Chapter 6 - Uncle Jonathan’s Smile
Christopher did not run toward Jonathan.
That was exactly what Jonathan wanted.
He understood his uncle well enough to know that much.
Jonathan Pierce never entered a confrontation without arranging witnesses first.
The corporate security team was moving up the driveway.
The court orders were ready.
Someone had compromised Christopher’s security system.
And Jonathan was standing inside the mansion as though he owned it.
Christopher forced himself to become calm.
“Yvette.”
“Yes.”
“Take Emma into the garden room.”
Emma tightened her grip.
Christopher crouched.
“I can see the door from here.”
She looked terrified.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
Yvette guided her away.
Christopher turned to Gideon.
“How many people inside are yours?”
“Three.”
“Mine?”
“Maybe six.”
“Mother’s?”
Gideon looked at Estelle.
She answered.
“Eight household staff would remain loyal to me.”
Christopher shook his head.
“This is a family home, not a government.”
Arthur laughed bitterly.
“The Pierces stopped being a family before you were born.”
Christopher looked toward the balcony.
Jonathan disappeared.
“Where will he go?”
Estelle answered immediately.
“The drawing room.”
“Why?”
“Because he thinks you’ll meet him there.”
“He’s right.”
Gideon grabbed Christopher’s arm.
“No.”
Christopher looked at him.
“There are armed men approaching.”
“Which is why I need Jonathan talking.”
“You need a lawyer.”
“I need my daughter safe.”
“Those court orders change everything.”
Christopher looked at Estelle.
“Are they valid?”
She hesitated.
“I need to read them.”
Christopher nodded toward Gideon.
“Get copies.”
Gideon left.
Christopher approached Arthur.
“Does Jonathan know you’re alive?”
Arthur’s mouth tightened.
“He suspects.”
“Does he know you’re upstairs?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you thinking?”
Christopher looked toward the house.
“I’m thinking Jonathan came here believing he knows every secret.”
Christopher started walking.
“It’s time we gave him one he doesn’t know.”
The drawing room doors were open.
Jonathan stood beside the fireplace.
He poured himself whiskey from Arthur’s old crystal decanter.
Christopher entered alone.
Jonathan smiled.
“Christopher.”
“Jonathan.”
“No hug?”
“You arrived with men carrying an order to remove my daughter.”
Jonathan took a drink.
“Your daughter?”
Christopher stared.
Jonathan’s smile widened.
“That was fast.”
“What?”
“You spent seven years calling her your ward in public.”
“I’m done lying.”
Jonathan nodded thoughtfully.
“Very admirable.”
“Where did you get the court order?”
“A judge.”
“Which judge?”
“Does it matter?”
“It will when he’s investigated.”
Jonathan laughed softly.
“You think this is about one judge?”
Christopher remained silent.
Jonathan continued.
“I heard there was an incident.”
“You heard?”
“Juliette called me.”
Christopher’s jaw tightened.
“Before or after she pushed Emma into the pool?”
Jonathan’s smile faded.
“She said the girl fell.”
“You know that isn’t true.”
“Were you there?”
“I pulled her out.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Christopher remembered Estelle asking the same thing.
Did you see Juliette push her?
The wording was deliberate.
He stared at Jonathan.
“You and Mother have rehearsed this.”
Jonathan’s eyebrows rose.
“Estelle and I have rehearsed many things.”
“Apparently including Juliette’s conception.”
Jonathan stopped moving.
For the first time, Christopher saw surprise.
“You know.”
“Yes.”
Jonathan placed the glass down.
“Arthur?”
Christopher smiled slightly.
It was enough.
Jonathan’s expression changed.
He knew.
“Where is my brother?”
Christopher ignored the question.
“You allowed your daughter to become engaged to me.”
Jonathan’s composure returned.
“That was Estelle’s strategy.”
“You agreed.”
“Eventually.”
“You’re sick.”
Jonathan laughed.
“Nothing physical happened between you.”
“You were planning my humiliation.”
“We were planning a transition.”
“Of what?”
“Power.”
Christopher stared.
Jonathan continued.
“You were becoming independent.”
“I was forty-one years old.”
“You had begun asking questions about the foundation.”
“So you put Juliette in my life.”
“She made you predictable.”
Christopher felt disgust.
“And Emma?”
Jonathan shrugged.
“Emma complicated things.”
“She’s a child.”
“She is forty-nine percent of the future voting trust.”
“Only people like you can look at a seven-year-old and see a percentage.”
Jonathan’s smile disappeared.
“And only people like you can inherit billions while pretending money doesn’t matter.”
Christopher stepped closer.
“I would burn every dollar before letting you touch her.”
Jonathan’s expression became almost pitying.
“That is exactly why you should not control Pierce Industries.”
Christopher laughed.
“There it is.”
“You’re emotional.”
“My daughter was almost killed.”
“Allegedly.”
Christopher’s fists clenched.
Jonathan noticed.
“There.”
“What?”
“The anger.”
Jonathan glanced toward the doorway.
Christopher followed his gaze.
A corporate security officer stood there.
Phone held discreetly at chest height.
Recording.
Christopher understood.
Jonathan smiled.
“You see how easy this is?”
Christopher forced his hands open.
“You want me to attack you.”
“I want you evaluated.”
“You forged a psychiatric order.”
“No.”
Jonathan looked offended.
“Your doctor provided concern.”
Christopher’s face changed.
“What doctor?”
“Marcus Halden.”
Christopher almost smiled.
Jonathan did not know Halden had turned.
Interesting.
“You spoke with Halden?”
“His affidavit was very persuasive.”
Christopher nodded.
“When?”
“This morning.”
Christopher filed the detail away.
Jonathan had a false affidavit.
Probably prepared earlier.
“Why protective custody for Emma?”
“Because a child nearly drowned under your supervision.”
Christopher stared.
Jonathan continued.
“Your household is unstable.”
“Your daughter pushed her.”
“My daughter says otherwise.”
“Yvette saw it.”
Jonathan sighed.
“An elderly domestic employee with a documented grievance against this family.”
Christopher frowned.
“What grievance?”
Jonathan smiled.
“You don’t know?”
Christopher said nothing.
“Ask Yvette why she was fired in 2003.”
“She has worked here continuously.”
“Officially.”
Jonathan moved toward the windows.
“For nine months, Yvette Sloan was not an employee.”
“What happened?”
“She stole.”
Christopher shook his head.
“No.”
“Money.”
“No.”
“Jewelry.”
“No.”
“Documents.”
Christopher’s expression changed.
Jonathan smiled.
“That one got your attention.”
“What documents?”
“Your father’s medical files.”
Christopher remembered Yvette knowing about the hidden key.
“You’re lying.”
“Perhaps.”
Jonathan looked toward the driveway.
Corporate security had arrived at the front steps.
“Fortunately, we don’t need to settle old arguments.”
Christopher heard heavy footsteps outside.
Jonathan turned back.
“You will surrender Emma temporarily.”
“No.”
“You will comply with the psychiatric evaluation.”
“No.”
“If you resist, it becomes evidence.”
Christopher smiled.
“Then I won’t resist.”
Jonathan’s eyebrows rose.
“I’ll let them evaluate me.”
Jonathan had not expected that.
Christopher saw it.
“But Emma stays with Yvette until a child welfare officer physically arrives.”
“The order authorizes removal.”
“By named county officials?”
Jonathan’s eyes narrowed.
Christopher continued.
“Not by Pierce corporate security.”
Jonathan glanced at the officer filming.
Christopher stepped closer.
“You brought company employees to execute a custody order.”
“That is not illegal.”
“Maybe.”
Christopher smiled.
“But twenty-seven thousand employees might find it interesting.”
Jonathan’s expression hardened.
“You think public relations will save you?”
“No.”
Christopher looked toward the hall.
“I think my lawyer will.”
As if summoned by the words, a woman entered.
Victoria Ames.
General counsel for Christopher’s private family trust.
Jonathan stared.
“You called Victoria?”
Christopher smiled.
“No.”
Victoria looked at Jonathan.
“Mrs. Sloan did.”
Christopher turned.
Yvette had acted before the pool incident.
Victoria held a folder.
“I reviewed the orders.”
Christopher stepped toward her.
“And?”
“The psychiatric order is technically valid.”
Jonathan smiled.
Christopher did not react.
Victoria continued.
“The custody order is not.”
Jonathan’s smile vanished.
“It was signed by Judge Harmon.”
“Yes.”
Victoria opened the folder.
“But it identifies Emma Monroe.”
Christopher frowned.
“That’s her legal name.”
“Not anymore.”
Silence.
Victoria looked at Christopher.
“Rachel filed a sealed acknowledgment of paternity seven years ago.”
Christopher stared.
“What?”
“It was never entered into the public registry.”
Jonathan went pale.
Victoria continued.
“But it was legally accepted.”
Christopher’s heart hammered.
“Meaning?”
“Emma’s legal surname is Pierce.”
Jonathan spoke sharply.
“That is impossible.”
Victoria looked at him.
“I have the certification.”
She removed a document.
Jonathan stared at it.
Victoria continued.
“The custody order is directed at a child who legally does not exist.”
Christopher looked at Jonathan.
His uncle’s mask slipped.
Only for a second.
But enough.
Christopher smiled.
“You didn’t know.”
Jonathan recovered.
“This changes nothing.”
“It changes enough.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“Actually, it changes everything.”
Everyone turned.
Arthur Pierce sat in his wheelchair.
Halden stood behind him.
Jonathan’s face became completely blank.
Arthur smiled.
“Hello, little brother.”
Jonathan did not move.
The corporate security officer stopped recording.
Arthur looked around the room.
“I believe the company has spent eleven years announcing my death.”
Jonathan whispered.
“You.”
Arthur nodded.
“Disappointed?”
Jonathan’s whiskey glass slipped from his hand.
It shattered on the floor.
Arthur stared at him.
“You always did break things when you were frightened.”
Jonathan’s face hardened.
“You should be dead.”
Arthur smiled.
“I’ve heard that before.”
Christopher watched them.
For one strange second, Jonathan looked not shocked but betrayed.
As though Arthur being alive violated an agreement.
Arthur saw it too.
His smile faded.
“What?”
Jonathan stared at his brother.
Then at Estelle, who had entered behind Arthur.
“You didn’t tell him?”
Arthur looked at Estelle.
“Tell me what?”
Jonathan began laughing.
Estelle’s face became white.
Arthur’s voice hardened.
“Estelle.”
Jonathan laughed harder.
Christopher felt dread rising.
Arthur repeated.
“Tell me what?”
Jonathan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
Then he looked at Christopher.
“You think your father has been hiding because Estelle poisoned him?”
Christopher said nothing.
Jonathan smiled.
“That is adorable.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
Jonathan turned toward him.
“She didn’t poison you, Arthur.”
Silence.
“You did.”
Arthur stared.
Jonathan leaned closer.
“You swallowed the drugs yourself.”
Christopher looked at his father.
Arthur had gone pale.
Jonathan continued.
“You planned your own death.”
Christopher whispered.
“Father?”
Arthur closed his eyes.
May you like
And that was all the confirmation Christopher needed.
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