Chapter 4 - THE ENEMY INSIDE HIS HOUSEBy sunset, Grant had moved Claire and Lily.
He did not ask permission from the hospital administration.
He made calls.
A private ambulance arrived.
A specialist from Lakeshore Medical personally supervised the transfer.
Claire objected until Dr. Ramirez quietly told her that Lakeshore had better respiratory facilities and the move was medically reasonable.
Grant made certain Claire never saw the bill.
He already knew she would fight him over it.
Lily rode in the ambulance beside her mother.
Grant followed in his car.
During the drive, he stared at Chicago through tinted glass and tried to understand how his life had divided into before and after in less than twelve hours.
That morning he had been an engaged businessman preparing to acquire another company.
Now his engagement was over, he had a seven-year-old daughter, the woman he had once planned to marry was critically ill, and someone inside his company might have helped steal seven years of his life.
Marcus sat opposite him.
“We found something.”
Grant looked up.
“Frank Deller?”
“Not yet.”
“What?”
“Your archived security records.”
Marcus opened a tablet.
“Your executive credentials were used twenty-three times to block Claire. But most logins came from an internal terminal.”
“Which one?”
“Executive floor.”
Grant waited.
“Whose office?”
Marcus turned the screen.
Grant saw the employee ID.
His stomach tightened.
Evelyn Shaw.
His chief of staff.
Evelyn had worked for Grant for nine years.
She knew every meeting.
Every password protocol.
Every personal habit.
She had been there before Bennett Holdings even had that name.
She had attended his mother’s funeral.
Grant stared at Marcus.
“Are you sure?”
“Someone used her terminal.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
“Check camera archives.”
“Seven years is a long time.”
“Find what exists.”
Marcus nodded.
Grant thought of Evelyn.
When Claire vanished, Evelyn had comforted him.
When Grant drank too much one night and nearly called Claire, Evelyn took away his phone.
When he started dating again, Evelyn encouraged him.
When Victoria entered his life two years ago, Evelyn had said she thought Victoria was “good for stability.”
Grant suddenly felt sick.
“Where is Evelyn now?”
Marcus checked.
“At your house.”
Grant’s head lifted.
“Why?”
“She’s coordinating tomorrow’s schedule.”
“My house?”
“With Victoria there.”
Grant reached for his phone.
“Tell security nobody leaves.”
Marcus caught his wrist.
“Grant.”
“What?”
“If Evelyn is involved and knows we’re onto her, trapping her could make things worse.”
“She’s in my home.”
“Yes.”
“My staff is there.”
“Yes.”
Grant understood.
Lily was not there.
Claire was not there.
Good.
“Have security behave normally.”
Marcus nodded.
“We go in quietly.”
Grant looked out the window.
“No police yet?”
“Not until we know what we have.”
Grant hated it.
But he agreed.
At Lakeshore, Lily immediately became the most important person on the eighth floor.
Nurses found socks.
Someone brought chocolate milk.
A respiratory therapist produced colored pencils.
Grant’s assistant arrived carrying four shopping bags.
Lily stared at them.
“All for me?”
Grant glanced inside.
His assistant had apparently purchased enough clothing for a small school.
“Apparently.”
Claire looked horrified.
“Grant.”
“I didn’t choose any of it.”
“That is not a defense.”
His assistant cleared her throat.
“I can return whatever doesn’t fit.”
Lily pulled out purple pajamas covered in tiny stars.
Her face lit up.
Claire’s protest died.
Grant saw it happen.
Later, after Claire settled into the private room, Lily stood beside the window in new sneakers.
Grant noticed her touching the glass.
“Ever been this high?”
“No.”
“We’re only on the eighth floor.”
“It’s still high.”
He stood beside her.
Cars moved below like toys.
Lily looked at him.
“Are you really my dad?”
Grant knew the biological answer.
The emotional one frightened him more.
“I believe I am.”
“Mom knows.”
“She does.”
“So why do you say believe?”
Grant considered lying.
He did not.
“Because grown-ups sometimes confirm things with tests.”
“Like science?”
“Exactly.”
“DNA.”
Grant blinked.
“You know about DNA?”
“I’m seven, not a potato.”
Grant laughed.
Claire called weakly from the bed, “She watches science videos.”
Lily looked at him very seriously.
“If the test says you’re my dad, do you have to stay?”
Grant’s laughter disappeared.
“No.”
Her face fell slightly.
He crouched.
“A test can tell us if I’m your biological father. It can’t make someone stay.”
“Oh.”
“I stay because I choose to.”
Lily searched his face.
“For how long?”
Grant thought of the promise he made that morning.
One day.
She had asked for one day.
He felt ashamed that she believed one day might be all she deserved.
“As long as you want me in your life.”
Lily stared.
“Forever is a long time.”
“Yes.”
“Mom says people shouldn’t promise forever.”
Grant glanced at Claire.
She looked away.
“Then I’ll promise tomorrow,” he said.
Lily frowned.
“Tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here tomorrow. And when tomorrow comes, I’ll promise the next one.”
She considered this.
“That’s smarter.”
“I thought so.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck.
Grant froze.
Then slowly held her.
It was the first time his daughter hugged him.
He buried his face against her tangled hair and closed his eyes.
No acquisition.
No building.
No bank account.
Nothing he had spent seven years pursuing had ever felt remotely as important.
His phone buzzed.
Marcus.
We have Evelyn.
Grant’s mood shifted instantly.
He released Lily.
“I have to go somewhere.”
She stiffened.
“You’re leaving?”
“For a little while.”
“You promised.”
“Tomorrow,” Grant reminded her. “And it’s still today.”
“That’s cheating.”
He smiled.
“I’ll come back before you sleep.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Claire watched him carefully.
“Where?”
“My house.”
“Why?”
“Company problem.”
Claire knew he was lying by omission.
“Grant.”
He crossed to her bedside.
“Evelyn Shaw may have been involved.”
Claire went still.
“Evelyn?”
“You remember her?”
Claire laughed bitterly.
“She’s the woman who told me you hated me.”
Grant’s body went cold.
“When?”
“Seven years ago.”
“You never mentioned that.”
“I didn’t know her name until I saw her years later in a magazine article about you.”
“What happened?”
Claire’s eyes hardened.
“The day after Richard showed me the video, Evelyn came to my apartment.”
Grant felt suddenly unable to breathe.
“What did she say?”
“That you had sent her.”
“And you believed her?”
“She knew things.”
“What things?”
“The cabin in Wisconsin. The restaurant where you proposed. Your nickname for me.”
Grant closed his eyes.
Things Evelyn knew because Grant had told her.
Claire continued.
“She said you wanted a clean break. She said you were embarrassed by me.”
“Claire…”
“I was twenty-eight and pregnant and grieving my mother. I was stupid.”
“You weren’t stupid.”
“I believed her.”
“She lied.”
“Yes.”
Grant looked toward the door.
Now there was no doubt.
He kissed Lily’s hair, told Claire he would return, and left with Marcus.
The Bennett estate sat behind iron gates along the North Shore.
Grant had purchased it four years earlier.
Twelve bedrooms.
A pool.
Guesthouse.
Library.
Two acres.
He had always thought the place looked impressive.
Tonight it looked empty.
Security opened the gates.
Grant entered through the side door with Marcus.
Evelyn was sitting in his library.
She did not look frightened.
That bothered him.
Sixty-two, elegant, silver-haired, and always composed, Evelyn closed the book she was reading as Grant entered.
“I wondered how long it would take.”
Grant stopped.
Marcus remained by the door.
“You know why I’m here.”
“Yes.”
Evelyn gestured toward the chair opposite her.
“Sit.”
Grant almost laughed.
“You’re giving me instructions in my house?”
“For once, Grant, listen before reacting.”
He remained standing.
“Did Richard Langford pay you?”
“Yes.”
The immediate confession stunned him.
“How much?”
“Initially? Two hundred thousand.”
Grant’s hands curled.
“You blocked Claire from seeing me.”
“Yes.”
“You intercepted letters.”
“Yes.”
“You accessed my accounts.”
“Yes.”
“You told a pregnant woman that I hated her.”
Evelyn’s face changed.
For the first time, guilt appeared.
“Yes.”
Grant crossed the room so fast Marcus stepped forward.
Grant stopped himself before touching her.
“Why?”
Evelyn’s eyes glistened.
“Because Richard owned me.”
“No one owns you.”
“You were young. You don’t know what he was capable of.”
“Then tell me.”
Evelyn looked toward Marcus.
“He stays.”
Grant nodded.
She took a breath.
“My husband had a gambling problem. Richard found out. Thirty years ago, he loaned him money. Then more. By the time my husband died, I owed Richard nearly four hundred thousand dollars.”
Grant stared.
“You could have told me.”
“You were worth nothing then.”
“Later.”
“Later I was too deep.”
Grant’s voice hardened.
“You ruined seven years of three lives because you owed a rich man money.”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Evelyn looked directly at him.
“I did it because Richard threatened Claire.”
Grant went still.
“He said if I failed to keep you separated, he would make certain she lost the baby.”
The room fell silent.
Grant felt Marcus shift behind him.
Evelyn continued.
“I believed him.”
“Did you tell Claire?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because frightened people make unpredictable choices.”
Grant laughed in disbelief.
“So you decided for us.”
“Yes.”
“You stole my daughter.”
“I kept her alive.”
Grant slammed his palm against the desk.
“Do not tell yourself that.”
Evelyn flinched.
“You had options.”
“Not ones I could see.”
“You could have told police.”
“Richard owned police officers.”
“Federal authorities.”
“He had friends there too.”
“You could have told me!”
“You were thirty years old and desperate to prove you were powerful. What would you have done?”
Grant opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Evelyn answered for him.
“You would have confronted him.”
Grant knew she was right.
“You would have gotten Claire hurt,” Evelyn said.
“You don’t know that.”
“No. But I was terrified enough to believe it.”
Grant stepped away.
Every explanation sounded insufficient because it was.
Seven years were still gone.
“Why continue?” he asked. “Why three months ago?”
Evelyn looked confused.
“What?”
“Claire called.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Victoria intercepted her.”
Evelyn’s surprise looked genuine.
Grant studied her.
Then Evelyn said something that changed the entire situation.
“Richard had stopped asking about Claire years ago.”
Grant frowned.
“What?”
“I haven’t spoken to him about her since Lily was two.”
“Then why is Frank Deller following them now?”
Evelyn’s face emptied.
“Frank?”
“You know him.”
“Yes.”
“He followed Claire for two weeks.”
Evelyn stood.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Why?”
“Because Frank doesn’t do surveillance for Richard anymore.”
Grant felt unease crawl up his spine.
“Who does he work for?”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Victoria.”
Silence.
Grant thought of Victoria’s tears.
Her claim that her father had done everything.
Her warning about someone inside his company.
Was it guilt?
Or misdirection?
Evelyn reached into her handbag.
“I kept evidence.”
Grant watched her remove an old flash drive.
“Everything Richard asked me to do. Payment records. Emails. Instructions.”
“Why keep it?”
“Insurance.”
Grant took it.
Marcus immediately moved toward a laptop.
Evelyn added, “But there is one thing you need to understand.”
Grant looked at her.
“Richard wanted Claire gone seven years ago because he wanted control over you.”
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
Her voice dropped.
“He didn’t want you for Victoria.”
Grant frowned.
“What?”
“He wanted your company.”
Grant stared.
“I didn’t have a company.”
“You had an idea.”
Grant felt cold.
Years ago, before Bennett Holdings, Grant had developed a logistics-property valuation system that later became the foundation of his fortune.
At the time, only three people knew about it.
Claire.
Evelyn.
And Richard.
Evelyn continued.
“Richard believed you would build something enormous. He didn’t want anyone in your life who could make you independent of him.”
Grant looked at the flash drive.
“What else is on this?”
“Enough to destroy Richard.”
“And Victoria?”
Evelyn went silent.
Grant’s heartbeat slowed.
“What about Victoria?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“Grant…”
“Tell me.”
Evelyn swallowed.
“Two years ago, Victoria asked me for Claire’s last known address.”
Grant’s blood chilled.
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her I didn’t know.”
“But you did.”
“Yes.”
“Why did she ask?”
“She said she wanted closure.”
Grant looked at Marcus.
Marcus was already typing.
“Find Frank Deller.”
“I’m on it.”
Grant turned back to Evelyn.
“If anything happens to Claire or Lily because of information you withheld—”
“I know.”
“No. You don’t.”
His voice became very quiet.
“You are going to give Marcus every password, account, contact, file, and record you have. Then you are going to leave this house.”
Evelyn nodded.
“And tomorrow?”
“You don’t work for me anymore.”
Pain crossed her face.
“I understand.”
Grant walked out before anger pulled him somewhere he could not return from.
Halfway to the hospital, Marcus called.
“We found Deller’s gray Honda.”
“Where?”
“Parking garage near Lakeshore.”
Grant’s heart stopped.
“How long ago?”
“Camera picked it up twelve minutes ago.”
Grant leaned forward.
“Claire.”
“I’ve alerted hospital security.”
“Lily?”
“Still in the room.”
Grant’s driver accelerated.
Grant called the nurse.
No answer.
He called again.
Nothing.
Then Lily’s name appeared on his phone.
Grant answered instantly.
“Lily?”
She was whispering.
“Dad?”
The word hit him.
But the fear in her voice hit harder.
“Where are you?”
“In the bathroom.”
“Why?”
“A man came in.”
Grant’s blood froze.
“What man?”
“The one who followed us.”
Grant gripped the phone.
“Lock the door.”
“I did.”
“Where’s Mommy?”
“She’s asleep.”
Grant heard a sound in the background.
A door handle rattling.
Then a man’s voice.
“Lily?”
The call went silent.
Grant shouted into the phone.
“Lily!”
A heavy impact sounded.
Once.
Twice.
Someone was trying to force the bathroom door.
Grant looked at the hospital rising ahead.
His daughter whispered one last sentence.
May you like
“He says Victoria sent him.”
Then the line went dead.
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