Chapter 5 - THE BROTHER WHO CAME TO HELP TOO FAST
Daniel Coleman walked into the library wearing concern like an expensive coat.
Tailored gray suit.
Perfect hair.
Worry in exactly the right amount.
“Nathan.”
He moved toward his brother.
“I came as soon as I heard.”
Nathan did not move.
“Heard what?”
Daniel stopped.
“That Jacob and Jonah were worse.”
I stood near the fireplace.
Marco remained beside the door.
Reeves was in another room with security.
Dr. Shah’s team continued working below.
Nobody had told Daniel the twins were worse.
In fact, they were better.
Nathan folded his arms.
“Who told you?”
Daniel blinked.
“Mrs. Bennett?”
She was standing behind him.
Her face hardened.
“I did not.”
Daniel smiled awkwardly.
“Then someone on staff.”
Nathan’s expression remained empty.
“Who?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
Something changed in Daniel’s eyes.
Not fear.
Calculation.
He glanced toward me.
“Who is she?”
“Emily Dawson.”
“The new nanny?”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked amused.
“Interesting audience for family business.”
I had already heard that tone from Reeves.
People with secrets apparently agreed household workers should remain furniture.
Nathan said, “She stays.”
Daniel’s smile faded.
“Nathan.”
“Tell me why you’re here.”
“I told you.”
“No.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You came because the east-wing ventilation stopped.”
Daniel did not react quickly enough.
I saw it.
So did Nathan.
“What are you talking about?”
“The system beneath the boys’ rooms.”
Daniel’s face changed.
Only slightly.
“What system?”
Nathan laughed.
It was a terrible sound.
“You always were better at lying to Father.”
Daniel’s shoulders stiffened.
“Careful.”
“Did you reroute the lower-level ductwork?”
“No.”
“Did you authorize Meridian Medical Consulting?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“Reeves’s company.”
Daniel’s eyes moved toward the hallway.
That told us he knew Reeves was there.
Nathan noticed.
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“I never said Malcolm was in the house.”
Daniel recovered.
“He usually is.”
“No.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You know too much in the wrong order.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“Are you accusing me of something?”
“Yes.”
The brothers stared at each other.
Nathan asked the question directly.
“Did you kill Rebecca?”
Daniel’s face emptied.
Mrs. Bennett gasped.
I forgot to breathe.
“Nathan.”
“Answer.”
“You’re grieving all over again.”
“Answer.”
“No.”
Too clean.
Too immediate.
Nathan looked at Marco.
Marco stepped forward holding a tablet.
“We pulled the access logs from the lower level.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“There are logs?”
“Apparently.”
Nathan looked at him.
“You accessed the tunnel seventeen times in the six months after Rebecca died.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“It was family property.”
“You told me you hadn’t been down there since Father died.”
“I forgot.”
“Seventeen times?”
“I was cleaning records.”
“Which records?”
No answer.
Nathan moved closer.
“What did Rebecca find?”
Daniel looked at me again.
Nathan almost exploded.
“Stop looking at her like she’s beneath this conversation.”
Daniel’s eyebrows rose.
“That nanny has been here forty-eight hours.”
“And she has done more for my sons in forty-eight hours than everyone I trusted did in two years.”
The sentence landed hard.
Daniel looked toward the floor.
Then he said, “Rebecca discovered our father’s contingency accounts.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
Secret accounts.
Offshore funds.
Emergency cash.
Documents tying older Moretti—no, Coleman—operations to crimes Nathan had spent years separating himself from.
After their father died, Nathan had refused to touch much of it.
Daniel had not.
“I moved some assets.”
“How much?”
Daniel did not answer.
“How much?”
“Eighty million.”
Mrs. Bennett sat down.
Nathan’s face became terrifyingly calm.
“Rebecca found out.”
“Yes.”
“She was going to tell me.”
“Yes.”
“And then she died.”
Daniel looked directly at his brother.
“I did not kill her.”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I argued with her.”
“When?”
“The day before.”
“About what?”
“She threatened to go to federal authorities.”
Nathan stopped.
Not because he cared about the money.
Because Rebecca had been frightened enough to go outside the family.
Daniel continued.
“I told her she would destroy everything.”
“What did she say?”
Daniel looked down.
“She said maybe everything needed destroying.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
It sounded like a woman I wished I had met.
“What happened to her car?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Harris touch it?”
Silence.
“Daniel.”
“I told Harris to scare her.”
Nathan’s eyes opened.
Every person in the room went still.
“How?”
“I told him to follow her.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are my sons sick?”
Daniel’s expression changed again.
“They were not supposed to be.”
There it was.
Nathan moved before anyone expected.
He grabbed Daniel by the front of his suit and drove him against the wall.
Marco stepped closer but did not intervene.
I did.
“Nathan.”
He did not hear me.
“Nathan.”
His fist tightened.
I thought of Jacob and Jonah upstairs.
Children had already lost one parent.
I stepped closer.
“Your sons need their father upstairs, not in jail downstairs.”
His eyes shifted.
Just slightly.
Enough.
He released Daniel.
Daniel coughed.
Nathan stepped back.
“Explain.”
Daniel straightened his jacket.
The arrogance was gone now.
“Harris proposed using the ventilation system.”
“For what?”
“To make the boys mildly unwell.”
I felt sick.
Nathan’s face turned white.
“Why?”
“To keep you distracted.”
No one spoke.
Daniel continued.
“You were changing the organization too fast after Rebecca died. Closing businesses. Removing people Father trusted.”
Nathan stared.
“You made my children sick to control me.”
“I said mildly.”
My stomach turned.
Daniel heard himself.
Too late.
Nathan’s voice dropped.
“They could barely walk.”
“I didn’t know Harris was increasing exposure.”
“What did you think would happen?”
“Headaches. Fatigue. Enough to keep you home.”
Nathan stared as though he no longer recognized his brother.
“You wanted me weak.”
“I wanted you dependent on family.”
“By hurting my sons.”
“I thought Reeves would monitor them.”
I looked at Daniel.
“And Reeves?”
“He realized too late.”
“So you threatened him.”
Daniel said nothing.
Nathan asked, “Rebecca?”
Daniel’s face changed.
“Harris handled her.”
That was not an answer.
Nathan stepped closer.
“Did he kill her?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ask?”
Silence.
That was worse.
Nathan turned toward Marco.
“Find Harris.”
Marco already had his phone out.
Then Mrs. Bennett spoke.
“Sir.”
We turned.
She looked frightened.
“Harris left this morning.”
“When?”
“Before dawn.”
“Where?”
“He took one of the estate vehicles.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed.
Marco looked at his phone.
“Vehicle tracker is off.”
Daniel gave a small, defeated laugh.
Nathan looked at him.
“What?”
“You think Harris is running.”
“He is.”
“No.”
Daniel’s face had gone pale.
“If he thinks we’re exposed, he won’t run first.”
“What will he do?”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
“The boys.”
May you like
Every drop of blood left Nathan’s face.
We ran.
