Chapter 8 - The Secret Inside Arthur’s WatchArthur Mercer's watch looked ordinary.
A vintage stainless-steel Rolex he'd worn for thirty years.
Rebecca remembered the scratches.
The slightly cloudy crystal.
The way he tapped it whenever a meeting ran long.
She had never known anything was hidden inside it.
Eleanor did.
“Your father had the back modified.”
Rebecca stared.
“You knew?”
“He told me after Daniel died.”
“What was inside?”
“A sequence.”
“For what?”
“He never said exactly.”
Rebecca laughed bitterly.
“You were married to a man who hid numbers inside watches and letters inside desks.”
“And you married Graham.”
The comeback was so unexpectedly sharp that Rebecca almost smiled.
Almost.
Rachel searched Arthur's old legal files.
Eventually she found a reference.
Mercer Reserve Account — independent authorization held personally by A.M.
“What is a reserve account?”
Eleanor frowned.
“Your father created emergency liquidity outside the operating companies.”
“How much?”
“I don't know.”
Rachel found historical statements.
The last known balance four years earlier:
$31.8 million.
Rebecca stared.
“Thirty-one million dollars?”
Eleanor looked shocked.
“I thought it was much smaller.”
The account was not part of the ordinary Mercer trust.
It had been created after Daniel's death.
Beneficiary information was sealed.
“Could Graham access it with the number in the watch?”
“Not alone,” Rachel said.
“What else does he need?”
“Unknown.”
Rebecca thought of the blue folder.
Maybe the trust amendment contained more than voting rights.
Maybe Arthur had hidden instructions.
Detective Bell returned with travel information.
Graham had not boarded an international flight.
His car was at JFK.
But airport cameras showed him entering a black sedan and leaving fifteen minutes later.
“He wanted us to think he flew.”
Rebecca wasn't surprised.
“He's still here.”
“Probably.”
Brooke looked uneasy.
“Then he's going somewhere.”
Rebecca turned.
“Where?”
“He used to talk about a house.”
“What house?”
“Your father's.”
“This is my father's house.”
“No.”
Brooke shook her head.
“A smaller place.”
Eleanor went pale.
“The river house.”
Rebecca frowned.
“What river house?”
Arthur had owned a secluded property near the Hudson River.
He sold it publicly ten years earlier.
Or supposedly did.
Eleanor explained that Arthur transferred it into a private holding company after Daniel's death.
“Why?”
“He couldn't go there anymore.”
Rebecca remembered family summers vaguely.
Daniel teaching her to swim.
Arthur grilling outside.
Her mother laughing.
Then Daniel died.
The family never returned.
“Does Graham know about it?”
Eleanor looked at Rachel.
“Possibly.”
They drove north with Detective Bell.
The river house sat behind iron gates and overgrown trees.
The holding company still belonged to Arthur's estate.
No one had visited in years.
Yet tire tracks cut through the mud.
Fresh.
Rebecca's heartbeat accelerated.
Police entered first.
The house smelled stale.
Dust covered most furniture.
But the study had been disturbed.
Drawers open.
Cabinets emptied.
An old framed photograph lay broken on the floor.
Daniel.
Rebecca crouched and picked it up.
Her brother smiled beside the river, eighteen years old forever.
Eleanor began crying.
“Arthur couldn't come back here.”
Rebecca looked around.
“Why would Graham?”
Detective Bell called from another room.
They found a wall safe.
Open.
Empty.
Rachel examined it.
“Recently.”
Rebecca noticed something beneath the desk.
Paper.
She pulled it out.
A photocopy.
Graham's handwriting covered the top.
WATCH = ACCESS 1.
Below:
REBECCA = ACCESS 2.
Rebecca stared.
“What does that mean?”
Rachel took it.
“Dual authorization.”
The reserve account required two components.
Something Arthur possessed.
And something Rebecca possessed.
“But I don't have anything.”
Eleanor looked suddenly alarmed.
“Your necklace.”
Rebecca touched her throat.
She wasn't wearing it.
“What necklace?”
“The gold pendant your father gave you after Daniel died.”
Rebecca remembered.
Small.
Unremarkable.
A circular gold pendant engraved with two initials.
D.M.
Daniel Mercer.
She had stopped wearing it after Oliver was born.
“Where is it?”
“At home.”
Everyone exchanged looks.
Graham still had access to the mansion.
Rebecca called security.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Detective Bell contacted local police.
Rebecca's stomach tightened.
Then her phone rang.
Home security.
Finally.
“Mrs. Caldwell?”
“Yes.”
“This is Paul at the east gate.”
“Is Graham there?”
A pause.
“He arrived ten minutes ago.”
Rebecca's blood went cold.
“Where is he now?”
“I thought he was authorized.”
“Where?”
“He entered the main house.”
Rebecca was already moving.
“Stop him.”
Another pause.
Then:
“Mrs. Caldwell?”
“What?”
“Mr. Caldwell isn't alone.”
Rebecca stopped.
“Who is with him?”
The guard sounded confused.
“A woman.”
Brooke looked at Rebecca.
Her face had gone white.
Rebecca asked:
“What woman?”
“She said she's family.”
Eleanor stared.
Rachel whispered:
“Who?”
The guard answered.
“Mr. Caldwell introduced her as his sister.”
Rebecca turned toward Brooke.
Brooke shook her head.
“Graham told me he didn't have a sister.”
Eleanor suddenly sat down.
Rebecca looked at her mother.
“What?”
Eleanor whispered a name Rebecca hadn't heard in almost twenty years.
“Claire.”
Rebecca stared.
“Who is Claire?”
May you like
Her mother's eyes filled with fear.
“The last person who saw Daniel alive.”
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