Chapter 6 - The Lawyer Who Knew EverythingGrant Holloway answered on the second ring.
“Sterling.”
“Where are you?”
Pause.
“Office.”
“Stay there.”
“What happened?”
Sterling hung up.
Grant’s Manhattan office occupied the thirty-eighth floor of a glass tower.
Sterling arrived with Detective Brooks and two investigators.
Grant stood behind his desk.
Sixty.
Silver hair.
Perfect suit.
Calm.
“Detective.”
Lena showed credentials.
“We need to ask about documents belonging to Caroline Hale.”
Grant’s eyes moved toward Sterling.
“Is this necessary?”
Sterling said:
“Where’s the blue envelope?”
Grant’s expression didn’t change.
“What envelope?”
“Wrong answer.”
“Sterling—”
“Octavia says she gave it to you.”
Grant sighed.
“Octavia says many things when frightened.”
“You filed Callum’s adoption.”
“Yes.”
“You drafted Caroline’s trust.”
“Yes.”
“Did you file Vivian’s guardianship petition?”
“No.”
“Did your firm?”
Pause.
Grant looked away.
Sterling felt his stomach drop.
“Who?”
“My partner.”
“Which partner?”
“Elaine Warren.”
Sterling laughed.
Elaine had represented Vivian Mercer for years.
“You shared files.”
Grant’s jaw tightened.
“No.”
“Then how did she get enough information to challenge Callum’s adoption?”
“I don’t know.”
Sterling stepped toward him.
“The original consent paperwork is in your vault.”
Grant’s face changed.
Tiny.
But Lena saw it too.
“What happened to it?” she asked.
Grant said nothing.
Sterling’s voice lowered.
“You lost it.”
“No.”
“Then where is it?”
Grant sat down.
“There was a records transfer two months ago.”
“To whom?”
“Off-site archive.”
“And?”
“One box disappeared.”
Sterling stared.
“Callum’s adoption file.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t tell me.”
“I was trying to locate it.”
“You knew Vivian was building a case.”
“I suspected.”
“You still didn’t tell me.”
Grant looked ashamed.
“I didn’t want to alarm you without proof.”
Sterling almost smiled.
Every betrayal seemed to arrive wearing the same sentence.
I was protecting you.
I didn’t want to alarm you.
I thought I could fix it.
Lena asked:
“What about Caroline’s envelope?”
Grant looked at her.
“I received one sealed envelope from Octavia.”
Sterling’s heart jumped.
“Where is it?”
Grant opened a drawer.
Empty.
His face changed.
“No.”
“What?”
“It was here.”
Sterling stared.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Grant pressed an intercom.
No response.
He walked into the outer office.
His assistant’s desk was empty.
“Where’s Melissa?”
Sterling froze.
Melissa Vane had worked for Grant for six years.
She had also been Caroline’s college roommate.
Grant checked his phone.
No messages.
Lena called building security.
Twenty minutes later, footage showed Melissa leaving at 5:48 a.m.
Carrying a blue envelope.
Sterling stared.
“Where would she go?”
Grant looked shaken.
“I don’t know.”
Sterling turned.
“You know something.”
Grant hesitated.
“Melissa hated Vivian.”
“Why?”
“She was loyal to Caroline.”
“Then maybe she took it to protect it.”
Grant looked toward the window.
“Maybe.”
Sterling’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman whispered:
“Sterling?”
“Melissa?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t say.”
“Do you have Caroline’s letter?”
“Yes.”
His heart jumped.
“Read it.”
“No.”
“Melissa.”
“You need to listen first.”
Sterling went silent.
“Caroline gave me instructions.”
“When?”
“Three weeks before she died.”
Sterling stopped breathing.
“She knew something was going to happen?”
“No.”
Melissa’s voice shook.
“She knew her mother would eventually come for the boys.”
“Why?”
“Because Vivian had done it before.”
Sterling frowned.
“To who?”
A pause.
“Caroline.”
His blood went cold.
“What?”
“When Caroline was eleven, Vivian took her away from her father using the same method.”
“Custody petition?”
“Private placement.”
Sterling looked at Lena.
“Why?”
“Money.”
Of course.
Melissa continued:
“Caroline’s grandfather had left shares directly to her.”
“Vivian gained control as guardian.”
Sterling felt sick.
History repeating.
“Where’s the letter?”
“Safe.”
“I need it.”
“You need more than the letter.”
“What?”
“There’s a second document.”
“What document?”
“Caroline’s original adoption declaration for Callum.”
Sterling frowned.
“That’s in the missing file.”
“No.”
Melissa’s voice became firmer.
“Caroline kept another original.”
“Where?”
“She hid it somewhere Grant would never think to look.”
Sterling glanced at Grant.
“Where?”
Melissa whispered:
“With Callum.”
Sterling went still.
“Callum doesn’t have it.”
May you like
“He does.”
“He just doesn’t know what it is.”
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