Chapter 8 - Eleanor Had Been Listening Downstairs“Your mother is in the kitchen.”
Everyone froze.
The voice came from the doorway.
Eleanor Mercer stood there holding Ivy's small purple backpack.
Sixty-three.
Elegant even in jeans and a cardigan.
Her face looked exhausted.
“I heard enough.”
Maddox stared.
“How long?”
“Since Nathan said Blue Hollow.”
Silas stood.
“Mom.”
“Sit down.”
Both brothers did automatically.
Brielle almost laughed at the reflex.
Eleanor noticed.
“You too.”
Brielle stared.
“I don't think—”
“Sit.”
She did.
Nathan remained standing.
Eleanor looked at him.
“You should leave.”
“I need to explain.”
“No.”
“Eleanor.”
“You slept with my son's wife.”
Nathan lowered his eyes.
“I don't care about your explanation tonight.”
He looked at Maddox.
Maddox said nothing.
Nathan left.
The front door closed downstairs.
Ivy was with the nanny now, Eleanor explained.
She had moved her to the pool house after hearing shouting.
Then Eleanor looked at Brielle.
“I knew you were taking money.”
Maddox stared.
“What?”
Brielle's face changed.
Silas leaned forward.
“You knew Hartwell?”
“Not the name.”
“How?”
“I saw a transfer from Blue Hollow.”
Maddox felt his frustration rise.
“Can one person in this family tell me things when they happen?”
Eleanor flinched.
Fair.
“What does Blue Hollow own?”
She sat.
“Land. Investments. Debt positions.”
“Dad used company money?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“Illegally?”
“Sometimes.”
Silas closed his eyes.
Eleanor continued before they could react.
“Your father started with legitimate private investments. Then Mercer Development nearly failed in 2009.”
Both sons knew.
The recession had nearly destroyed the company.
Everett always described surviving through discipline.
Apparently that was incomplete.
“He moved vendor money.”
“How?” Maddox asked.
“Inflated invoices. Side agreements. He used the difference to purchase distressed assets personally through Blue Hollow.”
Silas stared.
“That's theft from the company.”
“Yes.”
“You helped?”
“At first, no.”
“Later?”
“Yes.”
Maddox stood.
“Mom.”
“I know.”
“How much?”
“About three million over four years.”
The brothers stared.
“Why?” Maddox asked.
Eleanor's eyes filled.
“Because he believed he would repay it.”
“Did he?”
“Most.”
“Most isn't all.”
“No.”
Silas paced.
“And Corbett?”
“One of the vendors.”
“Did they know?”
“The owner did.”
“Who?”
“David Corbett.”
Maddox remembered him.
David died three years earlier.
“Dad's letter said he was suspicious of Corbett.”
Eleanor gave a sad laugh.
“Your father became afraid of his own system.”
Silas stopped.
“What does that mean?”
“David started demanding more.”
Blackmail.
Everett created corruption.
Then the people helping him gained leverage.
“He wanted out,” Eleanor said. “By the time he got cancer, he was trying to unwind everything.”
“Blue Hollow?”
“He planned to transfer its assets back to Mercer Development.”
“Why didn't he?”
“He died first.”
Silas's anger sharpened.
“You controlled it.”
“Yes.”
“So why didn't you?”
Eleanor looked ashamed.
“Because by then the Franklin land had increased enormously in value.”
Maddox stared.
“You kept it.”
“Yes.”
“For yourself?”
“No.”
“For who?”
She looked toward the hallway where Ivy had disappeared downstairs.
“For the grandchildren.”
Maddox laughed bitterly.
“Another secret trust.”
“Yes.”
“How much is Blue Hollow worth?”
Eleanor hesitated.
“Conservatively? Thirty-two million.”
Silence.
Brielle's eyes widened.
Maddox saw.
There it was.
Even she had not known the full number.
Eleanor looked at her.
“You thought it was closer to ten.”
Brielle said nothing.
Eleanor continued.
“You found one statement.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you put it back in the wrong folder.”
Brielle's face hardened.
“You knew I went through Everett's files.”
“Yes.”
“And did nothing?”
“I watched.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to know what you were looking for.”
Maddox stared at his mother.
That cold patience came from Everett too.
Maybe from both.
“Why not tell me?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Because you trust too easily.”
The words hurt.
Then she looked at Silas.
“And he trusts almost no one.”
Silas crossed his arms.
“Great family.”
Eleanor ignored the sarcasm.
“Everett tried to balance you by giving Silas control of the grandchild trust.”
Maddox frowned.
“So the ten percent?”
“Was meant to prevent either future spouse from controlling everything through one son.”
Brielle laughed.
“Future spouse.”
Eleanor looked at her.
“Yes.”
“You mean me.”
“No. Everett died before Maddox met you.”
That silenced her.
The structure was not designed against Brielle personally.
But she had interpreted it that way.
Eleanor continued.
“Blue Hollow was supposed to be revealed when the first grandchild turned five.”
Maddox looked toward the hallway.
“Ivy is three.”
“Yes.”
“Why five?”
“That was the timetable Everett and I chose.”
“For what?”
“To complete restitution.”
Silas frowned.
“To Mercer Development?”
“Yes.”
Eleanor had spent years quietly repaying what Everett took.
Some through dividends.
Some through property transfers.
“Why not disclose the truth?”
“Because disclosure could have triggered litigation, taxes, lender issues, and destroyed the company.”
Silas's expression hardened.
“Or damaged the Mercer name.”
Eleanor met his eyes.
“Yes.”
At least she admitted it.
Maddox turned to Brielle.
“You found Blue Hollow and decided to take from it.”
“No.”
“You moved Hartwell money into it.”
“To buy an interest.”
Eleanor laughed.
“You cannot.”
Brielle looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because Blue Hollow doesn't accept outside investors.”
Nathan had lied.
Or Brielle misunderstood.
“Then where did the money go?”
Eleanor's face changed.
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
Brielle went pale.
Maddox stared.
“You transferred nearly three hundred thousand to Blue Hollow.”
“No.”
“Nathan said—”
“He said the money went to a company called Blue Hollow Capital.”
Eleanor nodded slowly.
“The real company doesn't use an operating bank account under that name.”
Silence.
Silas understood first.
“Someone created a duplicate.”
Eleanor nodded.
A fake Blue Hollow.
A shell company using the name of Everett's secret investment vehicle.
Brielle had been stealing money from Mercer Development.
But perhaps someone had also been stealing from Brielle.
May you like
Maddox looked toward the door Nathan had just walked through.
And suddenly the most obvious suspect was no longer in the room.
Related Stories
