Chapter 4 - THE MAN EVERYONE WANTED TO BLAMEAlexander spent six hours in an interview room.
He denied everything.
The gun was registered.
Evan Pike had worked for him years earlier.
Yes, Alexander had lied about Pike being dead.
But he claimed he’d done it because Pike had stolen confidential information from one of his companies and disappeared.
Then he produced evidence.
Emails.
Bank transfers.
Threatening messages.
Someone had been blackmailing Alexander too.
Daniel watched from behind a one-way window.
“This feels convenient.”
Marcus agreed.
“Very.”
Grace stood silently.
Then Alexander said something that changed the investigation.
“Ask Richard Sterling about Monaco.”
Grace entered the room herself.
“What happened in Monaco?”
Alexander leaned back.
“Your uncle transferred forty-eight million dollars through three shell companies eighteen months ago.”
“You investigated my family?”
“I investigated anyone who wanted access to you.”
Grace laughed bitterly.
“Except yourself?”
“I love you.”
“No. You love proximity to me.”
The words hurt him.
Daniel could see that much.
Alexander lowered his voice.
“Your father didn’t leave you the company because you were his favorite child.”
Grace stiffened.
“I’m his only child.”
“He left it because he discovered someone was stealing from Sterling Global.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“He died before he could finish his investigation.”
Grace went pale.
“My parents’ crash was an accident.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Was it?”
Grace left the room without speaking.
Daniel found her outside beside the lake.
For the first time, she wasn’t surrounded by security.
He stayed several feet away.
“My wife died because of a drunk driver.”
Grace glanced at him.
“I’m sorry.”
“I spent two years imagining ways it could've happened differently.”
He sat on a bench.
“Different road. Different time. If I’d picked her up. If she’d stayed ten minutes later.”
Grace joined him.
“You blamed yourself.”
“Everybody thinks they can outsmart grief.”
He looked at her.
“You can’t.”
Her eyes filled.
“What if my parents were murdered?”
“Then you find the truth.”
“And if my family did it?”
“Then they're related to you. That doesn't make them your family.”
Grace stared at him.
“You make everything sound simple.”
“It isn’t simple.”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“I just don’t have billions of dollars to make my problems complicated.”
She laughed through her tears.
It was the first moment either of them noticed they were sitting very close.
Grace looked at his mouth.
Daniel noticed.
Then Lily came running down the path.
“Daddy!”
They immediately moved apart.
“I found cookies!”
Daniel exhaled.
“Terrific timing.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Grace covered a smile.
Later, Marcus received confirmation.
The Monaco transfers existed.
Richard Sterling controlled one of the shell companies.
But the destination was stranger.
The money had gone to a private intelligence contractor.
The same contractor Evan Pike once worked for.
Grace summoned Richard.
Her uncle walked into the library looking insulted rather than afraid.
“You’ve frozen my accounts?”
“Temporarily.”
“I am your father’s brother.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
Richard poured himself a drink.
“No. It’s apparently something you’ve forgotten.”
Daniel stood near the doorway.
Richard noticed him.
“Does the mechanic need to attend?”
Grace’s voice turned cold.
“Yes.”
Richard smiled.
“Of course.”
Grace placed the banking records on the desk.
“Why did you pay forty-eight million dollars to Helix Strategic?”
Richard glanced at the papers.
“To protect you.”
“From what?”
“Your father’s enemies.”
“He never told me.”
“Because your father was arrogant.”
Grace flinched.
Richard continued.
“Robert believed wealth made him untouchable. Then he discovered money attracts predators.”
“Was Helix involved in his death?”
“No.”
“Did you have anything to do with the crash?”
Richard’s face changed.
For the first time, genuine pain showed.
“I loved your father.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
“No.”
Grace stared at him.
Richard finished his drink.
“But his death wasn't an accident.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Marcus moved closer.
Richard spoke slowly.
“Your father discovered a group of investors manipulating Sterling subsidiaries. They were siphoning billions over years. He planned to expose them.”
“Who?”
“I never knew every name.”
“Who did you know?”
Richard looked at Grace.
“One.”
“Tell me.”
Richard’s eyes moved toward the door.
Then his glass fell.
He grabbed his throat.
Grace screamed.
Richard collapsed.
Daniel rushed forward.
Foam appeared at the corner of Richard’s mouth.
Marcus shouted for medical assistance.
Daniel started CPR.
Richard’s eyes found Grace.
He tried to speak.
She knelt beside him.
“What? Uncle Richard, what?”
One word escaped.
“Crowe.”
Then Richard Sterling stopped breathing.
William Crowe.
Chairman of Sterling Global.
Grace’s father’s oldest friend.
The man who had delivered her graduation speech.
The man who called her every birthday.
The man who had been waiting downstairs the entire time.
Marcus ran toward the hall.
William Crowe was gone.
His driver was unconscious in the garage.
And one of the armored vehicles was missing.
Grace stood beside her uncle’s body in stunned silence.
Daniel watched something inside her break.
Then harden.
She wiped the tears from her face.
“Find Crowe.”
Marcus nodded.
“Alive?”
Grace stared down at Richard.
“Alive.”
May you like
Her voice became ice.
“I want him to tell me why my family keeps dying.”
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