Chapter 6 - The Brother Who Needed MoneyLucas had always been the charming brother.
Jonathan was the responsible one.
Lucas was the one who could arrive an hour late to Thanksgiving dinner and somehow make everyone laugh before dessert.
Their father had loved both sons.
But he trusted only one with the company.
Jonathan.
Lucas never forgave him.
By morning, Detective Bennett had secured Lucas’s financial records.
She called Jonathan into the mansion’s breakfast room.
Rachel was already there.
Lucas had retained separate counsel and refused another interview.
Bennett placed three pages on the table.
“Your brother has substantial personal debt.”
“How much?”
“Approximately nine hundred thousand.”
Jonathan stared at her.
“That’s impossible.”
Rachel shook her head.
“No.”
She pointed to several transfers.
“Failed private investments. Short-term borrowing. Personal guarantees.”
Jonathan read the dates.
Some went back nearly three years.
Claire had been alive.
“Did my mother know?”
“Yes.”
Beatrice had paid off two earlier loans.
Then Lucas borrowed again.
Jonathan felt anger building.
“He used company money?”
“We believe funds moved through an investment subsidiary,” Rachel said.
“How much?”
“Potentially more than one million.”
Bennett added, “We’re still tracing it.”
Jonathan understood the bridge loan now.
At least part of it.
Beatrice had not only been trying to preserve Charles’s legacy.
She had been covering Lucas’s failures.
Again.
Just as she had when they were teenagers.
Good boys keep family secrets.
Jonathan stood.
“I want to talk to him.”
“Jonathan—”
“I’m not interrogating him.”
He found Lucas outside near the swimming pool.
A uniformed officer watched from a distance.
Lucas stared at the water.
Jonathan approached.
“Nine hundred thousand dollars.”
Lucas didn’t turn.
“Congratulations.”
“For what?”
“For finally seeing the family accountant you pretend not to need.”
Jonathan moved beside him.
“Did you take money from the company?”
Lucas’s jaw tightened.
“No.”
“Rachel found transfers.”
“Investments.”
“You mean losses.”
Lucas laughed bitterly.
“You always were Dad’s favorite.”
“This isn’t about Dad.”
“It’s always about Dad.”
Lucas turned.
“You inherited his chair. His office. His respect.”
“You were given opportunities.”
“I was given scraps.”
“You were given millions.”
“And you controlled whether I got to keep any of it.”
Jonathan stared at him.
“Did you shut down the cameras?”
Lucas looked away.
“Yes.”
The admission landed heavily even though Jonathan had already heard it.
“Why?”
“Mom told me an attorney was coming.”
“What attorney?”
“I don’t know.”
“You disabled an entire security system without asking why?”
“She said the meeting had to be off record.”
“And that sounded normal?”
“In this family?”
Lucas finally looked at him.
“Yes.”
Jonathan took another step.
“Melanie saw you with Oliver.”
Lucas’s expression changed.
“What?”
“She saw you walking him downstairs.”
Lucas looked toward the house.
Jonathan’s voice hardened.
“Did you put him in that cabinet?”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not.”
“You told him there was a surprise.”
Lucas rubbed his face.
“I was taking him to the kitchen.”
“Why?”
“He wanted cookies.”
“Melanie says you told him there was a game.”
Lucas was silent.
Jonathan’s stomach tightened.
“What game?”
Lucas whispered, “Mom told me to bring Oliver downstairs.”
Jonathan went still.
“Why?”
“She said she had a surprise for him.”
“You told Melanie it was your game.”
“I didn’t want her asking questions.”
Jonathan’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“What happened when you got to the kitchen?”
“Mom was there.”
“Then what?”
Lucas hesitated.
Jonathan grabbed the front of his shirt.
The nearby officer stepped forward.
Lucas hissed, “Get off me.”
“Tell me.”
“I left!”
Jonathan released him.
“You left?”
“Mom told me she needed to talk to Oliver alone.”
Jonathan stared.
“What time?”
“Maybe ten forty.”
The cameras went dark at 10:42.
“You shut them off before that.”
“Yes.”
“And then you delivered my son to her.”
“I didn’t know—”
“You delivered him to her.”
Lucas’s face crumpled for the first time.
“I didn’t know she would hurt him.”
Jonathan barely heard him.
Because Detective Bennett had appeared in the doorway.
She looked directly at Lucas.
“Mr. Hale, we just recovered deleted messages from your phone.”
Lucas’s face changed.
Bennett continued.
“One from your mother at 10:38.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“What did it say?”
Bennett read it aloud.
Bring Oliver downstairs. Then leave us alone.
Lucas shut his eyes.
Jonathan looked toward the mansion.
His mother was somewhere inside.
May you like
And for the first time since opening the cabinet, he stopped wondering whether Beatrice knew what happened.
He began wondering how much she had planned.
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