Chapter 15 - THE TRAITOR INSIDE THE HOUSE
Grant refused to believe it at first.
“Daniel has worked for me for nine years.”
Claire looked at him.
“So did Arthur.”
That ended the argument.
Lucas searched Daniel’s financial history.
Nothing obvious appeared.
Then Claire remembered something Rebecca had said.
Northstar Holdings.
Michael Torres traced the company through four jurisdictions.
The final beneficiary was not Daniel.
It was Daniel’s wife.
Six years earlier, Arthur had paid for Daniel’s son’s experimental cancer treatment.
The child survived.
From that moment forward, Daniel belonged to Arthur.
He erased visitor logs.
He redirected internal audits.
He removed crash evidence.
And when Rebecca began hurting Lily, he deleted footage whenever Arthur instructed him.
Grant looked physically ill.
“He watched it happen.”
Claire’s voice was flat.
“He helped hide it.”
They hurried back to the mansion.
Daniel was gone.
So were several drives from the security archive.
Evelyn found Lily’s medication cabinet open.
Nothing was missing.
But inside lay a white envelope.
Grant opened it.
The message contained one sentence.
Stop digging or the next thing you lose will not come back.
Claire looked at Lily.
The child was asleep on the sofa.
Her hand rested inside Evelyn’s.
“No.”
Grant looked at Claire.
She took out her phone.
“We stop reacting.”
“What are you doing?”
“We make him come to us.”
Claire used the Mercer Foundation’s voting power to call an emergency Bennett Global board meeting.
She announced publicly that evidence of internal financial crimes would be released at nine the next morning.
The story reached financial media within minutes.
Grant looked at her.
“You don’t have all the evidence.”
“Daniel doesn’t know that.”
At 2:14 a.m., the mansion alarm detected movement.
Someone entered through the old greenhouse door.
Claire was awake.
So was Grant.
Lucas and two officers waited inside.
The intruder reached the nursery hallway.
Then the lights came on.
Daniel Price stopped.
Grant stood at one end of the corridor.
Claire stood at the other.
Daniel slowly raised his hands.
“I can explain.”
Grant looked at the drive in Daniel’s hand.
“Try.”
Daniel’s eyes moved toward Lily’s room.
Claire stepped in front of the door.
“You don’t look at her.”
Daniel’s shoulders collapsed.
“I never wanted the child hurt.”
“You erased the evidence.”
“Arthur owned me.”
“No.”
Grant’s voice was quiet.
“You chose him.”
Daniel’s face twisted.
“He saved my son.”
“And you paid him back by helping destroy my family?”
Daniel began crying.
Then he reached inside his coat.
Lucas moved instantly.
“Hands!”
Daniel froze.
He slowly removed a small external drive.
“This is everything.”
Grant stared.
“Everything what?”
“The original camera files.”
“The garage.”
“The crash evidence.”
“Rebecca with Lily.”
“Arthur’s meetings.”
Daniel placed it on the floor.
“I kept copies.”
“Insurance.”
Claire looked at him.
“Against Arthur?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Against the day my son asked what kind of man I became to save him.”
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Lucas collected the drive.
Within one hour, the truth that had been hidden for two years finally had a voice.
