Chapter 4 - The Sister Who Knew Too Much"YOUR SISTER WAS THERE WHEN YOU STOLE MY COMPANY RECORDS, GRANT. DID SHE KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING?"
I hadn't intended to confront him so soon.
But by the following morning, anger had overtaken my patience.
I was sitting in Helena Brooks's office, with my attorney across the desk and my phone on speaker.
Helena had advised me to avoid informal accusations, so we'd arranged a documented conversation and made clear that she was present.
Grant's response came immediately.
"Simone, you're becoming obsessive."
"Answer the question."
"Evelyn was helping me collect personal belongings."
"From my corporate office?"
"You know how complicated our separation was."
"Grant, our separation didn't give you permission to access company records."
He exhaled loudly.
"You're acting like I committed some terrible crime."
Helena spoke.
"Mr. Mercer, there are serious questions concerning unauthorized records access and corporate documents. We recommend that you preserve all relevant communications and obtain independent counsel."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Grant said:
"Simone, I hope you realize what you're doing to this family."
I looked at the telephone.
"You should have considered that before you started using my company as your personal bank."
I ended the call.
Helena studied me.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I wasted nine years believing the wrong person."
She shook her head.
"You made decisions based on information someone deliberately controlled. Now we need to focus on the evidence."
I nodded.
We spent the next hour discussing the potential financial exposure.
Helena explained that a disputed guarantee didn't automatically make my company responsible for Grant's debts.
But if forged documents had been circulated among lenders or investors, we needed to act quickly.
The bank's fraud department was preserving the attempted authorization request.
My company was securing its accounts.
An independent digital investigator was reviewing the compromised access.
Helena was preparing formal notices disputing the alleged guarantees.
Everything would take time.
And time was the one thing I feared Grant intended to exploit.
That afternoon, Evelyn called.
I almost ignored her.
For years, she'd sat silently while Patricia humiliated me.
Sometimes she'd smiled.
Sometimes she'd changed the subject.
She had never defended me.
But I answered.
"Simone?"
Her voice sounded strained.
"Hello, Evelyn."
"I heard you called Grant."
"Then you already know why."
A pause.
"Can we meet?"
I looked at the clock.
"Why?"
"Because there's something I should have told you a long time ago."
An hour later, Evelyn arrived at my condominium.
She was thirty-five, with dark blonde hair and tired blue eyes.
Unlike Patricia, she wore no expensive jewelry.
Her navy coat was plain, and she clutched an old leather purse against her chest.
She looked nothing like the flawless domestic ideal Patricia had praised at family dinners.
For a moment, we stood awkwardly in my doorway.
Then I stepped aside.
"Come in."
Evelyn glanced around the apartment.
"It's beautiful."
"Thank you."
I led her into the living room.
She sat carefully on the edge of the sofa.
I remained standing.
"Why were you at my office with Grant?"
Evelyn lowered her eyes.
"He told me you were hiding money from him."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"He said the divorce settlement wouldn't be fair because you were moving assets into your company."
"And you believed him?"
"At first."
The words stung.
I'd spent years inviting Evelyn into my home.
I'd helped pay for her wedding.
I'd bought school supplies for her children when her husband lost his job.
And she'd believed I was hiding assets from Grant.
"What changed?" I asked.
She twisted her fingers together.
"Grant became different."
"Different how?"
"He started talking about your company as though it belonged to him."
I sat opposite her.
"Tell me."
Evelyn drew a shaky breath.
"About a year ago, he said he was working on an investment opportunity with Warren Pike. He claimed they were going to develop commercial properties outside Ottawa."
"Northstar Operations?"
Her head snapped up.
"You know about Northstar?"
"More than I ever wanted to."
Evelyn looked frightened.
"Simone, you need to be careful."
"Why?"
"Because Grant borrowed money."
"How much?"
"I don't know."
"From whom?"
"Private investors. Warren introduced most of them."
I thought about the forged guarantee.
The attempted transfer.
The recurring invoices.
Pieces of the same puzzle were beginning to connect.
"Did you know he was seeing Olivia Keene?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Almost a year."
I stared at her.
She whispered:
"I'm sorry."
I believed she meant it.
That didn't make the betrayal disappear.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because Grant said you already knew. Then Mom told me it wasn't my place to interfere."
"Did you believe that?"
"Not completely."
I waited.
Evelyn's eyes grew wet.
"Simone, my mother has spent my entire life teaching me that keeping a family together matters more than being honest about what happens inside it."
I said nothing.
"She praised me for being a proper wife because I never argued with my husband. She praised Grant because he earned money and wore expensive suits."
A bitter smile crossed her face.
"She didn't know that I was borrowing grocery money from friends while my husband was unemployed. She didn't want to know."
That surprised me.
Patricia had always presented Evelyn's marriage as flawless.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Because I was ashamed."
I felt some of my anger soften.
For years, Patricia had used us against each other.
I was the ambitious woman who didn't know her place.
Evelyn was the obedient woman who supposedly had everything figured out.
Neither of us had been permitted to exist as an ordinary person with problems.
"Evelyn, what happened at my office?"
She reached into her purse.
"I didn't know Grant was collecting your business records. He told me he needed documents showing you weren't hiding marital assets."
"Did you help him?"
"I carried a folder downstairs."
"What was inside?"
"I never opened it."
I studied her face.
She seemed truthful.
But I'd learned not to rely on appearances alone.
"Why are you telling me now?"
"Because Grant called me yesterday."
"What did he want?"
"He said if anyone asked about that afternoon, I needed to say you were present."
I went still.
"But I wasn't."
"I know."
Evelyn pulled out her phone.
"I kept the message."
She showed me a text.
Tell Simone you remember her authorizing the files. Keep it simple. Don't complicate things.
My stomach tightened.
"Can you send that to Helena?"
"Yes."
Evelyn hesitated.
Then she pulled another folded paper from her purse.
"This is something Mom gave me after she came back from Arizona."
I opened it.
It was an invitation.
Cream-colored cardstock.
Gold lettering.
A private engagement celebration for Grant Mercer and Olivia Keene.
The date was two weeks away.
I stared at it.
"He's getting married again?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"There's more."
She pointed to a line near the bottom.
Hosted by Warren Pike, Northstar Operations Inc.
My eyes narrowed.
Why would a financial consulting company host an engagement celebration?
Evelyn leaned closer.
"Grant told Mom the party would also introduce his new investment venture."
I looked up.
"What investment venture?"
Evelyn's voice dropped.
"He says he's secured the backing of a prestigious forensic accounting company."
I felt my blood run cold.
"Which company?"
She looked at me with visible dread.
"Yours, Simone."
Before I could respond, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
May you like
A text message appeared.
My name is Olivia Keene. I believe Grant has been lying to both of us. We need to talk before someone loses their home.
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