Chapter 10 - The death that built a fortune
Heather wanted immunity.
She didn't deserve absolution.
But she possessed evidence.
We met through attorneys.
The backup contained decades-old digitized audio Walter had kept as leverage against someone else.
Two voices.
Walter.
Dr. Samuel Price.
They discussed Harrison Whitmore's medical condition.
Medication.
Timing.
An opportunity.
It wasn't enough by itself to prove murder.
But it was enough to reopen questions.
Then Price said:
“If Harrison dies, those patents become vulnerable.”
Walter answered:
“That's the point.”
My skin crawled.
The recording continued.
A third voice appeared.
Female.
Lydia.
“Then make sure nothing leads back to this family.”
Elmer left the room and vomited.
His parents hadn't merely hidden financial wrongdoing.
They may have built their wealth on a death.
But another line changed everything.
Price warned Walter:
“If Whitmore ever has an heir, your problem comes back.”
Walter laughed.
“Adrian can't have children.”
That explained the stolen fertility sample.
Someone had deliberately created the one thing Walter believed impossible.
Louisa.
But who?
Price?
Adrian?
My mother?
Then investigators located Dr. Price.
Alive.
Living under another name in Arizona.
Federal investigators interviewed him.
His attorney negotiated.
Price confessed to fertility misconduct.
But when asked who ordered Adrian's sample used during my procedure, he gave an answer nobody expected.
“Harrison Whitmore.”
Impossible.
Harrison had been dead for decades before Louisa's conception.
Price clarified.
“Harrison left instructions.”
A contingency.
If Walter Mercer ever gained control of specific Whitmore patents, Harrison wanted a biological heir protected outside Walter's reach.
Adrian's sample had been preserved for legitimate medical reasons.
Harrison's instructions didn't authorize impregnating an unsuspecting woman.
Price had twisted them.
“Why Joanna?”
May you like
Price looked at investigators.
“Because her mother asked me.”
