Chapter 8 - THREE DAYS BEFORE DEATH
Nathan did not confront Richard in the lobby.
He waited until they reached the Brooks house, until Eleanor closed the front door, until Marcus checked the security system, and until Richard set his briefcase on the study table.
Then Nathan held up the phone.
“Who changed my grandfather’s will three days before he died?”
Richard looked at the screen.
His expression did not change.
That bothered Nathan more than panic would have.
“I did.”
The answer landed like a punch.
Nathan stared at him.
“You changed it?”
“At James’s direction.”
“Three days before he died?”
“Yes.”
“And you did not think that was worth mentioning?”
“I did not change the beneficiary.”
Nathan laughed angrily.
“That is not an answer.”
Richard removed his glasses.
“The prior will also left the estate to you.”
“What changed?”
“The thirty-day condition.”
Nathan went still.
Richard continued.
“James added it three days before his death.”
“The trap.”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked toward Marcus.
“You knew?”
“No.”
Marcus sounded irritated.
Nathan faced Richard again.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because James instructed me to reveal the purpose only if the box was recovered.”
“That box was stolen.”
“Yes.”
“So if it stayed stolen, I would never know?”
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“I would have had to make a judgment.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“I am tired of old men making judgments about what I can handle.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“And I am tired of watching people exploit the fact that you are eighteen and angry.”
The words stopped Nathan.
Richard continued.
“You have every right to be angry with your father.”
“You have every right to be angry with James.”
“You may even have a right to be angry with me.”
“But if you allow anonymous messages to decide who you trust, Martin will not need a court order to beat you.”
Nathan wanted to argue.
He could not.
“Show me the old will.”
Richard opened his briefcase.
He removed two certified copies.
The earlier will was dated eleven months before James died.
Nathan was the sole beneficiary.
Brooks Holdings shares passed to him outright at eighteen.
The new will added the thirty-day review, an independent audit trigger, and record-preservation provisions.
Nothing moved assets away from Nathan.
If anything, the new will protected him more.
Nathan sat down.
“Who knew about the change?”
“James, me, two witnesses, and the notary.”
“Martin?”
“No.”
“David?”
“No.”
“Then whoever emailed me had access to legal information they should not have.”
“Yes.”
Marcus took Nathan’s phone.
“The sender wants you suspicious of Richard.”
“Why?”
“Divide the people around you.”
Nathan looked at the black box.
“Or warn me.”
Marcus nodded.
“Possible.”
Richard looked unhappy with the concession.
Nathan opened his laptop and emailed Stephen Cole using the address Priya had given him.
He wrote only three lines.
My name is Nathan Brooks.
I found the Graystone records.
I want to hear your side before someone else tells it for you.
He sent it.
At eleven fourteen that night, Stephen replied.
One location.
One time.
6:00 A.M.
East River Diner.
COME ALONE.
Richard said no before Nathan finished reading.
Marcus said, “He won’t be alone.”
Nathan looked at him.
“The email says alone.”
“You will appear alone.”
At five forty-five the next morning, Nathan entered the diner wearing a hoodie and jeans.
Marcus sat in an unmarked car across the street.
Richard waited two blocks away.
Stephen Cole occupied a booth in the back.
He was forty-eight, thin, exhausted, and walking with a cane.
A fading bruise covered one side of his face.
Nathan slid into the opposite seat.
“Mr. Cole?”
Stephen looked at him.
“You look like Anna.”
Nathan was getting tired of hearing that from strangers who had known his mother better than he did.
“You knew her too?”
“A little.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“Why did you resign?”
Stephen looked toward the windows.
“Because I found an account that should not exist.”
“Graystone?”
“That was one of them.”
Nathan waited.
Stephen removed a flash drive from his coat pocket.
“Your grandfather asked me to run a private reconciliation of vendor payments.”
“When?”
“Two months before he died.”
“What did you find?”
“Graystone invoiced Brooks Holdings through three divisions for overlapping services.”
“Same work, multiple payments.”
“How much?”
“About four million directly.”
“More through related companies.”
Nathan felt a familiar chill.
“How much total?”
Stephen looked at him.
“Eleven point eight million that I could identify.”
Nathan stared.
“Who approved it?”
“Martin.”
There it was.
A direct answer.
“Can you prove it?”
Stephen tapped the flash drive.
“Partly.”
“Why partly?”
“Because someone changed authorization logs after James confronted Martin.”
Nathan leaned closer.
“When did James confront him?”
“Four days before he died.”
Nathan felt his heartbeat quicken.
The will changed three days before James died.
“What happened?”
“James told Martin an external audit was coming.”
“Martin told James he was confused and needed rest.”
“Then Martin called me into his office and offered me a severance package worth two years of salary.”
“To leave?”
“To forget.”
“You said no.”
Stephen gave a tired smile.
“I said I needed a day.”
“The next afternoon, my brakes failed.”
Nathan stared at the cane.
“Police report?”
“Mechanical failure.”
“Like my car.”
Stephen’s eyes sharpened.
“What happened to your car?”
Nathan told him.
Stephen looked sick.
“Then you need to get out.”
“Out of the company?”
“Out of the city.”
Nathan shook his head.
“No.”
“You are eighteen.”
“That sentence is getting old.”
Stephen leaned across the table.
“Listen to me.”
“These people have been stealing for years.”
“They have lawyers, vendors, contractors, security people, and friends in places that make problems disappear.”
Nathan thought of Paul Voss.
“The people Martin works for.”
Stephen went still.
“Who told you that phrase?”
“My father.”
Stephen looked toward the windows again.
“Then David finally got scared.”
“What does it mean?”
Stephen hesitated.
“Graystone is not the top.”
Nathan’s stomach tightened.
“Who is?”
“I do not know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes, because that is how it was designed.”
Stephen folded his hands.
“Graystone routes money through shell companies.”
“Those companies pay private lenders and acquisition funds.”
“Those funds buy distressed assets from businesses that suddenly develop problems.”
Nathan slowly understood.
“Create problems, then buy cheap.”
Stephen nodded.
“Brooks Holdings was supposed to become one of those businesses.”
“How?”
“James dies.”
“You inherit.”
“You are publicly portrayed as unstable and incompetent.”
“Lenders panic.”
“Key contracts get canceled.”
“Management claims emergency authority.”
“Then assets are sold to cover a crisis they created.”
Nathan felt cold.
“And Martin gets paid.”
“Martin gets rich.”
“What does my father get?”
Stephen’s eyes shifted downward.
Nathan saw the hesitation.
“Say it.”
“Your father was promised ten percent of whatever they recovered from your shares.”
Nathan sat back.
Ten percent.
David had not only been paid to throw Nathan out.
He had been promised a fortune if Nathan lost everything.
The waitress refilled coffee.
Neither spoke until she left.
Nathan pointed to the flash drive.
“What is on it?”
“Copies of authorization logs before they were altered.”
“Emails between Martin and Graystone.”
“Payment schedules.”
“And one voicemail from your grandfather.”
Nathan reached for it.
Stephen pulled it back.
“Before I give you this, I need something.”
Nathan’s temper rose.
“Money?”
“No.”
“Protection.”
“I have a daughter.”
Nathan stopped.
“She is fourteen.”
“I want her somewhere safe before my name appears anywhere.”
Nathan thought of Tyler.
“I understand.”
Stephen studied him.
“You actually do.”
Nathan nodded.
“I can have Richard arrange it.”
Stephen’s expression changed.
“No.”
Nathan frowned.
“Why?”
Stephen lowered his voice.
“Because the leak is inside Richard’s office.”
Nathan went still.
“The anonymous email?”
Stephen shook his head.
“I did not send it.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Because Martin had a copy of the amended will two days before James died.”
Nathan felt the diner disappear around him.
“That is impossible.”
“I saw it on Martin’s desk.”
“Only Richard, James, witnesses, and the notary had it.”
Stephen looked directly at him.
“Then one of them gave it to Martin.”
Nathan’s phone buzzed in his pocket.
A message from Marcus.
LEAVE NOW.
Nathan looked toward the front windows.
A gray sedan had stopped across the street.
May you like
Paul Voss stepped out.
