Chapter 9 - THE LAST SECRET
The men entered the estate through the front door.
Marcus moved quickly.
“Back room. Now.”
We moved through the hallway.
My mother struggled to walk.
I stayed beside her.
“Slowly.”
“I’m trying.”
Claire looked at her.
“Give me the cane.”
My mother hesitated.
Then handed it over.
Claire supported her with one arm.
For the first time since I had known Claire…
I saw no calculation in her face.
Only fear.
We reached the old library.
Marcus locked the door.
The footsteps grew louder.
My phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
CHECK THE CANE.
I stared at it.
“What?”
Claire looked at me.
“What is it?”
I examined my mother's cane.
The handle had a small metal cap.
I twisted it.
The cap came off.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
My mother stared at me.
“Your father gave me that.”
“You knew?”
“I didn't know what it was.”
I inserted it into my phone.
A file appeared.
A recording.
My father's voice.
But this time, someone else was speaking with him.
Robert.
The recording had been captured secretly.
Robert's voice was unmistakable.
“You sign the company over to me, or your son disappears.”
My blood turned cold.
My father's voice shook with anger.
“Leave Ethan out of this.”
“You should have thought of that before you started investigating me.”
Then came a sound.
A crash.
My father's voice.
“Robert, don't!”
The recording ended.
My mother began crying.
“He threatened you.”
I looked at her.
“He threatened my father.”
“No,” she whispered.
“He threatened you.”
The truth hit me.
My father hadn't hidden the investigation to protect me from the truth.
He had hidden it because Robert had threatened my life.
The footsteps stopped outside the library.
Someone tried the door.
Marcus held it shut.
I looked at Claire.
“What do we do?”
She pointed toward the ceiling.
“There’s a passage.”
I looked up.
A hidden panel.
We opened it.
One by one, we climbed into the narrow space above the library.
My mother went first.
Claire helped her.
Marcus followed.
I climbed last.
Below us, the library door exploded open.
Robert entered.
He looked around.
Then he smiled.
“I know you're here.”
We crawled through the passage.
It led to a small room behind the old study.
There was a telephone.
A landline.
I picked it up.
It still worked.
I dialed the number written on the back of my father's recording.
A woman answered.
“Federal Investigations.”
I said:
“My name is Ethan Carter.”
The woman went silent.
Then she asked:
“Do you have the evidence?”
I looked at the memory card.
“Yes.”
“Are you safe?”
I looked toward the passage.
“No.”
“Then listen carefully.”
She gave me instructions.
We had exactly seven minutes.
Outside, Robert discovered the hidden passage.
His footsteps approached.
I looked at my mother.
Then Claire.
Then Marcus.
Seven minutes.
Robert stopped outside the door.
“Ethan.”
His voice was calm.
“You should have married Claire.”
I said nothing.
He continued.
“She would have given you everything.”
Claire looked at me.
I whispered:
“Did you hear that?”
She nodded.
Robert continued.
“But now…”
The door handle began to turn.
“You’re going to lose everything.”
I looked at the clock.
Six minutes remained.
Then my mother reached for my hand.
And whispered:
“No, Ethan.”
May you like
Her voice was stronger than I had heard in years.
“We are finally going to take everything back.”
