The Great Bradley Mystery
Summary
In an intricate web of romantic betrayal and corporate malfeasance, 'The Great Bradley Mystery' unfurls a grim tableau of human deceit. Bradley, a man of insidious ambition, covertly thwarts his business partner Collier's affections for the radiant Mary, fabricating an engagement to solidify his own manipulative hold. The fragile equilibrium shatters with the arrival of Lola, a young Italian woman, a ghost from Bradley's past, whose desperate plea for marriage is overheard by Mary. A cruel twist of fate ensnares Collier in the fallout, as Mary, misinterpreting his innocent encounter with Lola, casts him as the betrayer. Bradley, seizing this opportune moment, consolidates his position, marrying Mary after orchestrating a false report of Collier's demise in the distant West. Yet, truth, a persistent specter, cannot be indefinitely caged. A dying Lola reveals Bradley's paternity and his heinous deception to Mary, shattering her marital bliss. Confronted, Bradley, fearing scandal, plans a hasty escape to Europe, liquidating both his and Collier's shares in their enterprise. The narrative culminates in a dramatic climax: Lola's grief-stricken father, driven to madness, infiltrates Bradley's office. The following morning, Bradley is discovered dead, with Tony, an innocent, initially implicated. However, Collier's timely return, armed with knowledge of the corporate sell-off and a harrowing confession of a struggle with Bradley that led to his accidental death, unravels the complex entanglement, ultimately clearing Tony and paving the way for a long-denied justice and the reunion of Collier and Mary.
Synopsis
Two business partners, Bradley and Collier, are in love with Mary. Bradley gives Collier to understand that he is engaged to her, and it is this only that prevents Collier declaring his love. Lola, a young Italian girl whom Bradley has betrayed, comes to the office to beg him to marry her. Mary hears the girl's plea, and comes into the office. Here she sees Collier talking to the girl. He has come, not knowing the situation, and Bradley has slipped out another door. Mary believes that Collier is the guilty man, and refuses to speak to him. Bradley encourages her in this idea and begs her to marry him. Collier, heartbroken, has left for the west, in order to recover his lost spirits. Bradley has a fake telegram sent to him announcing Collier's death, for he knows that he has no chance with Mary as long as his rival is alive. After some time Mary marries him. But almost immediately afterward she meets Lola, who is dying in a hospital. Lola begs her to care for Bradley's child, and she learns too late that her husband deceived her. She returns and denounces him. He, knowing that the scandal is sure to get out, orders her to prepare for a trip to Europe. He sells his, as well as Collier's, share in the company. Lola's father, crazed by his daughter's death, comes to Bradley's office and sneaks in through the basement window. The next day Bradley is found dead. Tony is arrested. Collier returns and meets Mary. Together they go to the police and ask for the release of Tony. Collier tells of his arrival the night before and his knowledge of the sale of the company. He went to confront Bradley, and they struggled. Bradley drew a revolver, which went off in his hand, killing him. Collier had tried to make the case look like suicide, until he learned that Tony was being held. The police assure Collier that his innocence will be easily established, and he and Mary face the future with the knowledge that a long-deferred happiness will be theirs.
