Chapter 11 - THE HOUSE AT WILLOW CREST
Leo did not go alone.
He told Grant he would.
That was different.
Naomi wanted police involved immediately.
Leo agreed, but only after they understood what Grant expected to find inside Bunny.
Marcus examined the rabbit's construction from photographs Leo had taken earlier.
“There could be something in the head.”
“What?”
“Depends how paranoid your wife was.”
Leo gave him a look.
Marcus corrected himself.
“How careful your wife was.”
They searched the Boston files for references to Bunny.
One note appeared in Elena's handwriting.
MIA'S SAFE WORD IS THE HEART.
BUNNY HOLDS THE LAST COPY.
Leo stared at the sentence.
“The last copy of what?”
Marcus kept searching.
Nothing else explained it.
Judge Parker reconvened and suspended the emergency order after learning the primary video evidence was likely fabricated.
She returned Mia to Leo's care pending a full hearing.
She also prohibited Grant and Daniel from exercising trust authority until an independent review.
Leo should have felt relief.
Instead, he kept imagining Grant cutting Bunny apart and finding whatever Elena had hidden.
Celeste offered to go to Mercer House for Mia.
Leo stopped her.
“Rosa will bring her to Naomi's office.”
“You're not going to Willow Crest.”
Leo did not answer.
Celeste's face hardened.
“Elena warned you not to react.”
“I'm not reacting.”
“You are absolutely reacting.”
“Then help me do it smarter.”
That silenced her.
Willow Crest sat behind iron gates on twenty wooded acres north of the city.
The property belonged to a Mercer trust subsidiary and had once been used for executive retreats.
Grant had overseen its renovation.
Marcus remained in a van half a mile away with Naomi and two private investigators.
Police waited farther out because Leo did not want flashing lights to spook Grant before they knew whether anyone else was inside.
Leo entered through the front door carrying a document case filled with copies, not originals.
The house was silent.
Grant sat in the living room beside a fire.
Bunny rested on the coffee table.
Leo saw that the rabbit had not been cut.
Grant smiled.
“You actually came.”
“You knew I would.”
“Yes.”
“That's always been your problem.”
“You're predictable where Mia is concerned.”
Leo set the case down.
“Give me the rabbit.”
Grant leaned back.
“You're missing the point.”
“The rabbit isn't valuable to Mia.”
“It's valuable to Elena.”
Leo kept his face still.
“You keep saying her name in the present tense.”
Grant's smile faded slightly.
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
Grant looked toward the fire.
“Maybe grief makes grammar strange.”
Leo took one step closer.
“Did she survive the crash?”
Grant's eyes returned to him.
“Would it make you feel better if she did?”
Leo said nothing.
“Think carefully.”
“If Elena survived and chose not to come back, what does that say about you?”
The sentence was designed to wound.
Three years earlier, it would have worked perfectly.
Now Leo heard Elena's warning inside it.
They need you to believe I betrayed you.
He smiled faintly.
Grant noticed.
“What's funny?”
“You're not as good as she thought you were.”
Grant's expression changed.
There was the real man.
Cold.
Offended.
Tired of pretending.
“Elena was sentimental.”
“Elena was smarter than both of us.”
Grant leaned forward.
“She was reckless.”
“She found things she didn't understand.”
“Money?”
“Control.”
Grant pointed toward the case.
“Open it.”
Leo did.
Grant looked through the copies.
His face tightened when he saw the cloned authorization logs.
“You gave Marcus Reed access to company data?”
“Interesting that you knew who would understand it.”
Grant ignored that.
“Where is the flash drive?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“Not here.”
Grant sighed.
“I was trying to keep this clean.”
Leo almost laughed.
“You fabricated evidence to take my daughter.”
“I created leverage.”
“You tried to make me look dangerous.”
“You did most of that yourself years ago.”
Leo's fists tightened.
Grant saw it and smiled.
“There he is.”
Leo slowly opened his hands.
Grant's smile disappeared.
Leo looked at Bunny.
“What is the last copy?”
Grant went still.
Leo knew he had hit something.
“So you don't know.”
Grant's jaw flexed.
“Give me the rabbit.”
“No.”
Grant stood.
He did not reach for a weapon.
He simply picked up Bunny and held it by one ear.
Leo's eyes hardened.
“You're going to threaten a stuffed animal now?”
Grant smiled.
“No.”
“I'm going to show you how much of your life has been built around symbols.”
He squeezed the rabbit's head.
A tiny click sounded.
Grant froze.
Leo heard it too.
A seam near Bunny's neck opened slightly.
Grant pulled out a narrow plastic capsule.
Inside was a rolled strip of microfilm.
Grant's face changed completely.
For the first time, he looked afraid.
Leo understood.
Grant had been searching for this without knowing exactly what it was.
A loud knock struck the front door.
Grant turned his head.
Leo moved.
He took Bunny from Grant's hand and stepped back before Grant could react.
Grant lunged for the capsule.
Leo blocked him with one forearm and pushed him away.
No punch.
No threat.
No performance for the story Grant wanted.
The door opened.
Two detectives entered with Naomi behind them.
Grant stared at Leo.
“You set me up.”
Leo held the capsule.
“No.”
“I finally stopped letting you set me up.”
The detectives ordered Grant to remain in the room while they reviewed the allegations.
He was not arrested yet.
The evidence still needed authentication.
As Leo walked outside, Grant called after him.
“You still don't know what Elena did.”
Leo stopped.
Grant's voice became almost gentle.
“You think she was protecting you.”
“She was protecting herself.”
Leo looked back.
Grant smiled.
May you like
“Ask Celeste who was driving the car.”
Page
