Chapter 4 - THE PRICE OF TRUTH
Hannah didn't leave. Instead, she knelt beside his wheelchair, her gaze fierce. “I’ve worked for you for two years, Nathan. I’ve seen you go from a man who wanted to die to a man who finally started living again because of my daughter. You think I’m just going to walk away while you walk into a meat grinder?”
Nathan was taken aback by her resolve. He had spent years pushing people away, believing that intimacy was a death sentence. But here was this woman, who had nothing but her daughter and her integrity, willing to stand by him.
“Grant Mercer is the man who killed my family,” Nathan said, the words feeling like glass in his throat.
Hannah’s hand flew to her mouth. She had heard the rumors, the whispers about the accident, but to hear it stated as fact by Nathan himself was a shock that rocked the room.
“If he finds out you know,” she whispered, “he won’t just kill you. He’ll make sure there’s nothing left to bury.”
“That’s why I have to strike first,” Nathan said. “He thinks I’m a vegetable. He thinks the poison is working. I’m going to use that against him. I need you to help me access the foundation records that are kept in the guest wing safe. That’s where the physical evidence of his embezzlement is.”
“The west wing is under 24-hour surveillance by his security team,” Hannah countered.
“I know,” Nathan said, his eyes narrowing. “But they don’t watch the staff. They watch the exits. They don’t think a maid has the clearance to move through the house. But you do.”
Over the next few hours, they formed a plan. It was dangerous, reckless, and entirely against the grain of the man Nathan had become. He felt a surge of energy—the same energy that had built his empire. He was no longer the broken man in the chair; he was the wolf returning to the fold.
Hannah returned to the guest wing, her heart pounding. She managed to bypass the guards by claiming a leak in the plumbing. Once inside the safe room, she used the override code Nathan had given her. It wasn't just records; it was a digital trail leading to a series of offshore accounts that Grant had been using to bribe local officials.
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As she stuffed the documents into her apron, she saw a photo frame on the wall. It was a picture of Grant, Nathan, and Rebecca, taken years ago. Behind it, she saw a hidden ledger—the original copy. She realized that Grant hadn’t been alone; he had accomplices, people in high places who were waiting to see Nathan fall.
She tucked the ledger into her bag and made her way back, her nerves frayed to the point of snapping. If she got caught, she knew she wouldn't see Lucy again. She thought of her daughter, sleeping peacefully upstairs, and for a moment, her courage wavered. But then she remembered the way Nathan had looked at Lucy, the way he had finally started to smile. He deserved a second chance at life, and Lucy deserved to be in it.
