Chapter 8 - THE BROTHER WHO BETRAYED HIM
Matteo's guards raised their weapons.
Grant lifted both hands, though his expression held no fear.
“You don't need to do this,” he said.
Nathan held the page.
“You already did it.”
Grant looked at Claire. “This is between Nathan and me.”
“You brought my daughter into it,” Claire replied.
Grant's eyes narrowed. “Your daughter saw something she shouldn't have.”
“She saw you stealing.”
“She saw a blue envelope.”
“She saw you.”
Grant looked back at Nathan.
“I was trying to protect what we built.”
“You arranged an ambush.”
“I arranged a warning.”
“You changed the route.”
“I didn't know Mercer would bring live ammunition.”
“You signed the order.”
Grant's voice rose. “Because you were destroying everything! You were becoming reckless. You trusted people who wanted to take your territory. You were going to meet Vane without enough protection.”
“So you decided to kill me?”
“I decided to make you step aside.”
Nathan looked at him for a long moment.
“And when I survived?”
Grant's expression changed.
“I stayed.”
“You stayed because you could control the business while I sat in a wheelchair.”
“I kept the family together.”
“You kept yourself in power.”
Grant glanced toward the guards.
“You think they'll follow you now? Half the captains believe you're weak. The other half are waiting for a reason to leave.”
Nathan's voice was quiet.
“Then let them leave.”
Grant stared at him.
“You would throw away everything?”
“No. I would stop confusing an empire with a family.”
Grant's face twisted.
He moved suddenly toward the cabinet.
Matteo intercepted him. The two men crashed against the workbench, and the page slipped from Nathan's hand. Claire pulled Lily behind her while the guards restrained Grant.
A small pistol fell from his jacket.
No one fired.
Grant was forced to his knees.
Nathan looked down at him.
“You were my brother.”
Grant's eyes shone with anger.
“I was the only one who stayed.”
“You were the only one I trusted enough not to question.”
The difference was devastating.
Matteo secured Grant's hands and called the authorities. The evidence was photographed and placed in an official evidence bag. Elise gave a statement. The guards who had helped plant the cash were identified through the camera records.
As Grant was led outside, he turned toward Nathan.
“You'll never know who ordered the ambush.”
Nathan went still.
“What?”
Grant smiled bitterly.
“I changed the route. I arranged the crew. But I wasn't the one who paid for it.”
Then the doors closed behind him.
Nathan looked at the page again.
There was another name in the lower corner, written in small blue ink.
Silas Vane.
May you like
The rival boss Grant had blamed from the beginning.
The ambush had been a partnership.
