Chapter 11 - HIS MOTHER'S SECRET
Ethan couldn't speak.
Richard stared at the photograph.
"I thought she abandoned us."
Claire looked at him.
"Maybe she didn't."
Richard opened an old cabinet.
He removed a locked box.
Inside were letters.
Dozens of them.
All addressed to Ethan.
All written by Evelyn.
Ethan picked one up.
"Why didn't I ever receive these?"
Richard looked ashamed.
"I never saw them."
Claire examined the envelopes.
They had never been opened.
Someone had hidden them.
Ethan opened the first.
His mother's handwriting filled the page.
She wrote about Marcus.
She warned Richard that someone inside the company was stealing money.
She said she had discovered a secret network of accounts.
Then came the final paragraph.
If anything happens to me, protect Ethan from Marcus.
Ethan's hands trembled.
Claire placed her hand over his.
Another letter contained a location.
A storage facility.
Richard immediately called security.
"We're going there."
Claire shook her head.
"Marcus expects that."
Richard paused.
"Then what do you suggest?"
Claire looked at the letters.
"We don't chase him."
Ethan understood.
"We make him come to us."
Claire nodded.
They created a false message suggesting they had found the missing money.
The message was sent through a monitored channel.
Within ten minutes, someone attempted to access the system.
The trace began.
Richard's security team followed the signal.
It led to an office building downtown.
Marcus's office.
Ethan looked at Claire.
"You were right."
She shook her head.
"We're not done."
Suddenly, Ethan's phone rang.
Marcus was calling.
Ethan answered.
Marcus said only one sentence.
May you like
"Bring Claire."
Then the call ended.
