Evidence tampering.
Vanessa negotiated cooperation.
I did not ask what sentence she would receive.
Some relationships do not end with reconciliation.
Some simply stop.
The trials and hearings lasted almost a year.
That year felt longer than the river.
Mercer Holdings nearly fractured.
Adrian had spent three years quietly redirecting contracts toward firms connected to his father.
Two finance executives were removed.
Several transactions had to be unwound.
Lenders panicked.
Employees panicked more.
For the first time since our parents died, Noah and I ran Mercer Holdings together.
Actually together.
No wheelchair.
No performance.
The first morning he walked into headquarters, the lobby went silent.
One woman who had worked for our father dropped her coffee.
An old warehouse supervisor whispered:
“Noah?”
