Chapter 6 - The Man in the Blue Tie
Nathan did not confront Marcus immediately.
That required discipline he barely possessed.
He looked from Ava’s drawing to the man who had served as his CFO for nine years.
Marcus Lee was fifty, meticulous, cautious, and famously uncomfortable with risk.
He was also wearing a blue tie.
“You okay?” Marcus asked.
Nathan locked his phone.
“Fine.”
He hated lying.
But he needed to know whether Marcus was lying too.
That evening, Nathan asked his security team to review yacht access logs.
Marcus had boarded Mercer Star five times during Nathan’s overseas trips.
Three visits were documented business meetings.
Two were not.
One lasted ninety minutes.
Bianca had been onboard.
Nathan called Sofia.
“Did you ever see Marcus with Bianca?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“Late May.”
“Where?”
“Your study at the Manhattan apartment.”
“What were they doing?”
“Talking.”
“Did they see you?”
“No.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sofia sounded frustrated.
“Because your wife speaking to your CFO wasn’t suspicious until now.”
Nathan leaned back.
Fair.
His entire world was becoming suspicious in retrospect.
The next morning, he confronted Marcus privately.
Nathan placed the access logs on the desk.
“Explain.”
Marcus read them.
His face changed.
“Where did you get these?”
“My yacht.”
Marcus took off his glasses.
“The May twenty-second visit was Bianca’s request.”
“For what?”
“She said she wanted to understand your estate planning.”
“You discussed that with her?”
“No. I told her to speak with Margaret.”
“The second visit?”
Marcus looked away.
“That one was Julian.”
Nathan stood.
“What?”
“Julian came aboard after Bianca called me.”
“You met my brother-in-law secretly on my yacht?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Marcus’s voice tightened.
“Because he was blackmailing me.”
Nathan stopped.
Marcus sat heavily.
“My son, Kevin, had a gambling problem.”
Nathan knew Marcus had a twenty-four-year-old son.
He did not know the rest.
“Kevin borrowed from people he shouldn’t have. Julian covered $180,000.”
Nathan stared.
“Why would Julian do that?”
“To own me.”
Marcus swallowed.
“He later asked for information.”
“What information?”
“Nothing initially. Shipping forecasts. Terminal utilization.”
“That’s confidential.”
“I know.”
“What else?”
Marcus looked ashamed.
“The Rhode Island expansion.”
Nathan’s fist hit the desk.
“You gave him the land plan?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus Christ.”
“I never gave him access to your personal accounts.”
“You gave him leverage worth millions.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When? After he finished stealing from me?”
Marcus stood.
“I made a mistake.”
“No. A mistake is sending the wrong attachment. You concealed corporate information because you were afraid your son’s gambling debts would become public.”
Marcus flinched.
Nathan continued.
“You put the company at risk.”
“I know.”
“Did you forge anything?”
“No.”
“Did Bianca?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you help her?”
Marcus hesitated.
Nathan saw it.
“What did you do?”
“I explained how your holding companies were structured.”
Nathan laughed without humor.
“You don’t know if she forged documents, but you handed her the map.”
Marcus lowered his head.
“She said she wanted to understand what Ava would inherit.”
Nathan turned away because if he kept looking at him, he would say something unforgivable.
“You’re suspended.”
Marcus nodded.
“Nathan—”
“Leave.”
At the door Marcus stopped.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Nathan didn’t turn.
“Julian asked about one specific asset repeatedly.”
“What?”
“Newport Storage.”
Nathan faced him.
The New Jersey storage facility?
“No. Newport Archive Storage. The old company records building.”
Nathan frowned.
Mercer Maritime maintained a secure private archive outside Newport containing decades of paper contracts, land deeds, vessel documents, and family records.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
Marcus opened the door.
“But Bianca asked about it too.”
That afternoon, Nathan and Margaret drove to the archive.
The security system showed no forced entry.
The manager, Walter Briggs, looked nervous.
“Mrs. Mercer came two weeks ago.”
Nathan felt anger rise.
“Why was she allowed inside?”
“She had authorization.”
“From whom?”
Walter handed him a printed letter.
Nathan’s signature appeared at the bottom.
Forged.
Again.
“What did she access?”
“Family legal storage.”
Nathan walked between rows of locked cabinets.
Cabinet F-19 contained original documents from his father’s estate.
One box was missing.
Inventory label:
MERCER FAMILY — 1998–2004.
Nathan’s father, James Mercer, had died in 2004.
“What was in it?” Margaret asked.
Nathan stared at the empty shelf.
“Old estate records. Corporate founding papers. My parents’ property documents.”
Walter cleared his throat.
“There’s one more thing.”
He handed Nathan a visitor log.
Bianca had not come alone.
A second visitor signed in.
Not Julian.
Not Marcus.
Nathan read the name twice.
Claire Bennett.
May you like
His ex-wife.
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