Chapter 12 - The Man Who Knew Too Much
Richard stopped answering his phone.
His Manhattan apartment was empty.
His driver had been dismissed.
His private aircraft remained grounded.
But Richard himself was gone.
Ethan ordered every corporate credential connected to his uncle frozen.
Within an hour, three suspicious transfers were blocked.
Within two hours, the board demanded answers.
By morning, federal investigators had been contacted by Ethan’s attorney.
That was when Richard finally called.
“Was that necessary?”
Ethan stood in his mother’s old music room.
“You threatened my daughter.”
Richard laughed softly.
“I did no such thing.”
“You sent the photograph.”
“You cannot prove that.”
“You sound exactly like Victoria.”
“Victoria is emotional.”
“And you aren’t?”
“No.”
Richard paused.
“That is why I survive.”
Ethan’s voice hardened.
“What happened to my mother?”
Silence.
For the first time, Richard lost his composure.
“Do not do this.”
“What happened?”
“She died in an accident.”
“Did you cause it?”
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Where are you?”
“Far enough away to think clearly.”
“You’re running.”
“I’m protecting myself from a nephew who has become irrational.”
“My daughter was assaulted.”
“And you are dismantling a billion-dollar partnership because of it.”
Ethan nearly crushed the phone.
“She is three.”
Richard sighed.
“You are proving my point.”
Then Richard said something that changed everything.
“Ask Rosa why she really applied to work at your estate.”
Ethan became still.
“What?”
“You think coincidence brought the mother of your child into your house?”
The line disconnected.
Rosa entered minutes later.
Ethan hated the suspicion already forming in his mind.
She saw it immediately.
“What happened?”
“Richard called.”
Her face changed.
“What did he say?”
Ethan forced himself to ask.
“Why did you apply here?”
Rosa stared at him.
“We already discussed this.”
“Did you know I owned the estate?”
“Yes.”
“Did you choose this job because of me?”
Silence.
That silence hurt.
Ethan’s voice dropped.
“Rosa.”
She looked away.
“Yes.”
He stepped back.
“You told me a friend said the estate was hiring.”
“She did.”
“But you knew.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Rosa’s eyes filled.
“Because Lily had started asking about her father.”
Ethan stopped.
Rosa continued.
“I didn’t come to steal anything.”
“I didn’t come to trap you.”
“I came because I wanted to see what kind of man you had become.”
“You could have spoken to me.”
“I know.”
“Instead, you watched me for two years.”
“I was afraid.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“Everybody keeps doing terrible things and calling it protection.”
Rosa flinched.
He immediately regretted it.
Before he could apologize, Margaret Sloan entered carrying a sealed envelope.
“This was delivered to my office.”
“From whom?”
“Your mother.”
Ethan stared at her.
“My mother has been dead twenty-one years.”
Margaret nodded.
“The instructions said it could only be opened if Richard Caldwell was formally accused of financial misconduct.”
Ethan’s hands trembled as he opened it.
Inside was a key.
A bank address.
May you like
And one sentence in Elizabeth Caldwell’s handwriting.
If Ethan is reading this, Richard finally made the same mistake twice.
