Chapter 36 - A Debt Passed Down
Adrian Mercer had disappeared from New York in 2003.
At least officially.
He changed names.
Moved through Europe.
Built a healthcare consulting company.
Then quietly returned.
Bellweather Holdings belonged to him.
So did Northstar.
Victor sat at his dining table holding the investigative report.
“This started with me.”
Matthew disagreed.
“It started with Dominic.”
Victor looked at him.
“I hurt Samuel Mercer.”
“You were twenty-four.”
“I was still responsible.”
“Yes.”
Victor seemed surprised.
Matthew continued.
“But responsibility isn’t the same as surrendering the rest of your life to someone else’s revenge.”
Hannah smiled faintly.
“Good therapist.”
“I charge three hundred dollars an hour.”
Victor frowned.
“You charge that much?”
“To people who can pay.”
“I’m overpaying for dinner conversation.”
Emily arrived with Rachel.
She had asked to speak with Victor.
Alone.
Matthew objected.
Emily insisted.
So they compromised.
Victor and Emily sat in the library with the door open.
Matthew remained ten feet away.
Emily held the old photograph of Dominic.
“You knew Uncle Adrian?”
Victor nodded.
“I met him once.”
“What was he like?”
“Quiet.”
“My dad says quiet people are sometimes the angriest.”
Victor almost smiled.
“Your father sounds intelligent.”
“Where is he?”
The smile disappeared.
“We’re still looking.”
Emily studied him.
“Did you threaten him too?”
“No.”
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever say sorry?”
Victor looked down.
“No.”
“Why?”
“By the time I understood I needed to, Samuel had died.”
Emily’s eyes filled.
“So you waited too long.”
“Yes.”
Victor did not defend himself.
Emily’s voice trembled.
“My dad hated you.”
“I understand.”
“But he told me you changed.”
Victor looked up.
“When?”
“A few months ago.”
Emily twisted the photograph.
“He said the worst thing about hating somebody is when they stop being the person you need them to be.”
Victor stared.
“He wanted you to still be evil.”
“Probably.”
“Because then everything was simple.”
Emily nodded.
“My dad said Uncle Adrian couldn’t accept it.”
Matthew listened silently.
The entire conflict suddenly made sense.
Adrian was not merely avenging Samuel.
He needed Victor to remain the monster.
Because if Victor changed, then Adrian had spent decades defining himself against a man who no longer existed.
Emily whispered, “Dad tried to stop him.”
Victor leaned forward.
“Stop what?”
“He found out Uncle Adrian was using Northstar.”
“Why didn’t he go to police?”
“He thought they wouldn’t believe him.”
“Then why contact Matthew?”
“Because Dad saw him on television talking about Northstar.”
Matthew stepped closer.
Emily continued.
“Dad said Matthew was proof your family wasn’t cursed.”
Victor closed his eyes.
That sentence hurt more than accusation.
Then Emily pulled something from her pocket.
A brass token.
“My dad gave me this too.”
Victor recognized the symbol.
An anchor crossed with a sword.
Old Davis Maritime.
“Where?”
“He said if he disappeared, take it to the place where the river splits the city.”
Marcus examined it.
“Roosevelt Island?”
Hannah shook her head.
“East River doesn’t split the city.”
Matthew thought.
“Harlem River.”
Victor looked over.
“The old rail yard.”
Davis Maritime once owned storage property near the Harlem River.
Most had been redeveloped.
One structure remained.
An abandoned signal tower.
Police entered it before the family.
Inside, they found Daniel Mercer.
Alive.
Barely.
He had been handcuffed to a radiator.
Dehydrated.
Beaten.
But breathing.
Emily arrived at the hospital an hour later.
When she saw her father through the ICU glass, she collapsed against Hannah.
“He’s alive.”
“Yes.”
“He’s alive.”
Daniel regained consciousness the next morning.
His first words were:
“Adrian’s going after Victor.”
Victor stood beside the bed.
“He already has.”
Daniel shook his head weakly.
“No. Not business.”
“Then what?”
Daniel looked toward Matthew.
“He wants you to lose what he lost.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“What did he lose?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“A son.”
Silence.
Matthew asked, “What happened?”
Daniel whispered:
“His son died at Northstar.”
Everyone froze.
The organization Adrian controlled had killed his own child.
And instead of destroying it, Adrian had turned it into something worse.
Daniel looked at Victor.
“He doesn’t want your money.”
Victor’s voice became quiet.
May you like
“What does he want?”
“He wants Matthew.”
