Chapter 6 - The Priest Behind the Christmas Introduction
Father James Cole had counseled Grant after Margaret died.
He had also introduced Grant to Vanessa.
Arthur confronted him after Christmas Mass.
James did not deny it.
“Vanessa is my daughter.”
Arthur stared.
James had fathered her before entering the priesthood. Very few people
knew.
“Did you send her after my son?”
“No.”
“Did you tell her about Margaret’s trusts?”
James lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I believed Walter Bennett cheated my family out of part of the
original restaurant.”
“So you gave Vanessa a map to my family.”
“I never told her to steal.”
“You handed resentment to an ambitious woman and pointed her toward my
son.”
James looked ashamed.
Meanwhile, Grant surrendered his executive position and agreed to
cooperate with investigators.
Arthur did not comfort him.
“You’re not saving me?” Grant asked.
“No.”
“I’m your son.”
“That is why I spent too many years saving you.”
Grant cried.
“I don’t know who I am without this company.”
“Then perhaps it is time you found out.”
Later Grant gave Arthur a key to Margaret’s forgotten first office
inside the original Bennett & Pine.
Behind an old pantry wall stood Margaret’s desk, a ceramic Santa, and a
cassette recorder.
Arthur pressed play.
Margaret’s voice filled the dusty room.
“Arthur, if you are hearing this, someone finally found the old trusts.”
She explained that Walter Bennett had hidden money in restaurant
accounts decades earlier. After his death, Margaret redirected what she
could find into trusts for children and struggling families.
“I wanted dirty money to do one clean thing,” she said.
Then another voice entered the recording.
Miguel Torres.
Margaret asked:
“Miguel, tell me why your name is in Walter Bennett’s private ledger.”
Arthur stopped the tape.
Grant stared at him.
May you like
A voice behind them said, “You should have kept listening.”
Miguel stood in the doorway holding the remaining recordings.
