Chapter 4 - My Father Had Once Worked for the Billionaire’s Family, and a Secret About My Childhood Explained Why Someone Was Following MeWe found the man.
His name was Victor Hale.
Former security director.
He had disappeared after Ethan's father's father died.
He agreed to meet.
We sat in a private café.
Victor looked at me.
“You look like her.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you know about her?”
“She worked for the Calloway family.”
I stared at Ethan's father.
He looked equally surprised.
“She was my father's personal assistant.”
“What?”
Victor nodded.
“She knew things.”
“What things?”
“The kind powerful families don't want employees knowing.”
He opened a folder.
Inside were old photographs.
My mother.
Ethan's grandfather.
My father.
All together.
Then another photograph.
Me.
As a baby.
In my mother's arms.
Beside them stood Ethan's grandfather.
“Why?”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Because your parents were protecting you.”
“From whom?”
“From my employer.”
Ethan's father looked shocked.
“My father?”
Victor nodded.
“He built a private network.”
“What kind?”
“Financial.”
“Illegal?”
“Yes.”
I felt cold.
My childhood had been based on a lie.
My father hadn't been a construction worker.
My mother hadn't simply been a housekeeper.
They had been connected to a powerful family.
Victor continued.
“Your father discovered that the Calloway organization planned to use children as insurance.”
I stared.
“Children?”
“If someone betrayed the family, they threatened their children.”
I looked at Ethan's father.
He was pale.
“My father never told me.”
“He wasn't supposed to.”
Victor gave me a final document.
My father's name.
Beside it:
PROTECTED FAMILY MEMBER.
Me.
The note read:
Keep her hidden.
I looked up.
“Why did you follow me?”
“Because someone has started looking for her.”
“Who?”
“Your father's former partners.”
“They knew where I was?”
“Not until recently.”
“Why now?”
Victor hesitated.
“Because Ethan is alive.”
I didn't understand.
Then Ethan's father did.
“My son.”
Victor nodded.
“Their old network believed Ethan died.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father helped hide his identity.”
It took me a moment.
My father had been protecting me.
At the same time, Ethan's father had been protecting Ethan.
Our families were connected before we ever met.
Then Victor said:
“Someone has begun looking for both of you.”
I looked at Ethan's father.
“Why?”
May you like
Victor answered:
“Because together, you're worth more than either family.”
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