Chapter 13 - Eight Oh Five.
Monday began before sunrise.
Daniel had slept for less than an hour in a chair beside Claire.
At 5:40 a.m., the hospital approved Sophie's transfer out of intensive monitoring.
It was the first truly good news Daniel had received in days.
He held his daughter's hand as she was moved to a quieter room.
Sophie asked when she could go home.
Daniel told her soon.
He did not tell her that home still felt like a crime scene in his mind.
At 6:15, Detective Ramirez arrived with a laptop.
"We have a problem."
Daniel gave a tired laugh.
"Only one?"
She almost smiled.
"The scheduled email is tied to a cloud account Grant controls."
"Can't the company block it?"
"Your IT team can block incoming copies internally, but several recipients use outside addresses."
"Then warn them."
"We are."
Daniel understood immediately.
The email itself was not the greatest danger.
The attachments were.
Once they circulated, the accusation could spread faster than the explanation.
At 7:02, Mercer Development issued a confidential security notice to board members.
At 7:19, Victor Shaw's attorney contacted detectives.
Victor wanted to cooperate.
At 7:31, Evelyn's attorney did the same.
At 7:44, Grant called Daniel.
The number was blocked.
Daniel answered on speaker with Ramirez listening.
"Daniel."
Grant sounded calm.
Too calm.
"Where are you?"
Grant laughed softly.
"Still giving orders."
"You came into my house."
"Your house was built with Mercer money."
"Claire and Sophie nearly paid for your obsession."
Grant went silent for a moment.
"That wasn't supposed to happen."
Daniel's voice turned ice-cold.
"You don't get to say that."
"I was trying to fix what your father ruined."
"My father protected my daughter."
"Your father handed everything to you because you were his son."
The resentment Daniel had ignored for years finally stood naked between them.
"So this was revenge?"
"This was correction."
Daniel looked at Ramirez.
The word matched the payment description.
Final correction.
Daniel kept Grant talking.
"What happens at 8:05?"
Grant chuckled.
"Everyone finally sees you the way I do."
"Through fake documents?"
Grant's silence lasted half a second too long.
Daniel pressed.
"Victor is cooperating."
"He's a coward."
"My mother is cooperating too."
That got a stronger reaction.
"Evelyn doesn't know what she signed."
Ramirez wrote something on a pad and slid it toward Daniel.
KEEP HIM TALKING.
Daniel asked the question he had wanted to ask since the first recording.
"Why did you put something in the lemonade?"
Grant's voice hardened.
"I needed Claire quiet long enough to get the papers."
The room became completely still.
Ramirez's eyes sharpened.
The admission had been recorded.
Daniel fought to keep his voice level.
"And Sophie?"
Grant hesitated.
"She wasn't supposed to drink from Claire's glass."
Daniel closed his eyes.
His anger nearly broke through every instruction police had given him.
Then Grant said something unexpected.
"Ask your mother who moved the cups."
The call ended.
Daniel stared at the phone.
At 8:04, the hospital clock changed by one minute.
Every person in the room looked at the laptop.
8:05.
Nothing appeared.
Ramirez exhaled.
"We stopped the distribution."
Daniel barely heard her.
He was thinking about Grant's last sentence.
He called Evelyn through her attorney.
"Who moved the cups?"
Evelyn began to cry before answering.
"I did."
Daniel's heart sank.
Then she explained why.
"I saw Grant touch Claire's drink."
"So you switched it?"
"I moved Claire's glass away and put my own beside her."
Daniel struggled to understand.
"Then how did Claire and Sophie both get sick?"
Evelyn whispered.
"Because Grant had already put it in the pitcher."
The cup was never the real target.
May you like
The entire table was.
And Grant was still free.
