The Man in the Boardroom
Chapter 05 - The Man in the Boardroom
Claire did not call the police immediately.
Marcus wanted her to.
She wanted answers first.
Only three people had known she was at St. Matthew’s: Marcus, her executive assistant, and whoever had been watching Nora.
Claire moved Eli into a secure hotel apartment and placed two trusted staff members outside the door.
Then she went upstairs to the twenty-seventh floor.
Her half-brother, Grant Whitmore, was waiting in the boardroom.
He was forty-eight, silver at the temples, and perfectly dressed. He had spent most of his life living in their father’s shadow and the last three years trying to replace it.
“You canceled the investor dinner,” he said.
“I had an emergency.”
“I heard.”
Claire stopped.
Grant looked out the window.
“A boy caused a scene outside the hotel. Then you took him to St. Matthew’s.”
Claire kept her face still.
“How did you hear that?”
“We own the hotel, Claire. People talk.”
“Do they also take photographs from cars outside hospitals?”
Grant turned.
His expression did not change.
“What are you accusing me of?”
Claire placed the anonymous note on the table.
Grant read it.
Then he gave a quiet sigh.
“This family has spent a century surviving people who want money.”
“He’s nine.”
“Children have parents.”
“His parents are dead.”
“Convenient.”
Claire stepped closer.
“You sound like Dad.”
That landed.
Grant’s jaw tightened.
Their father had never treated them equally. Claire was the heir he displayed. Grant was the son he corrected.
“You always use him when you want to win,” Grant said.
“This isn’t about winning.”
“With you, it always is.”
Claire took out the old photograph.
For the first time, Grant’s composure broke.
Only for a second.
But Claire saw it.
“You know this picture.”
“No.”
“You looked at it before I even turned it around.”
Grant stood.
“Whatever story that kid brought you, be careful.”
“Why?”
“Because the company is six weeks from a merger. If someone wants leverage, this is the moment.”
Claire watched him.
“Did my son live?”
Grant’s face went pale.
The question hung between them.
Finally, he said, “Dad told me the baby died.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Grant looked away.
Claire felt something cold settle inside her.
“You knew there was another version.”
“I knew there were rumors.”
“What rumors?”
“That Dad handled it.”
Claire stepped back.
Handled it.
The same phrase Everett Whitmore had used whenever he destroyed a problem without leaving fingerprints.
Grant moved toward the door.
“I’m serious, Claire. Let this go.”
She blocked him.
“Why?”
He looked at her then.
Not angry.
Afraid.
“Because if Dad did what you think he did, he didn’t do it alone.”
Grant left.
Claire stood in the empty boardroom.
Her phone rang.
It was the hospital.
Nora Bennett had regained enough strength to ask for her.
And she had one more name to give.
A name Claire had not heard in eleven years.
Daniel Reyes.
May you like
The father of her child.
According to Nora, he was alive.
