Chapter 15 - Caroline’s Brother
Julian denied everything.
Then Mercer produced the declaration.
Caroline had written that Julian provided Bianca with internal Reed trust structures because he wanted Lily’s voting block returned to the family.
Daniel confronted him at Reed Media headquarters.
“You helped her before Caroline died.”
Julian’s face collapsed.
“I gave Bianca documents.”
“What documents?”
“Trust language. Voting provisions.”
“Why?”
“She said she could challenge Caroline’s amendments.”
“Did you know Bianca wanted Hale Soundworks too?”
“No.”
“Did you know she was stalking Caroline?”
“No.”
“Did you know Adrian tampered with her car?”
“No!”
Julian slammed both hands on his desk.
“I wanted the shares back. I did not want my sister dead.”
Daniel believed him.
But belief did not erase betrayal.
“Caroline knew.”
“Yes.”
“And she still left Lily’s trust outside Reed control.”
Julian nodded.
“She stopped speaking to me.”
“For how long?”
“Three weeks.”
“Then she died.”
Julian looked close to tears.
“I have lived with that every day.”
Daniel’s anger softened only slightly.
“Good.”
Julian flinched.
Daniel immediately regretted it.
But did not take it back.
Julian turned over every email with Bianca.
Those messages strengthened the case.
Bianca had repeatedly asked how to trigger the trust’s residency clause.
She asked what authority a successor guardian possessed.
She asked how quickly Reed Heritage licensing rights could be transferred during a custody dispute.
The plan was documented years before Daniel ever met her.
One email dated six years earlier read:
If Caroline is no longer administering Lily’s interests, Daniel will be easy to guide.
Daniel stared at the words.
Bianca had not fallen in love with a grieving widower.
She had selected one.
He returned home with a sense of humiliation he could barely describe.
Grace was cooking.
Lily was doing homework.
Daniel stood in the doorway watching the ordinary domestic scene.
Grace looked over.
“What?”
“I thought Bianca chose me because she saw something special.”
Grace did not laugh.
“You wanted to believe that.”
“Yes.”
“Most people do.”
Daniel sat.
“I feel stupid.”
“You were lonely.”
“Those aren’t opposites.”
“No.”
Grace put a plate down.
“You can be lonely and stupid at the same time.”
Daniel laughed despite himself.
Lily looked up.
“Grace called you stupid.”
“She earned it.”
That night Daniel finally told Lily a fuller version of Bianca’s plan.
Not every financial detail.
Enough.
“She knew about your mom before she met us.”
Lily’s face tightened.
“She pretended?”
“About many things.”
“Did she ever like me?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I think she did sometimes.”
“Then why hurt me?”
“People can care about someone and still choose themselves over that person.”
Lily looked unconvinced.
“Like you and the studio?”
Daniel felt the blow.
“Yes.”
The answer surprised her.
He continued.
“Not the same way. But yes. I sometimes chose work when you needed me.”
Lily nodded.
“Okay.”
That simple acceptance hurt more than defense would have.
Two days later prosecutors arrested Bianca on additional charges tied to conspiracy and the vehicle tampering.
Her attorney promised a fight.
Bianca requested no bail, knowing she was likely to be detained anyway because of witness-tampering allegations.
Then, unexpectedly, she asked to speak with Daniel again.
This time prosecutors wanted him to decline.
Daniel agreed.
He no longer needed answers directly from her.
That was another reversal.
Bianca had controlled him through incomplete information.
Now he could tolerate not hearing her explanation.
Then Hale Soundworks’ temporary financing collapsed.
A secondary lender invoked a cross-default clause.
Even with Reed’s bridge loan, Daniel was short nine million dollars.
Peter told him the company had five days.
“Sell the masters,” Peter said.
Daniel looked at the catalog.
His life’s work.
Songs recorded over eighteen years.
Rights worth far more over time.
A quick sale would save the company but destroy his long-term control.
Daniel thought of Caroline accusing him of loving the studio too much.
Then Lily asking the same thing.
“Sell them.”
Peter stared.
“You’re sure?”
“No.”
Daniel signed anyway.
This time after reading every page.
The sale saved 212 jobs.
Daniel lost nearly half his personal fortune.
When he told Lily, she hugged him.
“I’m sorry you lost your songs.”
“They’re still songs.”
“But they’re not yours.”
Daniel looked at her.
“No.”
“Are you sad?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
Then Peter called.
Bianca had filed a motion to suppress Adrian’s testimony and Caroline’s recordings.
May you like
If she succeeded, the criminal case surrounding Caroline’s death could weaken dramatically.
And the hearing was in three days.
