Chapter 12 - AMELIA’S LAST LETTER
Nathan did not go alone.
He allowed Simon to believe he would.
Bennett’s team traveled separately.
The drive to Edinburgh felt endless.
Nathan called Nora every twenty minutes.
Jamie remained under guard at an undisclosed location.
He refused to tell Eleanor where.
He refused to tell Adrian.
He barely trusted Bennett.
That realization frightened him.
Simon had infected every relationship with suspicion.
At 4:12 p.m., Nathan’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Simon’s voice came through.
“You brought police.”
Nathan looked at the unmarked car two vehicles behind him.
“How would you know?”
Simon laughed.
“You still ask the wrong questions.”
“Is Claire safe?”
“For now.”
“Thomas?”
“Also safe.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because your family has spent seventy years refusing to solve a problem.”
“And kidnapping people is your solution?”
“No one has been kidnapped.”
Nathan clenched his jaw.
“Claire is not answering her phone voluntarily?”
“She invited us inside.”
“Put her on.”
A pause.
Then Claire spoke.
“Nathan.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Can you leave?”
Silence.
Nathan understood.
“Claire.”
Simon returned.
“She is being sensible.”
Nathan fought to keep his voice controlled.
“What do you want?”
“A conversation.”
“About the trust.”
“About reality.”
Nathan looked out the window.
“Where?”
“I’ll send coordinates.”
“Why should I trust you?”
Simon laughed softly.
“You shouldn’t.”
The call ended.
Coordinates arrived.
Not Claire’s house.
An abandoned country hotel outside the city.
Bennett adjusted the plan.
Nathan entered alone wearing a concealed audio transmitter.
Police surrounded the property.
The lobby smelled damp.
Simon waited near an old fireplace.
Thomas stood beside him.
Claire sat on a sofa.
No visible weapons.
No obvious restraints.
Nathan looked at Claire.
She nodded once.
Safe for now.
Thomas studied Nathan.
“So you’re Nathan Harcourt.”
Nathan looked at him.
“And you’re Thomas Ellis.”
“Apparently we’ve both inherited the same company.”
Simon smiled.
“There.”
“Progress already.”
Nathan ignored him.
“Did Simon tell you he was my family solicitor?”
Thomas looked toward Simon.
“He told me eventually.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
Nathan almost laughed.
“And you stayed with him?”
Thomas’s expression hardened.
“He also showed me proof your family stole sixty percent of my great-grandfather’s company.”
“My grandfather’s family may have.”
“Convenient distinction.”
“It is the truth.”
Thomas stepped closer.
“Your entire life came from what they stole.”
Nathan accepted the accusation.
“Yes.”
Thomas looked surprised.
Nathan continued.
“If the evidence is genuine, your family deserves restitution.”
Simon’s smile faded slightly.
Thomas stared.
“That easy?”
“No.”
“Nothing about this will be easy.”
“But I am not going to defend fraud because my surname benefited from it.”
Simon interrupted.
“Noble.”
Nathan looked at him.
“You miscalculated.”
Simon smiled again.
“How?”
“You thought I would choose the company over the truth.”
“Everyone does eventually.”
“My wife didn’t.”
Simon’s face changed.
Only slightly.
Nathan saw it.
“No.”
“Amelia was unusually stubborn.”
Nathan’s rage rose.
“What did you do to her car?”
Claire stood.
Simon looked toward her.
“Sit down.”
She did not.
Nathan stepped forward.
“Answer me.”
Simon sighed.
“Your wife was driving too quickly in rain.”
“Daniel saw you open the bonnet.”
“Daniel saw me inspect a vehicle.”
“The audio proves you met Amelia before the crash.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She requested a meeting.”
Nathan stared.
“Did you damage her car?”
Simon looked almost bored.
“No.”
Nathan’s expression hardened.
“Peter did.”
The room went silent.
Claire covered her mouth.
Thomas looked toward Simon sharply.
Nathan felt his entire body go cold.
“You ordered him.”
Simon’s eyes met his.
“I told him to delay her.”
“How?”
“Make the car fail before she reached London.”
Nathan’s voice shook.
“You ordered someone to sabotage her car.”
“I ordered a non-lethal obstruction.”
Nathan almost lunged at him.
Simon remained calm.
“The brake line was not supposed to fail completely.”
“That sentence does not save you.”
“No.”
“It probably doesn’t.”
Nathan stared.
“You killed my wife.”
“I made a decision that resulted in her death.”
Simon’s clinical wording enraged him more.
Claire whispered.
“You monster.”
Simon looked at her.
“Your sister was warned.”
Nathan stepped between them.
“Do not speak about her.”
Simon shrugged.
“As you wish.”
Nathan’s hidden transmitter carried every word to Bennett.
He only needed Simon to continue.
“What about my father?”
Simon smiled faintly.
“Your mother is still hoping I killed him too.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Did Vale?”
“No.”
“Then how did he die?”
Simon looked toward the dead fireplace.
“Exactly as the coroner concluded.”
“Heart attack?”
“Yes.”
Nathan frowned.
“So Mother lied about the pill bottle?”
“No.”
“I held it.”
“Why?”
“He had dropped it.”
Nathan stared.
“Did you alter the medication?”
“No.”
“Did Mother?”
“No.”
“Then why did you make her believe you could implicate her?”
Simon smiled.
“Because fear is cheaper than loyalty.”
Nathan felt disgust.
“You let her think she might have caused his death.”
“She already blamed herself.”
“Why?”
Simon looked at him.
“Because she spent twenty years making him miserable.”
Nathan said nothing.
Simon continued.
“Your father discovered the missing money.”
“He changed his will.”
“He told Eleanor he was going to police.”
“They argued.”
“Then he had a heart attack.”
Nathan listened.
“Your mother believed stress from the argument killed him.”
“She lied about being there.”
“Yes.”
“So you created a recording.”
“I preserved a conversation.”
“You blackmailed her.”
“I ensured cooperation.”
Thomas stared at Simon now with visible unease.
Nathan noticed.
Good.
“What did her cooperation buy you?”
“Access.”
“To the company?”
“To the trusts.”
“And eventually Jamie.”
Simon’s expression did not change.
“Jamie is an asset.”
Claire recoiled.
Nathan’s voice turned cold.
“He is a child.”
“Legally, he is also beneficiary to several billion pounds in equity.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“You placed a second pastry for him.”
Simon nodded.
“I did.”
“What was the sedative for?”
“To make moving him easier.”
“Kidnapping.”
“Protective relocation.”
Nathan laughed.
Thomas looked increasingly disturbed.
Simon continued.
“You would have eaten the first pastry.”
“You would have collapsed.”
“Depending on the outcome, Eleanor would have been blamed.”
“Adrian would have been implicated by the passport.”
“Vale’s medical records would support your instability.”
Nathan stared.
“And Jamie?”
“Would have been removed from the estate for his own safety.”
“To where?”
“Switzerland.”
Nathan’s blood ran cold.
“Using his passport.”
“Yes.”
“Who was supposed to take him?”
“Peter.”
Nathan thought of the hospital.
“So after the pastry failed, Peter tried anyway.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because plans survive setbacks.”
Nathan looked toward Thomas.
“Do you hear this?”
Simon answered for him.
“Thomas understands that powerful families require unpleasant decisions.”
Thomas looked at Simon.
“No.”
Simon frowned.
Thomas continued.
“I understand you told me you were protecting a child from an unstable father.”
Nathan stared.
Simon’s smile vanished.
Thomas stepped away from him.
“You told me Nathan had attacked his mother.”
“You showed me medical reports.”
Nathan spoke.
“Forged.”
Thomas looked at him.
“I guessed that about ten minutes ago.”
Simon’s voice hardened.
“Thomas.”
“No.”
Thomas shook his head.
“You told me the pastry was fake.”
Nathan stared.
Simon turned.
Thomas continued.
“You said it was theater to remove Nathan from corporate control.”
Simon’s expression became cold.
“You should stop talking.”
Thomas laughed.
“There it is.”
Nathan watched.
The alliance was cracking.
Thomas looked at Nathan.
“He told me your mother had invented the poisoning story.”
Nathan answered.
“She admitted putting an insect in the first pastry.”
Thomas frowned.
“First?”
Nathan told him about the switch.
The second pastry.
The chemicals.
Jamie’s sedative dessert.
Thomas slowly turned toward Simon.
“You said no one would be physically harmed.”
Simon sighed.
“You sound like Adrian.”
Nathan saw the mistake.
Thomas heard it too.
“What does that mean?”
Simon did not answer.
Nathan stepped closer.
“It means Simon makes the same promise to everyone.”
“No one will get hurt.”
“It is only a scare.”
“It is only paperwork.”
“It is only leverage.”
“Then someone dies.”
Simon’s jaw tightened.
Claire spoke.
“Amelia died.”
Nathan looked at her.
She was holding the remaining pages of the letter.
Simon noticed.
“Give me that.”
Claire stepped backward.
“No.”
Simon moved toward her.
Nathan blocked him.
“Touch her and this conversation ends.”
Simon looked at Nathan.
“You still believe police are coming.”
Nathan said nothing.
Simon smiled.
“Your transmitter stopped working twelve minutes ago.”
Nathan’s heart sank.
Simon pointed toward an old signal jammer on the table behind him.
Nathan had not noticed it.
“The moment you entered.”
Thomas stared at Simon.
“You planned for police?”
“I plan for everything.”
Claire moved toward the side door.
Simon’s voice sharpened.
“Do not.”
She stopped.
Nathan assessed distances.
No visible weapon.
But Peter might be nearby.
Others too.
Simon continued.
“Read the letter.”
Nathan frowned.
“What?”
“You came for Amelia’s final pages.”
Claire looked confused.
Simon smiled.
“She did not find them accidentally.”
Nathan turned.
“What does he mean?”
Claire’s face went pale.
“I received a message telling me where to look.”
Nathan stared.
“From Simon?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
Simon looked genuinely interested.
“Neither do I.”
For the first time, Nathan saw something Simon had not orchestrated.
That mattered.
“Read it.”
Simon said.
Claire unfolded the pages.
Her hands trembled.
She began.
Nathan, if this reaches you, then I failed to tell you myself.
Nathan’s throat tightened.
He had not heard Amelia’s voice in twenty months.
Yet the words sounded exactly like her.
Do not spend the rest of your life trying to decide which person caused what happened to me.
They will use guilt to confuse you.
Eleanor will say Simon did it.
Simon will say Eleanor forced his hand.
Adrian will say he was afraid.
Jonathan will say he only followed instructions.
They will all be partly truthful.
That is how people like them survive.
Nathan closed his eyes.
Amelia had understood them perfectly.
Claire continued.
The important question is not who started the chain.
The important question is who chose not to stop it.
Nathan looked at Simon.
He did not smile now.
Claire read on.
I found evidence that Simon has been transferring control of several trusts into a private fiduciary structure.
He is using Eleanor’s theft as leverage.
He is using Adrian’s debts as leverage.
He is using Jonathan’s medical misconduct as leverage.
And if he learns about the Ellis claim, he will use that family’s anger as leverage too.
Thomas looked at Simon.
Simon’s expression remained blank.
Claire continued.
But Simon has a weakness.
He thinks everyone has a price.
He does not understand people who would rather lose everything than belong to him.
Nathan felt a strange calm.
That was the key.
Simon believed the empire itself was leverage.
Nathan could remove that leverage.
Claire reached the final paragraph.
If you ever have to choose between Harcourt Global and Jamie, choose Jamie.
If you ever have to choose between the Harcourt name and the truth, choose the truth.
Burn the empire down before you let them build a cage around our son.
Nathan stared at the page.
Simon’s face had tightened.
Thomas whispered.
“She was right.”
Simon turned toward him.
“About what?”
Thomas looked at Nathan.
“I don’t want your company.”
Simon froze.
Thomas continued.
“I wanted acknowledgment.”
“I wanted records corrected.”
“I wanted my family’s story told.”
“I never wanted this.”
Simon’s voice hardened.
“You are entitled to billions.”
Thomas laughed.
“So?”
Simon stared as if he did not understand the question.
Nathan did.
Amelia had been right.
Simon’s entire system depended on everyone valuing money more than freedom.
Nathan looked at him.
“You lost.”
Simon smiled slowly.
“No.”
He reached into his coat.
Nathan moved.
But Simon did not draw a weapon.
He drew a phone.
He pressed one button.
Nathan’s own phone rang.
Nora’s number appeared.
Nathan’s blood turned cold.
He answered.
“Nora?”
A man spoke.
Peter Lang.
“Hello, Mr. Harcourt.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
“Where is my son?”
Simon smiled.
Peter answered.
“With me.”
Nathan’s vision narrowed.
“Put Jamie on.”
“No.”
Nathan lunged toward Simon.
Thomas grabbed his arm.
Simon lifted both hands.
“I am standing here.”
Nathan stared at him with murder in his eyes.
Simon remained calm.
“Peter operates independently when necessary.”
Nathan’s voice shook.
“Where is Jamie?”
Peter laughed softly through the phone.
“Mr. Buttons is here too.”
Nathan felt panic unlike anything before.
Then a tiny voice sounded in the background.
“Daddy?”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“Jamie!”
“Daddy!”
The line cut.
Nathan stared at Simon.
“You said you would not hurt him.”
Simon tilted his head.
“I said I did not need to.”
Nathan stepped forward.
Simon finally looked less confident.
Nathan’s voice became terrifyingly calm.
“If there is one mark on my son, there will be nothing left in this world you can use to bargain with me.”
Simon smiled.
“That sounds dramatic.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You still don’t understand.”
He looked toward Thomas.
Then Claire.
Then back at Simon.
“I will give the Ellis family every document.”
“I will dissolve every trust I legally can.”
“I will resign from the company.”
“I will expose every fraud.”
“I will testify against my mother.”
“Against Adrian.”
“Against Vale.”
“Against myself if necessary.”
Simon’s smile disappeared.
Nathan stepped closer.
“You cannot threaten me with losing an empire I no longer care about.”
For the first time, Simon Kessler looked afraid.
Then Nathan’s phone vibrated.
A text from an unknown number appeared.
Three words.
I HAVE JAMIE.
Nathan’s heart stopped.
Another message arrived immediately.
PETER DOESN’T.
Nathan stared.
Then a photograph loaded.
Jamie sat inside a car.
He looked frightened but unharmed.
Beside him was Nora.
Nathan’s confusion exploded.
The final message appeared.
COME TO THE GREENHOUSE.
ALONE.
The sender signed with one initial.
E.
May you like
Eleanor.
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