Chapter 11 - Someone Michael Trusted
Michael created a list.
Seven names.
Eleanor Price.
Robert Kellerman.
Charles Wynn.
His security director, Thomas Reed.
His longtime assistant, Daniel Cross.
His mother.
And Ben.
Sofia looked at it.
“You put Ben on here?”
“I trust him now.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Michael folded his arms.
“Laura said someone I trusted.”
“You trusted Natalie.”
“She was already named separately.”
Sofia hated the logic.
Brooks investigated everyone.
Charles Wynn had received nearly $900,000 through Blue Heron.
Thomas Reed had authorized surveillance on Sofia.
Daniel Cross had access to Michael’s calendar.
And Eleanor had drafted Vincent Hayes’s trust documents.
When Michael confronted Eleanor, she did not flinch.
“I drafted the documents under your father’s instructions.”
“Did Grant know about the survival clause before Vincent died?”
“Yes.”
“How long before?”
“Three months.”
Sofia asked, “Did Natalie?”
Eleanor hesitated.
Michael saw it.
“You told her.”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“Daniel Cross requested an estate summary after Laura died. He said Natalie was helping you organize family paperwork.”
Michael’s face darkened.
“My assistant.”
Brooks checked Daniel’s phone records.
He had exchanged seventy-three calls with Natalie over six months.
Michael drove directly to Hayes Meridian Tower.
He was legally barred from executive systems during administrative leave, but he could still enter as a shareholder.
Daniel was packing his office.
Michael blocked the door.
“Going somewhere?”
Daniel froze.
“I was reassigned.”
“To where?”
“Grant’s office.”
“Of course.”
Sofia stood behind Michael with Brooks.
Brooks stepped forward.
“Mr. Cross, we’d like to ask about your communications with Natalie Mercer.”
Daniel looked at Michael.
“She said she was worried about you.”
“Seventy-three times?”
“She asked about your schedule.”
Michael’s expression hardened.
“The night Emma went into the river, who told Natalie when I was coming outside?”
Daniel looked away.
Brooks repeated the question.
“I don’t know.”
Michael walked closer.
“You had my calendar.”
“Yes.”
“You knew I was meeting investors in the private dining room.”
“Yes.”
“You knew exactly when it ended.”
Daniel’s breathing changed.
“I didn’t know what they planned.”
The room went silent.
Brooks said, “Who is they?”
Daniel sat.
“I thought they were trying to scare you.”
“By doing what?”
“I don’t know.”
Michael slammed his hand against the desk.
Daniel flinched.
Sofia grabbed Michael’s arm.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
Daniel stared at him.
“Grant said Emma’s stroller would be found at the edge. He said Natalie would claim she lost control of it. He wanted you panicked before the board vote.”
Michael whispered, “You gave them my schedule.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel began crying.
“Grant paid my gambling debts.”
“How much?”
“Four hundred thousand.”
Michael stepped back.
Sofia felt sick.
“Was Grant the man on the phone?”
Daniel wiped his face.
“I never heard the call.”
“Did he use a burner phone?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Brooks asked, “Who threatened Owen Park?”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
“Who broke into Sofia’s apartment?”
“I don’t know.”
“Who burned the Glasswater servers?”
“I don’t know.”
Michael laughed bitterly.
“You sold my family for four hundred thousand dollars and somehow know nothing.”
Daniel’s shame turned to anger.
“You don’t understand what it’s like working for you.”
Michael stared.
“You never ask whether people can breathe around you. You decide. Everyone else follows.”
Sofia saw the words hit their target.
Daniel continued.
“Grant knew that. Natalie knew it. They didn’t invent your weaknesses, Michael. They used them.”
Brooks arrested Daniel for conspiracy and obstruction-related offenses pending review by prosecutors.
As officers led him away, Daniel stopped.
“There’s something you should know.”
Michael looked at him.
“Grant wasn’t the one who chose the river.”
“Who did?”
Daniel swallowed.
May you like
“Natalie did.”
Then he added, “Because she knew exactly how Laura died afraid of water.”
