Chapter 10 - THE FAMILY BUSINESS
Lorraine had never looked older.
Or more dangerous.
She stood in the hallway gripping a revolver with both hands.
“Move away from my son.”
Mercer laughed softly. “You always did love dramatic entrances.”
Rachel stared at her.
“You know him?”
Lorraine’s mouth tightened.
“I knew his father.”
Thomas pulled against the restraints.
“Mom, don’t.”
Mercer glanced at Thomas. “Tell them.”
Thomas looked at Rachel. “The laundering started under my grandfather. Dirty money moved through construction and real estate.”
“And your mother knew?” Rachel asked.
“I found out after my husband died,” Lorraine said. “I spent fifteen years dismantling it without getting my sons killed.”
“Very noble.”
“Shut up.”
Mercer’s smile vanished.
Thomas looked at Ruiz.
“Mercer’s family controlled the money pipeline. When I found old ledgers, I realized somebody had restarted it using our company.”
“Marla,” Rachel said.
“And Hall,” Ruiz added.
Mercer shook his head.
“Marla is an accountant with expensive taste. She’s useful, not important.”
“Then who is?”
A phone rang in Mercer’s pocket.
He looked at the screen.
For one second his attention shifted.
Thomas lunged sideways.
Lorraine fired.
The bullet hit Mercer’s shoulder.
Ruiz rushed him as Thomas crashed to the floor.
Another shot went off.
Rachel screamed.
Then silence.
Mercer lay bleeding but alive.
Lorraine’s revolver had fallen from her hand.
Thomas was on the floor, breathing hard.
Ruiz cuffed Mercer.
“Who’s running this?” she demanded.
Mercer laughed through clenched teeth.
“You’re all standing inside her company.”
Rachel looked at Thomas.
“Her?”
Mercer’s eyes shifted toward Lorraine.
“No.”
Then toward Rachel.
“No.”
He smiled again.
“Ask who benefited when Thomas died.”
Rachel’s mind raced.
Life insurance. Company control. Family trust.
Then she thought of one person nobody had questioned because nobody considered her powerful enough to matter.
Aunt Lorraine’s sister.
Thomas’s godmother.
Board vice chair.
Vivian Clarke.
May you like
And at that exact moment Rachel’s phone rang.
Vivian’s name filled the screen.
