Carter is fake.”
“We knew that.”
“You didn’t know the employment record was inserted through an administrator account belonging to the agency’s former operations director.”
“Who?”
“Martin Vale.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed.
“Your father?”
“Unfortunately.”
Grace looked at him.
Julian turned slightly away.
Adrian continued, “He died five years ago.”
“I remember.”
“Here’s the fun part.”
“Nothing about this is fun.”
“Figure of speech.”
Adrian took a breath.
“His administrator account was accessed eight months ago from an IP address assigned to Meridian Logistics.”
Julian’s gaze sharpened.
“Which office?”
“Downtown headquarters.”
“Floor?”
“Still checking.”
Grace stood now.
Amara looked up at her.
Julian said, “Why would your father’s credentials still work?”
“They shouldn’t.”
“Yet they did.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re telling me this now because?”
“Because I just found the audit trail.”
Julian heard something underneath Adrian’s voice.
Not surprise.
Fear.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Silence.
“Adrian.”
Another breath.
“My father handled internal accounts for your father.”
Julian’s fingers tightened around the phone.
“For what?”
“Off-book transfers.”
Grace slowly gathered Amara into her lap.
Adrian continued, “After Mercer burned, my father tried to get out.”
Julian’s voice lowered.
“You told me Mercer was an electrical fire.”
“That’s what I was told to tell you.”
“By my father.”
“Yes.”
“Were you there?”
Adrian stopped breathing for a second.
Julian knew the answer before it came.
“Yes.”
Grace looked at him sharply.
Julian turned his back to her.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know the whole thing.”
“Everyone suddenly doesn’t know the whole thing.”
“I’m serious.”
Adrian sounded angry now.
“Your father called mine to Mercer because somebody had discovered discrepancies in the shipping accounts.”
“Who?”
“Claire.”
Julian closed his eyes.
Grace stood completely still.
Adrian said, “She wasn’t supposed to be there that night.”
“Why was she?”
“She followed Arthur.”
“To a warehouse?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she thought he was stealing from you.”
Julian opened his eyes.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if he was.”
“My father owned half the company.”
“He was moving money out of it.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know.”
Julian slapped one hand against the windowsill.
“Stop saying that.”
Amara startled.
Grace pulled her closer.
Julian looked back immediately.
The little girl’s eyes were wide.
His anger vanished as quickly as it had arrived.
“I’m sorry.”
Amara studied him.
“Don’t hit windows.”
“I won’t.”
“They can break.”
“I know.”
She accepted that.
Grace did not.
Adrian spoke quietly through the phone.
“Julian.”
“What?”
“There’s more.”
Julian turned away again.
“The employee who died in the fire wasn’t the only person listed as being there.”
Julian waited.
Adrian said, “There was a second badge entry.”
“Whose?”
“Claire’s.”
Julian stared at the dark glass.
“She never told me.”
“No.”
“Was she hurt?”
“Not that I saw.”
“You saw her?”
“Yes.”
Julian’s voice dropped to almost nothing.
“You saw my wife at a burning warehouse and never told me.”
Adrian said nothing.
Julian’s throat tightened.
“What else?”
“She left with something.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
Grace made a small sound.
Julian turned.
She had gone pale.
“What?”
Grace shook her head.
“Nothing.”
Julian walked toward her.
“What do you know?”
Grace’s eyes moved to Amara.
Julian stopped.
Grace whispered, “Claire mentioned a book.”
Adrian heard her.
“Who’s that?”
Julian ignored him.
“What kind of book?”
“She didn’t say.”
“When?”
“The last time I saw her.”
Grace’s voice trembled.
“She said she had proof in a book and that nobody could know where it was.”
Julian’s phone felt heavy in his hand.
Adrian said, “Julian, listen.”
Julian raised the phone again.
“What?”
May you like
“I found the floor.”
“The Meridian login?”
