Chapter 4 - My Brother Led Me To A Hidden House—And I Found Lucas Waiting For His Father
Ethan called me at dawn.
His voice sounded exactly as I remembered.
“You've changed.”
“So have you.”
“You shouldn't have come.”
“You mentioned the ledger.”
“I knew you would.”
“Where are the children?”
Silence.
“Ethan.”
“They're alive.”
My chest loosened.
“Where?”
“I'll send a location.”
The message arrived.
An old farmhouse outside Joliet.
We drove there with six men.
Ethan appeared alone.
He looked older.
Thinner.
A scar ran from his temple to his jaw.
I stared at him.
“You're alive.”
He smiled faintly.
“So are you.”
I punched him.
He stumbled.
“That was twelve years late.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“I needed you to.”
“Why?”
“Because if they thought we were working together, they'd kill both of us.”
“Who?”
He looked toward the horizon.
“Our father.”
I froze.
“Our father died.”
Ethan shook his head.
“He disappeared.”
I stared.
“You're saying our father is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
I looked at the farmhouse.
“No.”
“He has been hiding in plain sight.”
“How?”
“He built another identity.”
“Who?”
Ethan handed me a file.
The name belonged to a respected Chicago businessman.
A philanthropist.
A man who donated to children's hospitals.
A man who had sat at my table during charity events.
My own father.
He had not died.
He had watched me build the organization.
Watched me search for Lucas.
Watched everything.
“Why?”
“Because he wanted control.”
“Control over what?”
“The ledger.”
Ethan explained.
Our father had been laundering money through legitimate businesses.
Ethan discovered it.
He copied the records.
Our father tried to kill him.
Ethan disappeared.
He had spent twelve years protecting the ledger.
But there was more.
“Why Lucas?”
“Because your father knows about the bloodline.”
I frowned.
“What bloodline?”
“The Ross family has an inheritance system.”
“What?”
“The person who possesses the ledger can legally expose the network and claim controlling interest in the legitimate holdings.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does when your grandfather set it up.”
I looked at him.
“Lucas is the heir.”
My stomach turned.
“That's why they took him.”
“Exactly.”
“Why didn't Rachel tell me?”
“She didn't trust anyone.”
“Not even me.”
Ethan sighed.
“She loved you.”
“She destroyed my life.”
“She broke your heart because she believed you'd survive it.”
I looked away.
That was exactly the kind of thing I'd wanted to hear for a year.
Now it made everything worse.
“Where is she?”
Ethan's eyes dropped.
“She was captured three months ago.”
“What?”
“Our father has her.”
I almost lost control.
“Then where are the boys?”
“Lucas is with her.”
“And Emily?”
“She was taken because Lucas refused to cooperate unless Emily was safe.”
I understood.
The little girl who had given me half a bread roll was my son's only friend.
She had become part of his family.
Ethan handed me a small device.
“This contains the location.”
I looked at him.
“Why don't you come?”
“Because I need to do something else.”
“What?”
“End this.”
The location led to an abandoned mansion.
Inside, we found cameras everywhere.
Then I saw him.
My father.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Standing beside Rachel.
Lucas was behind her.
And Emily.
Alive.
The video screen showed them in a basement room.
My son looked thinner.
But when he saw me on the monitor, his face changed.
“Dad!”
I froze.
The sound of his voice nearly destroyed me.
My father stepped toward the camera.
“Sebastian.”
I stared.
“You took my son.”
“You were never supposed to have him.”
“I will kill you.”
He smiled.
“You always were emotional.”
“Let them go.”
“Give me the ledger.”
“I don't have it.”
He laughed.
“You think I don't know about Ethan?”
My heart dropped.
A second screen appeared.
Ethan sat bound to a chair.
My father continued.
“You have one hour.”
“After that, your brother dies.”
The screen went black.
I stared at the empty monitor.
Then Marcus entered.
“We found another entrance.”
I looked at him.
“Good.”
“How are we doing this?”
I answered without hesitation.
“We don't.”
May you like
He frowned.
“We're going to make them think they're in control.”
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