Chapter 14 - Uncle SamuelSamuel Reed arrived the next morning before Arthur called him.
That told Arthur enough.
His uncle stepped out of a silver car wearing a charcoal coat and a concerned expression he had perfected over decades.
“Arthur,” Samuel said warmly. “I came as soon as I heard the madness.”
Arthur stood on the front steps.
No handshake.
No invitation.
Samuel’s eyes flicked toward the security guards.
Then toward the upstairs windows.
“Are the children here?”
Arthur’s voice was flat. “Why?”
Samuel looked offended.
“They’re family, apparently.”
“Apparently?”
Samuel sighed. “You know what I mean.”
Arthur descended one step.
“No, Uncle. I don’t think I do.”
Samuel lowered his voice.
“Arthur, this situation is delicate. Olivia is unstable. Victoria is publicly disgraced. Warren is dangerous. The children should be placed somewhere neutral until this is sorted.”
Arthur smiled without warmth.
“There it is.”
Samuel blinked.
“What?”
“The sentence you came to deliver.”
“Don’t be paranoid.”
Arthur pulled a photocopy from inside his jacket.
The ledger page.
Samuel’s name.
Payments.
Dates.
The year Olivia disappeared.
The month Arthur’s mother died.
Samuel’s face did not change.
That was his mistake.
An innocent man would have been confused.
Samuel looked prepared.
Arthur stepped closer.
“How much did Warren pay you?”
Samuel sighed.
“Arthur—”
“How much was my father worth?”
Samuel’s eyes sharpened.
“Your father was destroying the company.”
“He was exposing Warren.”
“He was reckless.”
Arthur’s voice turned deadly.
“So you helped kill him?”
Samuel looked around at the guards.
“Careful.”
Arthur laughed softly.
“That’s what Warren said.”
Samuel’s mask slipped.
Just a fraction.
“You have always been sentimental. Your father was sentimental. Olivia was sentimental. Now look at the wreckage.”
Arthur stared at him.
“My children are not wreckage.”
“They are leverage.”
Arthur moved so quickly Samuel stepped back.
“You will never say that again.”
Samuel’s expression hardened.
“You think biology makes a family? Those children have been shaped by fear, foster care, poverty, and trauma. They will drain you. Olivia will drain you. This scandal will drain your company. Warren will destroy what remains.”
Arthur smiled.
For the first time in days, it was real.
“You’re afraid too.”
Samuel’s face tightened.
Arthur stepped closer.
“You all are. Warren. Victoria. You. Terrified of two children and a woman you locked away.”
Samuel’s voice dropped.
“You don’t understand what Warren has.”
“Then tell me.”
Samuel hesitated.
Arthur saw it.
“Tell me.”
Samuel looked toward the house.
“Your father kept files. Olivia found part of them, but not all. The complete archive disappeared the night he died.”
Arthur’s blood slowed.
“Where is it?”
“If Warren knew, we’d all be dead.”
Arthur studied him.
“You came here because you think I have it.”
Samuel did not answer.
Arthur remembered his mother’s locked study.
Her strange calls.
Her final words to him: Your father left you more than a company.
At the time, he thought she meant courage.
Now he understood she meant evidence.
Behind him, Maya appeared in the doorway.
She had heard enough.
Samuel looked at her.
For one second, recognition flashed in his eyes.
Maya lifted her chin.
“You’re scared of us too.”
Samuel’s face went cold.
Arthur stepped between them.
“Leave.”
Samuel looked at Arthur.
“You are choosing ghosts over blood.”
Arthur glanced back at Maya.
“No,” he said.
“I’m choosing my children over monsters.”
Samuel got into his car.
As it drove away, Maya came down the steps.
“Was he family?”
Arthur watched the car disappear.
“Not anymore.”
May you like
Maya took his hand.
It was the first time she had done it on purpose.
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