Chapter 1 - The Assistant Who Knew Too Much
A woman crawled across the bathroom floor, whispering: "Please... don't let him find the truth."
When mafia boss Grant Mercer broke into Evelyn Price’s apartment, he discovered a blood-stained medical kit beside the missing red leather ledger case.
But inside the kit was a black flash drive labeled: "M. Hale."
Grant suddenly realized this wasn't a betrayal case.
Grant Mercer had spent his entire life learning one simple rule.
Trust was a weakness.
In his world, loyalty was measured by actions, not promises.
People smiled at him while hiding knives behind their backs.
Executives shook his hand while secretly stealing from his company.
Friends became enemies the moment they saw an opportunity.
That was why Grant never allowed himself to become emotionally attached to anyone.
Except Evelyn Price.
For four years, Evelyn had been the one person in his empire who never tried to impress him.
She never laughed too loudly at his jokes.
Never pretended his dangerous reputation fascinated her.
Never looked at him like he was a monster or a king.
She treated him like a man.
And that annoyed him more than he wanted to admit.
Every morning at exactly 7:30, Evelyn entered his office carrying his coffee.
Two creams.
No sugar.
She knew his schedule better than his own family.
She knew which meetings mattered.
Which executives were lying.
Which contracts were dangerous.
She remembered every detail.
But Grant never wondered why.
Not until the night she disappeared.
The Mercer shipping empire was preparing for its biggest transformation.
Grant was days away from marrying Madison Hale, the daughter of one of Boston’s oldest business families.
The wedding was supposed to unite two powerful families.
A partnership.
A new beginning.
Until the red leather ledger vanished.
The ledger was not just a book.
It contained seventeen years of secrets.
Payments.
Names.
Deals made before Grant turned the family’s criminal operations into a legitimate business.
If the wrong person exposed those pages, everything would collapse.
And Evelyn had been the only person with access.
Raymond Mercer, Grant’s uncle, gave him the answer immediately.
“She stole it.”
Grant wanted to believe that.
Because the alternative was worse.
If Evelyn had betrayed him, then someone he trusted had never been loyal.
But if Evelyn had been protecting something...
Then someone had been using him.
Grant drove to Evelyn’s apartment himself.
No security team.
No warning.
He needed answers.
The building looked nothing like the place where someone working for Mercer Industries should live.
The lock on the entrance door was broken.
The hallway lights flickered.
When Grant reached apartment 4C, he noticed the damage immediately.
The deadbolt had been forced.
Someone had already entered.
His hand moved beneath his coat.
The gun was ready.
“Evelyn.”
Silence.
He knocked harder.
“Evelyn, open the door.”
Nothing.
Then he heard it.
A faint sound.
Not a voice.
A breath.
Grant stepped back.
The door was already damaged.
One hard movement broke the remaining lock.
He entered.
The apartment looked like someone had searched every inch.
A chair was overturned.
Glass covered the floor.
Documents were scattered everywhere.
Then he saw the blood.
Drops leading toward the bathroom.
For the first time that night, Grant felt something other than anger.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For her.
“Evelyn?”
The bathroom door moved slightly.
He pushed it open.
And everything changed.
Evelyn sat against the bathtub.
Her auburn hair stuck to her face.
Her lower lip was split.
A bruise covered her cheek.
Her hand pressed against a towel wrapped around her injured leg.
She looked exhausted.
But when she saw the gun in his hand, she still managed to glare.
“You broke my door.”
Grant lowered the weapon.
“What happened?”
“You could have knocked.”
“I did.”
Her eyes closed.
“Then I was probably unconscious.”
That answer should have annoyed him.
Instead, it terrified him.
Grant dropped beside her.
“Who did this?”
Evelyn looked away.
“Not here.”
“Who?”
“Grant.”
The sound of his name stopped him.
She never called him that.
Not in the office.
Not during meetings.
Not even when they were alone.
“Tell me who hurt you.”
Evelyn slowly pointed toward the cabinet under the sink.
“Behind the bleach.”
Grant opened it.
Hidden behind cleaning supplies was a plastic bag.
Inside was a black flash drive.
A white label was attached.
Two words.
M. Hale.
Grant stared.
Madison Hale.
His future wife.
The woman waiting for him to finalize their wedding plans.
He turned back.
“What is this?”
Evelyn’s voice was barely audible.
“The reason I disappeared.”
Grant picked up the drive.
“Where is my ledger?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Not with me.”
“Evelyn.”
She looked directly at him.
“If I tell you everything now, we might not survive tonight.”
Grant froze.
A floorboard creaked outside.
Someone was in the hallway.
He reached for his gun.
Evelyn grabbed his wrist.
“No.”
“Who is it?”
Her expression changed.
For the first time, Grant saw real fear.
“Someone who wants you to believe I betrayed you.”
The hallway became silent.
Grant stared at the door.
Then back at Evelyn.
She tried to stand.
Her injured leg collapsed.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
For four years, there had always been distance between them.
A desk.
A conference table.
A company full of people.
Now her hands were gripping his coat.
And his arm was holding her steady.
“I can walk,” she whispered.
“No.”
“I dislike being ordered around.”
“You almost fell.”
“That was temporary.”
Despite everything, Grant almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Evelyn noticed something.
The flash drive in his hand.
“Do not connect that to anything belonging to Mercer Industries.”
“Why?”
“Because whoever left it there wanted you to find it.”
Grant looked at the label again.
M. Hale.
“You’re telling me Madison isn’t involved?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“I’m telling you someone wants you to think she is.”
Grant carried her downstairs.
His driver Cole opened the SUV door and froze.
“What happened?”
“Drive.”
“Hospital?”
“No.”
Evelyn grabbed Grant’s sleeve.
“Not your house.”
“Why?”
“Who hired your private doctor?”
Grant stopped.
“My uncle.”
Evelyn’s grip tightened.
“That’s why.”
Forty minutes later, in a private clinic away from Mercer control, Grant watched doctors treat Evelyn.
Then his phone rang.
Madison.
He answered.
“Where are you?”
Her voice immediately sounded worried.
“Grant, everyone is waiting.”
“Who?”
“My father. Raymond.”
Grant looked through the glass wall toward Evelyn.
Then at the flash drive.
“Madison.”
“Yes?”
“Did you authorize a payment to Bellmont Events yesterday?”
Silence.
A second too long.
“No.”
Evelyn suddenly looked up.
She grabbed a tablet.
Her fingers moved quickly.
Then she turned the screen toward Grant.
A payment record appeared.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
Authorized with Madison Hale’s digital signature.
Grant stared.
Then Evelyn pointed at another line.
The original security certificate.
Seventeen years old.
Connected to one person.
Grant Mercer.
Raymond Mercer.
And someone whose name should have been impossible.
Daniel Prescott.
Grant whispered:
“Who is Daniel Prescott?”
Evelyn looked at him.
Her face lost all color.
“My father.”
Before Grant could answer, someone knocked on the clinic door.
Three slow knocks.
Grant turned.
Evelyn whispered:
“Raymond.”
Grant reached for the handle.
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And when the door opened, the person standing beside his uncle was holding the one thing Evelyn had risked everything to hide…
[Còn tiếp Chapter 2...]
