The Brother Who Couldn’t Stop
Chapter 13 - The Brother Who Couldn’t Stop
Grant did not deny the signature.
He denied knowing Adam had been murdered.
Claire met him alone in their father’s old penthouse.
It was the first time either had entered since Everett died.
Grant stood near the window.
“I had Adam cremated.”
Claire said nothing.
“Dad’s instructions. He had written them years before. If the child ever resurfaced, no public grave. No family connection.”
“You followed a dead man’s order.”
“I followed the trust documents.”
“You destroyed my son’s remains.”
Grant turned.
“He was already gone.”
Claire stepped forward.
“He was my child.”
“And I was Dad’s child too.”
The words stopped her.
Grant’s face twisted.
“You think you were the only one he controlled?”
Claire stared at him.
Grant told her the part of the family history she had never known.
Everett had forced him to manage the secret payments to Adam.
He had made Grant sign documents at twenty-seven.
If Grant refused, Everett threatened to cut off medical care for Grant’s mother.
After Everett died, Grant continued.
Not because he wanted to.
Because by then, the company was drowning.
Adam’s legal claim could have triggered loan defaults.
“So you threatened him.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to make him sign away Eli’s rights.”
“Yes.”
“You had him followed.”
“Yes.”
“Did you cut the brake line?”
Grant looked at her.
“No.”
Claire wanted to believe him.
She did not know if she could.
Grant walked to Everett’s desk.
“There was one person more afraid of Adam than I was.”
He opened a locked drawer.
Inside were old ledgers.
Claire recognized Owen Pike’s handwriting.
Pike had worked for Everett for thirty years.
He had arranged the false birth record.
The private transfer.
Daniel’s legal trouble.
The trust.
Everything.
Grant said Adam had called Pike two days before the crash and threatened to expose him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Grant laughed bitterly.
“Because I thought if Pike went down, the company went with him.”
Claire looked at the ledgers.
“And now?”
Grant’s shoulders lowered.
“Now I’m tired.”
For the first time, he looked less like Everett Whitmore’s son and more like a frightened boy who had spent his whole life obeying a dead father.
Claire took the ledgers.
“Come with me.”
“To the police?”
“Yes.”
Grant looked at the family portrait on the wall.
Then he nodded.
Owen Pike was arrested the next day on charges related to fraud and evidence tampering.
The investigation into Adam’s crash reopened.
But before Claire could feel relief, Denise Parker called.
Eli was gone.
He had left the hotel alone.
On his bed was the old photograph.
And beside it, the dented bucket.
May you like
Inside the bucket was a note.
I DON’T WANT ANYONE ELSE TO GET HURT BECAUSE OF ME.
