Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO OWNED THE FAMILY
The emergency custody hearing lasted twenty-three minutes. To Emily,
it felt like a lifetime.
Evelyn arrived in cream wool and pearls, accompanied by two
attorneys from a firm large enough to have its own elevators. She
did not look like a criminal mastermind. She looked like the
grandmother who remembered birthdays, sent handwritten thank-you
notes, and corrected waiters politely.
That was what made her terrifying. Blake did not appear.
His lawyer claimed he was cooperating with investigators. Daniel
presented the threatening message, the recording, and proof that
Evelyn controlled one of the companies receiving money from Apex
Works. Evelyn’s attorneys argued that none of it proved the children
were in immediate danger.
The judge disagreed. Noah and Lily were ordered into Emily’s
temporary custody until a full hearing could be held.
Evelyn did not react. She only turned her head and looked at Emily.
There was no anger in her expression. Only disappointment.
As if Emily had violated a rule. Outside the courtroom, Evelyn
approached while Daniel was speaking with a clerk.
“You could have had a comfortable divorce,” she said. Emily stared
at her.
“You framed me for twenty-eight million dollars.” Evelyn’s mouth
barely moved.
“Blake framed you.” “You built Apex Works.”
A faint smile appeared. “You always were sharper than he gave you
credit for.”
Emily felt every instinct tell her to step back. Instead, she stayed
still.
“Where is Megan?” “I suggest you focus on your children.”
“That sounds like a threat.” “No. It is advice.”
Daniel returned. Evelyn walked away before he reached them.
“What did she say?” “Enough.”
Hours later, Emily collected Noah and Lily from Evelyn’s townhouse
under police supervision. Lily ran into Emily’s arms.
Noah did not. He stood in the doorway with his backpack on one
shoulder and watched his grandmother behind him.
“Dad says you’re trying to take his company,” he said. Emily’s heart
twisted.
She crouched. “I’m trying to keep us safe.”
“Is Dad bad?” The question was too large for an eight-year-old.
Emily chose the only answer she could live with. “Your dad made some
very serious choices. Adults are working out what those choices
mean.”
Noah looked at the police car. “Is he going to jail?”
“I don’t know.” It was the truth.
That evening, Daniel moved Emily and the children into a furnished
apartment owned by his law firm’s emergency housing network. Two
officers checked the building. Detective Ortiz arranged extra
patrols.
At midnight, Emily could not sleep. She sat at the kitchen table
with copies of the Apex Works records spread around her.
Noah appeared in the doorway. “Mom?”
She quickly covered the pages. “What are you doing awake?”
He climbed into the chair beside her. “I heard Grandma talking last
week.”
Emily’s breath caught. “About what?”
“She was mad at Dad.” Noah picked at a loose thread on his sleeve.
“She said, ‘If you fail me again, I will make sure Emily and you
both disappear from Summit.’”
Emily went still. “Did she say anything else?”
“She said something about Grandpa’s book.” Emily frowned.
“What book?” Noah shrugged.
“She said, ‘Your father kept better books than you ever will.’”
Blake’s father, Thomas Mercer, had died fourteen years earlier.
Officially, a heart attack. He had been Summit’s earliest investor
and Evelyn’s husband.
Emily remembered a private office in the old Mercer estate, walls
lined with financial ledgers because Thomas distrusted digital
records. After his death, Evelyn had closed the room.
The next morning, Ortiz met Emily and Daniel at the precinct. “We
found Megan’s car,” she said. “Parking garage in Midtown. No sign of
her.”
Emily’s stomach tightened. Ortiz continued.
“But we recovered traffic footage showing a vehicle following her.
Registered to Mercer Family Holdings.” Daniel leaned back.
“Enough for a warrant?” “We’re working on it.”
Emily placed Noah’s story on the table. “Thomas Mercer kept
handwritten financial books.”
Ortiz looked interested. “Where?”
“Evelyn’s estate in Bedford.” Daniel frowned.
“You cannot go there.” “I didn’t say I was going there.”
“You were thinking it loudly.” Emily almost smiled.
Then Ortiz slid a photograph across the table. It showed Blake
leaving a hotel at four in the morning.
Beside him was Howard Bennett. Emily stared.
“You said Howard disappeared.” “He did. Then Blake met him six hours
later.”
Daniel swore under his breath. Ortiz tapped the image.
“Blake is either helping Howard escape, or Howard is giving him
something.” Emily studied Blake’s face in the grainy photograph.
He looked exhausted. Afraid.
Not triumphant. Her phone rang.
Blake. Daniel shook his head.
Emily answered on speaker. “Where are the children?” Blake demanded.
“Safe.” “With you?”
“Yes.” A long breath.
“Good.” Emily exchanged a glance with Daniel.
Blake continued. “My mother doesn’t know where you are?”
“Not from me.” “Listen carefully. Howard gave me a key.”
“To what?” “A deposit box my father opened before he died.”
Emily sat straighter. “What’s inside?”
“I don’t know.” “Why should I believe you?”
“Because my mother ordered Howard to destroy it tonight.” Silence
filled the room.
Ortiz moved closer. Blake’s voice dropped.
“She’s cleaning everything. Apex Works. The accounts. The contracts.
Me.” Emily looked at the photograph again.
“You helped her.” “I know.”
“You forged my name.” “I know.”
“You tried to send me to prison.” “I know.”
Each answer sounded smaller. Emily’s anger rose.
“Then why are you calling me?” Blake’s next words came out almost
broken.
“Because I finally understand why she wanted you framed instead of
divorced.” Emily said nothing.
Blake whispered, “Apex Works was never built to hide twenty-eight
million dollars.” He took a breath. “It was built to hide what
May you like
happened to my father.”
“It was built to hide what happened to my father.”
