The Fall of Julian Mercer
Chapter 10 - The Fall of Julian Mercer
Federal investigators charged Victor Sloane with evidence tampering and conspiracy connected to the greenhouse fire.
He disappeared before arrest.
Vivienne denied knowing his location.
Then Mercer’s lenders froze credit lines, citing the Bell claims. Factories slowed. Workers feared layoffs.
Board members demanded Julian settle privately to protect the company.
He refused to surrender the employee ledger.
They removed him as interim chief executive.
News helicopters filmed him leaving Mercer Tower through the main entrance with one box.
Vivienne’s allies called it proof that love had made him weak.
Julian returned to the apartment he shared with Mara and placed the box on the floor.
Inside were family photographs, his father’s watch, and a framed award naming him Business Leader of the Year.
Mara looked at the award.
“Do you miss it?”
“The title?”
“The certainty.”
He understood.
Before Mara, Julian believed he was the good Mercer because he avoided his mother’s cruelty. He donated money, promoted diverse executives, and spoke respectfully to staff.
He never examined the patents, trusts, or silence that funded his decency.
“I miss being able to think I earned everything,” he said.
Mara sat beside him.
“That does not mean you earned nothing.”
The distinction saved him from turning guilt into self-destruction.
They began working with Rosa Delgado, leader of the Mercer laboratory union. Rosa did not trust Julian.
“Your family discovers ethics whenever losing power becomes possible,” she said.
He agreed.
The employees proposed converting the disputed Bell shares into a permanent worker-scientist trust. Mara would receive her father’s personal portion, but no family would again control research royalties alone.
Mara supported the plan.
Some lawyers warned she was giving away billions.
“I am returning the structure my father wrote.”
The announcement shifted public opinion.
Workers rallied behind the Bell claim.
Julian found usefulness outside the executive chair by helping renegotiate supply contracts and prevent layoffs during the freeze.
He worked without authority to order anyone.
It changed the way he listened.
At thirty-four weeks, Mara experienced early contractions. Doctors stabilized the pregnancy but ordered strict rest.
That night, the hospital fire alarm activated.
Smoke entered the maternity corridor.
Naomi found a maintenance door propped open and a Mercer security badge in the stairwell.
Victor Sloane had returned.
The fire was small.
The panic was not.
Mara was moved toward an ambulance.
The driver wore hospital clothing.
Naomi saw the Mercer ring on his right hand before the doors closed.
She drew her weapon and ordered him out.
The man ran.
Mara held her stomach as another contraction began.
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Vivienne had failed to discredit the child.
Now someone had tried to take the mother.
