CHAPTER 6 — THE MAN BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Bellamy Hospitality’s chief financial officer was named Grant Mercer.
For years, Eleanor had introduced him as the man who kept their family empire alive.
Now he was helping Dominic escape through the hotel’s restricted service level.
The security screen changed to a live camera feed.
Dominic and Grant ran through a concrete hallway beneath the ballroom. Grant carried a laptop bag. Dominic still held the flash drive.
“They planned an exit,” my father said.
The hotel manager nodded.
“That corridor leads to the underground loading dock.”
“Lock the vehicle gates.”
The manager made the call.
On-screen, Grant swiped a white access card against a steel door.
The light flashed red.
Access denied.
Dominic shouted at him.
Grant tried again.
Red.
I touched the black card in my pocket.
The white cards belonged to department heads.
Mine overrode all of them.
Dominic saw the camera above the door and looked directly into it.
For one second, our eyes met through the screen.
Then Grant pulled a fire extinguisher from the wall and smashed the camera.
The feed disappeared.
The detective ordered officers toward the loading dock.
Eleanor moved quietly toward the ballroom exit.
My father noticed.
“Going somewhere?”
She stopped.
“I need air.”
“You need an attorney.”
Her expression cracked.
“I knew nothing about Grant’s actions.”
Amanda suddenly spoke.
“That’s not true.”
Everyone turned.
Amanda’s face was streaked with tears.
“She met with Grant every Thursday at Dominic’s house.”
Eleanor glared at her.
“You ungrateful little liar.”
Amanda flinched, but continued.
“They discussed accounts in the Cayman Islands. Dominic told me not to ask questions.”
The attorney reopened the copied files.
A spreadsheet listed millions of dollars transferred from Bellamy vendors into shell companies.
One account belonged to Grant.
Another belonged to Eleanor.
A third belonged to someone identified only by the initials D.B.
Dominic Bellamy.
They had not merely been trying to save a failing company.
They had been draining it.
Thousands of employees had lost benefits and retirement contributions while Dominic’s family moved money offshore.
I thought of every speech Eleanor had given about sacrifice.
Every time she had criticized me for wearing an expensive coat.
Every joke Chloe had made about me being spoiled.
They had stolen more money than I had spent in my entire life.
A security officer’s voice came through the manager’s radio.
“We have Mercer.”
“And Dominic?”
A pause.
“He escaped into the parking garage.”
My father looked toward the garage cameras.
A black SUV tore through a lowered barrier.
Dominic was behind the wheel.
The detective reached for his radio.
Before he could speak, my phone rang.
Dominic.
The entire room watched me answer.
“Vivienne,” he said breathlessly, “I have something you need to see.”
“Turn yourself in.”
“I can prove your father has been lying to you.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“He never planned to give you control of Ashcroft.”
My father’s expression remained calm.
Dominic continued.
“And the trust documents you believe protect you?”
He laughed.
May you like
“They don’t belong to you.”
End of Chapter 6…
