The Brother Who Wanted Him Removed
Chapter 04 - The Brother Who Wanted Him Removed
Declan decided Seamus was behind it.
Narin decided Declan had decided too fast.
They argued.
Of course.
“He has motive.”
“Yes.”
“Access.”
“Maybe.”
“Board pressure.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
“So that is evidence to investigate.”
Declan stared.
“Not proof.”
He hated hearing his own standard repeated back.
Callum arrived with legal counsel.
He did not deny wanting Declan removed.
That surprised everyone.
“I asked for temporary executive control.”
Declan’s face went cold.
“You what?”
“Six weeks ago.”
“Before the chair failure.”
“Yes.”
“Before the medication issue.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Callum looked toward Narin.
“This is family.”
Narin stood.
“I’m leaving.”
Declan said:
“Stay.”
Callum frowned.
“She works for you.”
“Yes.”
“Exactly.”
Narin looked at Declan.
“Do I need to hear this for my job?”
“No.”
“Then I’m leaving.”
She left.
Good.
Later Declan told her anyway.
Not everything.
Enough.
Callum had petitioned the legitimate Graham Holdings board for a temporary governance review.
Not guardianship.
Not personal incompetency.
Corporate control.
Why?
Declan had ordered a warehouse manager abducted after suspected theft.
Held twelve hours.
No police.
No charges.
The man turned out not to be the thief.
Narin went still.
“When?”
“Four months ago.”
“Before I worked here.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hurt him?”
“Not personally.”
She stared.
“That phrase is doing a lot of work.”
Declan looked away.
“Was he hurt?”
“Bruised.”
“By your men.”
“Yes.”
“Did you compensate him?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Cash.”
“Did he have a choice about silence?”
No answer.
Narin’s stomach tightened.
Callum’s board petition suddenly looked different.
Not brotherly betrayal.
Maybe damage control.
“Did Callum threaten you?”
“No.”
“Did he say paralysis made you weak?”
“No.”
“Seamus did.”
“Yes.”
“So you mixed them together.”
Declan’s face hardened.
“Callum wants my company.”
“Maybe he wants your company not kidnapping warehouse managers.”
Silence.
Dangerous.
True.
Declan turned his chair toward the window.
“You can leave.”
Narin’s chest tightened.
“Am I fired?”
“No.”
“Then I have twenty minutes left.”
He laughed once.
Without humor.
“You are impossible.”
“Payroll.”
The next day, Callum found her in the kitchen.
Not accidentally.
“Narin.”
She looked up.
“If this is about your brother, I bill emotional consulting separately.”
He almost smiled.
“I need you to know something.”
“No.”
Callum blinked.
“I’m not your spy.”
“I’m not asking—”
“You came to the maid instead of his lawyer.”
He stopped.
Good.
Then:
“You’re right.”
He sat anyway.
Not close.
“Then I’ll tell you something about me.”
“Why?”
“Because if Seamus is involved, he may use you.”
That got her attention.
Callum continued.
“Seamus thinks people around Declan are assets.”
“Everyone thinks that in this house.”
“Yes.”
“My brother included.”
Good.
No hero mythology.
“Seamus will look for debt.”
Narin’s jaw tightened.
“He’ll find it.”
“Family?”
“My mother.”
“What about her?”
“None of your business.”
Callum nodded.
“Good.”
He stood.
At the door:
“Declan is not wrong that I want him out of some operations.”
“Which?”
“The illegal ones.”
Narin stared.
Callum looked tired.
“I have spent eight years turning warehouses and hotels legitimate while he keeps one foot in the old business because he thinks fear is insurance.”
“That sounds like something you should tell him.”
“I have.”
“And?”
“He hears betrayal.”
Callum left.
That afternoon, Declan’s outside investigator found Seamus’s son-in-law had accessed the remote maintenance account.
Twice.
One login matched the camera outage.
But the IP address belonged to the Graham estate itself.
Not remote.
Someone in the house used his credentials.
Seamus had a path.
Not necessarily the hand.
Then Narin found Mrs. Doyle crying in the pantry.
The house manager never cried.
Narin stopped.
“Do you want me to leave?”
Mrs. Doyle wiped her face.
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I lied.”
Narin’s stomach tightened.
“About?”
“The camera outage.”
Mrs. Doyle had entered the security room at 12:40 that night.
Not to sabotage anything.
To disable one hallway camera.
“Why?”
She looked ashamed.
“Declan’s former fiancée came.”
Narin stared.
“Former.”
“Maeve.”
“Why secret?”
“Because he refuses to see her.”
“So you let her in anyway.”
“Yes.”
“That is terrible.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“She said she had something about the shooting.”
There.
Everything shifted.
“Did she see Declan?”
“No.”
“Where did she go?”
“The old conservatory.”
“Who met her?”
Mrs. Doyle looked down.
“Elias.”
Head of security.
The man whose terminal had been used.
Narin’s skin went cold.
“What did she bring?”
“A file.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell investigators?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Elias said Declan would fire me.”
Narin stared.
“He still might.”
“Yes.”
“Tell him.”
Mrs. Doyle began crying again.
“I’ve been here thirty-one years.”
“That does not make lying safer.”
Good.
Mrs. Doyle nodded.
They told Declan together.
He did not shout.
That was worse.
“Maeve came here.”
“Yes.”
“Elias met her.”
“Yes.”
“You turned off my camera.”
“Yes.”
“Because she asked.”
“Yes.”
He looked at Narin.
“Leave.”
She did.
This time the boundary belonged to him.
An hour later, Elias was gone.
Not fired.
Missing.
His phone on the desk.
Gun locked in his office safe.
Car still in the garage.
And the file Maeve had brought was gone with him.
Declan called police.
Then Maeve.
She answered on the first ring.
“Declan.”
His face changed at her voice.
“What did you give Elias?”
Silence.
Then:
“Proof that the Keanes did not shoot you.”
He closed his eyes.
“I know that.”
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“You know the gun was Graham security.”
“Yes.”
“What you don’t know is who signed it out.”
Declan’s hand tightened on the phone.
“Who?”
A pause.
May you like
“Elias Grant.”
And the man responsible for protecting Declan after the shooting had been the man holding the weapon before it happened.
