Chapter 10 - Thomas Mercer’s Notebook
Helen called Daniel at 6:07 the next morning.
“I remembered something.”
He was at her house forty minutes later with Sarah.
Helen held a cardboard banker’s box.
“After Thomas died, Margaret cleared his office.”
Daniel nodded.
“She told us she handled everything.”
“She did not handle everything.”
Helen removed an old laptop.
“I had this.”
Thomas’s former company laptop.
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
“He gave it to me.”
“When?”
“Six days before he died.”
Sarah leaned forward.
“Did he say why?”
Helen nodded.
“He told me, ‘If Margaret wins the argument, she’ll wipe my office.’”
Daniel sat down.
“That sounds like Dad.”
“It does.”
The laptop no longer booted normally.
Mina’s technician extracted the drive.
Most files were unremarkable.
Budgets.
Property reports.
Board drafts.
Then they found an encrypted folder named TJM PRIVATE.
Daniel tried Anna’s birthday.
Wrong.
Lily’s birthday.
Wrong.
Thomas’s wedding anniversary.
Wrong.
Helen said, “Try the first building.”
Daniel typed:
RIDGEMONT1989
The folder opened.
Inside were photographs of pages from black notebooks.
Thomas had photographed his handwritten reconciliations.
Not the original notebook.
But enough.
Entries went back fourteen months before his death.
Lakepoint invoice 1138 — no site confirmation. M approved. R released.
Crescent — same phone contact as Lakepoint?
Northstar $247,900 — split?
Then:
M says I am humiliating her. Says she earned more than children ever did.
Daniel stopped.
Children.
Not Daniel.
Not Claire.
Both.
Another entry:
R claims services real. Helen says impossible. Need outside review.
Then one line written in heavy black ink:
If I die before resolving this, do not let Margaret control Lily’s shares.
Daniel’s throat closed.
Lily had been three when Thomas died.
The trust already existed.
But the successor-trustee provision named Margaret.
Sarah read it twice.
“Did he amend the trust?”
“No.”
“Maybe he intended to.”
“Or didn’t have time.”
Helen pointed farther down.
Spoke to A. She has copy of vendor packet. She understands M better than Daniel does.
Daniel frowned.
“A?”
Sarah said, “Anna?”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
His father had spoken to his wife.
Without him.
The next file contained scanned emails between Thomas and Anna.
Thomas:
I need you to preserve this only. Do not confront Daniel yet. He will confront Margaret emotionally and destroy the investigation.
Anna:
You are underestimating him.
Thomas:
No. I am describing him accurately.
Daniel almost laughed.
Sarah raised an eyebrow.
“Your father knew you.”
“He did.”
Another email from Anna:
I will keep the packet. But if this affects Lily, I tell Daniel immediately.
Thomas replied:
Agreed.
Where was the packet?
Daniel searched Anna’s files.
Nothing.
Her cloud archive had been accessed by Margaret.
Some folders had been deleted.
But backups existed.
The provider restored a directory removed seven weeks earlier.
FOR LILY — LEGAL
Inside were photographs.
Vendor invoices.
Thomas’s notebook pages.
And a letter from Thomas to Daniel that had never been sent.
Daniel opened it.
Son,
If you are reading this, I failed to resolve something I should have stopped sooner. Your mother has been approving payments I cannot justify. Raymond has defended them. I do not yet know whether this is theft, concealed compensation, or some arrangement I do not understand. Do not accuse before you can prove. That is your instinct. It is also your weakness.
Daniel stopped reading.
Sarah said nothing.
He continued.
Your mother believes this company is the measure of what she sacrificed. She speaks about ownership as though love creates title. It does not.
Protect Lily’s shares. Protect Claire from being purchased. And if Anna tells you something about this family that you do not want to hear, listen.
Daniel looked away.
Thomas had anticipated all of them.
Even himself.
Mina kept examining the folder.
“There.”
A PDF labeled VENDOR BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP.
Thomas had obtained a private-investigator report.
Lakepoint linked to Gregory Vane.
Northstar linked to Raymond’s brother-in-law.
Crescent linked to a woman named Dana Kessler.
Raymond’s wife.
Sarah whispered, “There it is.”
Not complete proof of fraud.
But proof that Margaret and Raymond had concealed related-party connections.
A second document showed Thomas intended to present the findings to the board.
Meeting date:
Four days after he died.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Margaret had not needed to cause Thomas’s death.
She had only needed to survive it.
His phone rang.
Claire.
He answered.
Her voice was frantic.
“Daniel, Mom is here.”
“At your restaurant?”
“Yes.”
“What does she want?”
“She has papers.”
“What papers?”
Claire began crying.
“She says if I don’t sign them today, she takes everything.”
“Sign nothing.”
“She already filed default on my loan.”
Sarah grabbed her coat.
“We’re coming.”
Claire lowered her voice.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“I heard Mom talking to Raymond.”
Daniel stood.
“What did they say?”
“They’re selling Harbor Point.”
Daniel felt the floor shift.
Harbor Point was Mercer Residential Group’s most valuable undeveloped property.
Lakefront land valued around $18 million.
“To whom?”
“I don’t know.”
May you like
Claire whispered:
“But Mom said once it closes, no audit can put the money back.”
