Chapter 5 - The Billionaire Who Couldn't Forgive Himself
Gideon Wren's mansion stood behind iron gates overlooking Puget Sound.
Sadi had never seen anything like it.
The driveway curved between enormous trees.
A fountain stood near the entrance.
The house had so many windows she couldn't imagine how anyone cleaned them.
Ellie stared through the car window.
"Is this a castle?"
Sadi smiled faintly.
"Pretty much."
Rafael drove them to the estate after investigators requested a meeting involving the maintenance records.
Gideon had invited Sadi and Ellie to stay in the guesthouse temporarily after the diner fire and the continuing threats.
Sadi had refused at first.
She didn't want charity.
But Ellie had been frightened by unfamiliar cars slowing near their home, and investigators recommended additional security precautions.
So Sadi agreed to a short stay.
Nothing more.
Celia met them at the entrance.
"Welcome."
Ellie looked around.
"Do you have horses?"
Celia smiled.
"No."
"Can you get some?"
Sadi closed her eyes.
"Ellie."
Celia laughed.
"We'll discuss it."
For the first time that week, Sadi smiled.
Inside, Gideon sat near a fireplace.
He wore a plain sweater and dark trousers.
Without the battered coat, he looked different.
Older.
More fragile.
But his eyes brightened when Ellie entered.
"Grandpa!"
She ran toward him.
He opened his arms.
Sadi watched as Ellie placed her stuffed rabbit in his lap.
"He's scared of big houses."
Gideon looked at the rabbit.
Then tapped twice.
Ellie smiled.
"He likes you."
Celia turned away, wiping her eyes.
Sadi understood.
Gideon's grandson, Noah, had lost his father in the helicopter crash. He lived with his mother in Portland and visited when he could, but the family was still grieving.
Ellie had somehow slipped through the old man's defenses.
Children did that.
They didn't care how much money you had.
They cared whether you listened when they showed you a stuffed rabbit.
Later, Celia led Sadi into a study.
Rafael stood beside a table covered with documents.
An independent aviation investigator joined them remotely.
The blue binder recovered from Hannah's storage unit contained maintenance discrepancies related to multiple aircraft.
Some entries suggested that components had been billed as genuine replacements despite inconsistent inventory records.
Other documents showed unusual approvals.
Adrian Wren's name appeared repeatedly.
Celia looked exhausted.
"My cousin controlled procurement."
Sadi studied the paperwork.
"Did your father know?"
"He knew we had financial problems."
"That's not what I asked."
Celia looked down.
"He knew Adrian was under review for irregular spending. He didn't know the extent of it."
Sadi folded her arms.
"My sister did."
Celia nodded.
"Yes."
"And she reported it."
"Yes."
"And nothing happened."
Nobody answered.
Sadi looked toward the window.
"She died trying to stop this."
Rafael spoke quietly.
"That's why we're making sure the evidence reaches the appropriate investigators."
Sadi turned toward him.
"Is it enough?"
"Not yet."
Her stomach dropped.
"What else do you need?"
"Original records. Witnesses. Technical evidence that connects the discrepancies to actual equipment."
Sadi stared.
"So all of this could mean nothing?"
"No."
Rafael shook his head.
"It matters. But determining what caused the crash requires more than suspicious invoices."
She looked down.
Hannah's purple handwriting appeared on one page.
Check replacement certificate.
Sadi touched the paper.
"She was trying so hard."
Rafael didn't answer.
There was nothing useful to say.
That evening, Gideon asked to speak with her.
Alone.
Sadi found him in the greenhouse behind the mansion.
Rows of roses filled the room.
White.
Pink.
Deep red.
He sat beside a wooden table holding an old photograph.
A young woman smiled at the camera.
She had auburn hair and bright eyes.
"My wife," Gideon wrote.
Sadi looked at the photograph.
"She's beautiful."
He nodded.
Then pointed toward the roses.
Rose loved these.
Sadi remembered the coin.
The wolf holding a rose.
"That's why the flower is on your company's emblem?"
He nodded.
Then wrote:
She said a wolf should carry something gentle.
Sadi smiled sadly.
"Sounds like she knew you."
Gideon looked toward the flowers.
His hand began trembling.
He wrote slowly.
Julian was my son.
Sadi sat beside him.
"I know."
He trusted me.
She swallowed.
Gideon continued.
Hannah warned me.
Sadi's chest tightened.
"When?"
He closed his eyes.
Then wrote:
Two weeks before the crash.
Sadi stared.
"You spoke to her?"
He nodded.
"What did she say?"
His pen shook.
She said the records were wrong. She asked me to stop the flights.
Sadi stood so quickly her chair scraped the floor.
"You knew?"
Gideon's eyes filled.
She stepped backward.
"My sister came to you?"
He nodded.
"And you didn't stop them?"
His face crumpled.
Sadi pressed a hand over her mouth.
"Why?"
He wrote one word.
Adrian.
Then another sentence.
He told me Hannah misunderstood the system.
Sadi shook her head.
"You believed him."
Gideon lowered his eyes.
"Your own employee was warning you people could die."
He nodded.
"And you listened to your nephew instead?"
Tears ran down his cheeks.
Sadi turned away.
She couldn't look at him.
She thought of Hannah leaving for work that morning.
Ellie standing at the door.
"Bye, Mommy!"
Hannah blowing her a kiss.
The helicopter lifting into the sky.
The phone call.
The funeral.
The little girl asking why her mother wasn't coming home.
Sadi faced Gideon.
"You don't get to fix this with money."
He nodded.
"You don't get to give Ellie a mansion and pretend her mother never existed."
Another nod.
"And you don't get to ask me to forgive you."
Gideon picked up his pen.
I won't.
Sadi stared.
Then he wrote:
I will tell the truth.
She wiped her eyes.
"Good."
She walked toward the door.
Behind her, Gideon made a sound.
A strained breath.
Almost a word.
She stopped.
He was gripping the table.
His face twisted with effort.
"Sa..."
She turned.
His voice emerged as a rough whisper.
"Sadi."
Her heart stopped.
It was the first time she'd heard him speak.
He swallowed painfully.
"I'm... sorry."
Sadi stood motionless.
Then quietly replied:
"I know."
But she left the greenhouse without looking back.
That night, Rafael knocked on the guesthouse door.
Sadi opened it.
"What?"
He held up his phone.
"There's been a development."
She folded her arms.
"What kind?"
"Adrian's lawyers have filed paperwork challenging Gideon's ability to control the company."
Sadi frowned.
"Why?"
"They're claiming he's medically incapable of making decisions."
She stared.
"Because he can't speak?"
"That's part of their argument."
"That's ridiculous."
Rafael nodded.
"The claim will have to be assessed properly."
Sadi looked toward the mansion.
"What happens if Adrian wins?"
"Potentially, he gains more control over the business."
Her stomach dropped.
Then Rafael added:
"And he may gain access to the records Hannah was trying to preserve."
May you like
Sadi looked at him.
"Then we can't let that happen."
