Chapter 8 - THE MAN WITH TWO PASSPORTS
Nathan Cole did not ask for a lawyer.
He asked for protection.
"Thomas Mercer will kill me."
Brooks sat across from him.
"Start talking."
"I stole money."
"How much?"
"Nine million."
"From my wife's company?"
"With Thomas."
Grant stepped forward.
Nathan continued.
"Vivian found the transfers three weeks ago."
"Why wasn't I told?"
"She didn't know who she could trust."
Grant absorbed that quietly.
Nathan said, "Thomas wanted time to move assets before she went public."
"So he killed her?"
"I don't know."
"You wrote that he promised she'd never wake up."
"He said he'd handle Vivian medically."
"Medically."
"That's the word he used."
Nathan had met Thomas at a private clinic the night before Vivian collapsed.
Thomas gave him a folder containing documents for an emergency board vote.
If Vivian died, her voting shares passed temporarily into the Holloway Family Trust.
The trustee?
Grant.
That made Grant the obvious suspect.
But the trust required him to vote with the Mercer Medical Foundation for six months.
Thomas effectively gained control.
"He used me."
"If you looked guilty, nobody would look at him."
Brooks asked, "Where did the paralytic come from?"
"Mercer Surgical Center."
Thomas owned it.
So did Adrian.
Adrian had access.
But Nathan swore Adrian was not part of the plan.
"Thomas called him useful because he follows family orders."
Grant thought of Adrian pronouncing Vivian dead without equipment.
Useful.
Obedient.
Weak.
"Why did you run?"
"Because Thomas told me the funeral was the end of it."
"Then Rosa broke the coffin."
"And?"
"He called me."
"What did he say?"
Nathan's voice dropped.
"He said the maid had just ruined everything."
At that exact moment, Brooks's phone buzzed.
Hospital security alert.
Thomas Mercer had entered Vivian's ICU floor using an old judge's emergency credential.
Rosa was there.
May you like
Vivian was there.
And Thomas had ordered the security desk not to disturb him.
