Chapter 18 - Grant Mercer’s Last Meeting
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Grant pleaded guilty to multiple financial crimes and conspiracy-related charges.
The final agreement included incarceration.
Restitution.
Asset forfeiture.
Permanent prohibition from fiduciary roles.
He would never manage another family’s trust.
Before sentencing, Grant asked for one meeting with Dominic.
Dominic almost refused.
Then he remembered Sofia.
Evidence first.
Emotion second.
The meeting took place through attorneys.
Grant looked older.
Not physically broken.
Just smaller without authority around him.
“I wanted to explain.”
Dominic sat across from him.
“You’ve had months.”
Grant nodded.
“My father worked for your grandfather.”
“I know.”
“We were always close to the family.”
“You were family.”
Grant flinched.
“Yes.”
He explained how it began.
Not with sixty million.
With a small transaction.
A property opportunity.
Grant believed the family would waste it.
He redirected funds temporarily.
Made a profit.
Returned most of it.
Nobody noticed.
The next time became easier.
Then he began telling himself the growth of the family fortune was partly his.
That he deserved participation beyond fees.
Eventually, he stopped distinguishing management from ownership.
Dominic listened.
No interruption.
Then Grant said—
“Your father depended on me.”
“Yes.”
“He would never have built half of this without me.”
“Maybe.”
Grant looked surprised.
Dominic continued.
“But helping build something doesn’t make it yours.”
Silence.
Grant looked down.
“Sofia understood that.”
“Yes.”
“I underestimated her.”
“Yes.”
“I underestimated you too.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“Because you expected me to beat Celeste?”
Grant’s face tightened.
“I expected rage.”
“You got it.”
Grant looked confused.
Dominic tapped his chest.
“In here.”
He leaned back.
“You just didn’t get to use it.”
For the first time, Grant smiled sadly.
“Your father couldn’t have done that.”
“I know.”
That was one inheritance Dominic was happy to refuse.
Grant looked toward the observation window.
“What will you tell Lily about me?”
Dominic thought.
“The truth.”
“All of it?”
“When she’s old enough.”
Grant nodded.
“Tell her I was sorry.”
Dominic stood.
“No.”
Grant looked up.
“If you’re sorry, that belongs to you.”
Dominic buttoned his jacket.
“I’m not making my daughter responsible for making you feel forgiven.”
He left.
Grant never saw Lily again.
Dominic did not feel triumphant.
He felt finished.
Back home, Lily took her first unassisted step that evening.
One step.
Then another.
Then she toppled safely into Dominic’s arms.
He laughed so loudly Hannah jumped.
“That counts.”
Hannah smiled.
“Definitely.”
Dominic lifted Lily above his head.
She squealed.
For months, adults had fought over who would control her shares.
Who would control her guardian.
Who would control the family.
Lily had no idea.
She was busy learning to control her own two feet.
And Dominic decided that was exactly how childhood should feel.
May you like
👉 With Grant and Celeste finally out of power, Dominic could stop fighting over Lily’s future and start giving her something far more valuable—a normal childhood.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Related Stories
