Chapter 9 - THE THIRD NAME
Not because it was funny.
Because his body had run out of better reactions.
"Then whose son am I?"
Celeste had never known.
Arthur had assumed the child was his.
But before Arthur, Celeste had been engaged to a man named Thomas Hale.
A young structural engineer.
The relationship ended badly.
Weeks later, Celeste met Arthur.
She became pregnant soon after.
No paternity test had ever been done.
Evelyn eventually ordered one in secret.
Arthur was excluded.
Thomas Hale was a match.
"Hale?"
"Thomas Hale was Vernon Hale's older brother."
Grant felt sick.
The Bennett family had stolen a baby who was not even a Bennett.
Nora asked the obvious question.
"Then why did Arthur's trust say biological descendants?"
"Because Arthur never saw the test."
Evelyn hid it.
If Arthur learned Grant was not his biological son, the trust amendment would have changed.
And Evelyn would have lost the easiest way to keep control.
Grant's voice went flat.
"So she let him die believing I was his."
"Yes."
"And spent thirty-seven years building my life around a bloodline I don't have."
"Yes."
Then she asked, "Does it affect Grant's ownership?"
"Possibly."
The Bennett Voting Trust was written around Arthur's biological issue.
If Grant was not Arthur's biological child, his forty-two percent future control could be challenged.
By whom?
Arthur's younger brother Malcolm.
And Malcolm's son, Pierce.
Grant understood at once.
"Pierce has been trying to force a board vote for months."
Evelyn had been protecting Grant's position.
Not out of love alone.
If Grant lost the trust, she lost trusteeship and access to the money.
Rachel thought of Maddie.
Then Grant's phone rang.
Pierce Bennett.
Pierce sounded almost cheerful.
"Cousin."
"What?"
"I hear you're doing genealogy."
"How do you know?"
"Because Aunt Evelyn called me."
Grant went still.
"Why?"
"She offered me a deal."
"What deal?"
"Help her remove you from the company, and she'll give me the trust."
May you like
"And what does she want?"
"Rachel and Maddie gone."
