Chapter 4 - The House Full of Enemies
Ethan had spent his entire adult life controlling rooms.
Boardrooms.
Courtrooms.
Government hearings.
Negotiations where billions of dollars changed hands based on whether he raised an eyebrow or remained silent.
But as Mason's armored SUV tore toward the Hamptons estate with Marie and Hannah in the rear seats, Ethan discovered what it felt like to have no control at all.
Parker was somewhere inside that mansion.
And Ethan did not know who was with him.
“Call the police,” Marie said.
“Not yet.”
She stared at him.
“Your son may be in danger.”
“And if someone inside my security detail is involved, sending patrol cars through the front gate warns them.”
“You still think like a CEO.”
Ethan turned toward her.
“Right now I'm thinking like a father.”
Mason spoke from the passenger seat.
“I've alerted two officers I trust personally. They're approaching from the east access road.”
Marie held Hannah tighter.
“You should never have brought us.”
“You weren't staying alone.”
“You don't know whether Vanessa wants Hannah dead.”
Hannah stiffened.
Marie immediately regretted the words.
Ethan's expression darkened.
“Nobody is touching her.”
Marie laughed bitterly.
“You said that with the confidence of a man who was almost murdered yesterday.”
The SUV fell silent.
Ethan could not argue.
They entered the estate through the service gate.
Mason had remotely disabled the gate logs so the main security office would not receive an alert.
Two trusted guards met them near the guesthouse.
“No sign of Parker,” one reported.
“What about Vanessa?”
“Main house. Conservatory.”
“Adrian?”
“Left twenty minutes ago.”
Ethan looked at Mason.
“He was here?”
“Security logs show his vehicle entered at 9:12.”
Nobody needed to say what that meant.
Ethan rolled toward the mansion's rear entrance.
Marie stopped him.
“You can't confront them.”
“This is my house.”
“That's exactly why you shouldn't assume it's safe.”
Ethan looked at Hannah.
The little girl was watching him with Daniel's eyes.
He hated that Marie was right.
“Mason, take Marie and Hannah to the guesthouse.”
“No,” Hannah said.
Every adult turned.
“My cousin is missing.”
“Hannah—”
“He gave me his sweatshirt.”
Marie crouched.
“This isn't a game.”
“I know.”
Her voice trembled, but she continued.
“That's why we shouldn't leave him.”
Ethan felt something twist inside him.
Daniel had been the same way.
Terrified and stubborn enough to move anyway.
“Guesthouse,” Ethan said softly. “That's not a request.”
Hannah frowned but obeyed.
Inside the mansion, the aftermath of the party had been erased.
The marble floors gleamed.
Flowers had been replaced.
Champagne glasses were gone.
It looked as if Ethan had never nearly died there.
Vanessa sat in the conservatory drinking coffee.
She looked surprised when Ethan entered.
“You came back.”
“My son is missing.”
Her eyes widened.
“What?”
“Don't.”
“Ethan, I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Parker called me from the library.”
“So?”
“Someone interrupted him.”
Vanessa stood.
“You think I hurt my own son?”
“I think I stopped knowing what you're capable of a long time ago.”
Her face changed.
Something cold appeared behind the polished expression.
“You are exhausted.”
“Where is Parker?”
“I haven't seen him since breakfast.”
“Adrian was here.”
A pause.
Then, “He stopped by regarding yesterday's acquisition.”
“Without telling me?”
“You were unavailable.”
“I was investigating why my wheelchair was remotely disabled.”
Vanessa's fingers tightened around her coffee cup.
It lasted less than a second.
Ethan noticed.
“Is that what you're calling an accident now?”
“Someone used administrator access.”
“So ask your IT department.”
“I did.”
He watched her carefully.
“The command came through Adrian's credentials.”
Vanessa's face remained neutral.
“Then perhaps Adrian's account was compromised.”
“Perhaps.”
They stared at one another.
For twenty years, Ethan had believed power came from knowing more than the person sitting across from you.
Now he realized marriage had been the longest negotiation of his life.
And he might have misunderstood every term.
Mason entered.
“We found Parker.”
Ethan turned sharply.
“Where?”
“West greenhouse.”
They reached it minutes later.
Parker was sitting behind a workbench, pale and furious.
Ethan crossed the room as quickly as his wheelchair allowed.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“Mom came into the library.”
Vanessa stopped behind them.
“Parker.”
He flinched.
Ethan saw it.
That small reaction changed everything.
“What did she do?”
Parker looked at his mother.
“She asked what was on the USB.”
“I asked why you were accessing private corporate information.”
“You grabbed my phone.”
“Because you were recording me!”
Parker looked at Ethan.
“She smashed it.”
Vanessa exhaled sharply.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Then who sent the message?” Ethan asked.
“What message?”
Mason held up his phone.
Vanessa read it.
Her expression barely changed.
“I didn't send that.”
“Someone did.”
Parker reached underneath his shirt.
He pulled out a tiny memory card.
“She didn't get everything.”
Vanessa's face finally broke.
Just slightly.
Enough.
Ethan saw it.
Parker handed him the card.
“I copied the videos.”
Ethan took it.
“What's on them?”
“I only watched the first one.”
Daniel.
Later, behind locked doors in Ethan's private office, Mason inserted the memory card into a computer disconnected from the estate network.
Marie and Hannah had been brought inside.
Parker sat beside Hannah.
The adults stood behind them.
Daniel Caldwell appeared on the monitor.
He looked thirty-two.
Alive.
Smiling nervously.
Ethan had forgotten the exact sound of his brother's voice.
Hearing it again nearly broke him.
“If you're seeing this,” Daniel said, “then either I'm being paranoid or I wasn't paranoid enough.”
He looked away from the camera.
“I found evidence Adrian Mercer has been moving Caldwell research through private companies. But Adrian isn't doing it alone.”
Ethan's stomach tightened.
Daniel continued.
“I haven't told Ethan because I don't know how deep this goes. Someone has access to his calendar, vehicles, security codes, and personal accounts.”
Marie covered her mouth.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
“If something happens to me, find Marie. Protect her. She doesn't know she's pregnant yet.”
Marie began crying silently.
Hannah stared at the screen.
Her father.
For the first time.
Daniel continued.
“And Ethan, if you're watching…”
He stopped.
His eyes filled with sadness.
“I'm sorry I didn't trust you sooner.”
Ethan looked down.
The video changed.
A second file opened automatically.
Security footage.
A garage.
Timestamped two years earlier.
Three days before Ethan's crash.
Someone stood beside Ethan's black Bentley with the hood open.
Mason leaned closer.
“That's your accident vehicle.”
The person's face was hidden.
Then another figure entered the frame.
Adrian Mercer.
Ethan's pulse quickened.
Adrian handed the mechanic-looking figure an envelope.
But then someone else appeared.
A woman in a white coat.
She turned toward the camera.
Marie gasped.
Parker stopped breathing.
Vanessa stood at the back of the room.
On the screen, Vanessa Caldwell leaned over Ethan's car.
And pointed directly toward the brake assembly.
Nobody moved.
Then Vanessa spoke behind them.
“You really should have left Daniel buried.”
May you like
Ethan turned.
She was holding a handgun.
