Chapter 29 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE FAMILY
My grandmother had been dead for six years.
At least that's what I'd been told.
Sarah sat at the dining table.
Leah was upstairs with Nah.
Daniel stood near the window.
Elena remained by the fireplace.
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Finally I asked:
"How can my grandmother be alive?"
Sarah shook her head.
"She isn't."
"Then what do you mean?"
"She created the system."
I frowned.
"Arthur took it over."
Sarah nodded.
"But it existed before him."
Daniel finally spoke.
"Your grandmother built the foundation."
"For charity?"
"At first."
He looked at me.
"Then she discovered how much power money could buy."
Sarah continued.
"She created private accounts."
"Offshore accounts."
"Shell companies."
"Hidden trusts."
"Political donations."
"Everything Arthur later expanded."
I felt sick.
"So Arthur wasn't the beginning."
"No."
"Who stopped her?"
Sarah looked at me.
"Your father."
That explained the recording.
The fear.
The secrecy.
The constant warnings.
My father had spent years trying to dismantle something his own mother created.
But there was still one question.
"Why did he use Leah?"
"He didn't."
Sarah shook her head.
"Daniel did."
I turned.
Daniel nodded.
"Your father asked me to hide her."
"Why?"
"Because Sarah had evidence."
"What evidence?"
Sarah reached into her bag.
She placed a small flash drive on the table.
"This."
I stared at it.
"What is it?"
"The original financial records."
I picked it up.
"Arthur's records?"
"No."
"My grandmother's."
My stomach tightened.
"How did you get this?"
"Sarah gave it to me."
Sarah looked at me.
"I took it from Arthur before I disappeared."
I plugged it into my laptop.
Thousands of files appeared.
Names.
Dates.
Transfers.
Payments.
And then I saw something that made my blood run cold.
A folder named:
PROJECT LEAH
I opened it.
Inside were medical records.
Photographs.
Birth documents.
And a document titled:
GUARDIAN SELECTION PROTOCOL.
I opened it.
The first line read:
Candidate: Graham Whitmore.
I stared at the screen.
"Why me?"
Sarah looked down.
"Because your father trusted you."
I kept reading.
The document described my personality.
My employment.
My finances.
My relationships.
My history.
Everything.
Someone had studied me for years.
Then I saw the final paragraph.
If Graham accepts the child, the child will remain outside the Whitmore bloodline's control.
I looked at Sarah.
"She wasn't supposed to become part of the family."
"No."
"She was supposed to escape it."
Sarah nodded.
"That was the plan."
I stared at Leah's name.
Then I noticed another file.
CONTINGENCY — IF GRAHAM DISCOVERS THE TRUTH.
I opened it.
There was only one sentence.
Transfer custody to Daniel Mercer immediately.
I looked up.
Daniel was staring at the screen.
His face had changed.
"What's wrong?"
He didn't answer.
I stood.
"Daniel?"
He finally spoke.
"That document was never supposed to exist."
"Why?"
"Because your father destroyed it."
"Then how is it here?"
Daniel looked at Sarah.
She shook her head.
"I didn't put it there."
The laptop suddenly went black.
Every light in the house went out.
Leah screamed upstairs.
I ran.
"Leah!"
Her bedroom door was open.
The window was shattered.
The room was empty.
Her white rabbit lay on the floor.
And beside it was a note.
I picked it up.
May you like
Three words.
SHE WAS NEVER SAFE.
