CHAPTER 10 — THE BOY AT THE CRASH SITE
Grant was sixteen when my mother’s car went off the road.
He had always claimed he knew nothing about it.
Inside the museum’s secure interview room, I placed a photograph in front of him.
It had been recovered from Thomas Creed’s coat.
The image showed a dark mountain road illuminated by emergency lights.
A younger Grant stood beside Malcolm Holloway’s car.
Grant examined the photograph.
His face went still.
“You were there,” I said.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“My father brought me.”
“To watch him kill my mother?”
“No.”
He looked toward the one-way glass.
“My father said Helena had stolen something from our family. He wanted me to learn how consequences worked.”
My hands tightened beneath the table.
“What happened?”
“Her car was supposed to be stopped before the bridge. One of Malcolm’s men blocked the road. She swerved.”
“She went into the ravine.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“We climbed down.”
Grant’s voice weakened.
“She was alive. Barely. My father wanted to leave her.”
“But Celeste didn’t.”
Grant shook his head.
“My mother wasn’t there.”
“Then who saved Helena?”
“Thomas.”
The revelation made no sense.
“Thomas rescued her?”
“He had followed your mother. He pulled her from the car before the fuel ignited. My father’s men caught him near the road.”
“Why didn’t they kill them?”
“Helena told Malcolm she had copies of the ledger programmed for release if she died.”
My mother had built her own insurance policy.
Grant continued.
“Malcolm kept her alive to locate the copies. Thomas convinced him he could control her.”
“And you watched all of this.”
“I was sixteen.”
“You became an adult.”
He looked directly at me.
“So did you. How many years did you spend enjoying the fortune your mother was trying to expose?”
The question hurt because it contained truth.
I had not known.
But I had benefited.
Grant leaned back.
“My mother discovered the arrangement years later. She took control of Helena from Thomas. After that, everyone began betraying everyone.”
“Why did Thomas move her now?”
“Because Celeste planned to kill her after tonight’s auction.”
My phone rang.
Adrian.
I answered.
“We have a problem,” he said.
“What happened?”
“Celeste Holloway surrendered.”
“That is a problem?”
“She brought documents.”
“What kind?”
“Medical records, financial records, and signed statements.”
“Against whom?”
“Your father.”
I looked through the glass.
Elias stood outside the room speaking with federal agents.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“Celeste claims Elias financed Saint Catherine’s for nine years.”
“That doesn’t prove he knew Helena was there.”
“She also has recordings.”
May you like
“Of what?”
“Your father negotiating the terms of Helena’s confinement.”
