Chapter 2 - The Secret My Sister Never Told Me
The private jet was waiting less than fifteen minutes after we landed.
I wanted to hate everything about it.
The polished black exterior.
The silent security team.
The fact that Ethan Callahan could make a simple airport transfer feel like an operation.
Most of all, I hated that I had no idea what was happening.
But Sophie was exhausted, and so was I.
When one of Ethan’s men opened the car door, I stayed rooted to the spot.
“I’m not a prisoner.”
Ethan stopped beside me.
“No.”
“You said we were coming with you.”
“I said you were coming somewhere safe.”
“That sounds exactly like something a kidnapper would say.”
His eyebrow lifted.
“I can see why you’d be suspicious.”
“Good.”
Something almost amused flickered in his eyes.
Then he glanced at Sophie.
“She has a fever.”
My anger disappeared.
“What?”
“Touch her forehead.”
I did.
She was warm.
Not dangerously hot, but warmer than before.
A wave of fear went through me.
Ethan nodded toward the car.
“There’s a pediatrician waiting.”
“You arranged a doctor?”
“Yes.”
“For my daughter?”
“For both of you.”
I hesitated.
I hated owing people anything.
Especially men who carried themselves like they owned entire cities.
Still, I got in.
The doctor examined Sophie in the private terminal lounge. She was mildly dehydrated and overtired. Nothing serious.
I nearly collapsed from relief.
Ethan stood several feet away the entire time.
He never interrupted.
When the pediatrician left, I caught him staring at Sophie.
“You said her name before.”
“On the plane.”
“I told you her name.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you look at her like you already knew her?”
His face hardened.
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
He was silent.
I stepped closer.
“You know something about my daughter.”
“I know something about her father.”
I froze.
Sophie’s father.
There was only one person Ethan could mean.
Daniel.
My former fiancé.
The man who had vanished before Sophie was born.
I hadn’t heard his voice in almost a year.
“He’s dead,” I said quietly.
Ethan’s gaze didn’t move.
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“How do you know?”
“I knew him.”
My stomach dropped.
“You knew Daniel?”
Ethan nodded once.
“Long before you met him.”
Everything inside me felt unsteady.
Daniel had always told me he worked in finance.
He had worn plain suits, driven an old sedan and complained constantly about money.
He had proposed with a ring he claimed to have bought from his grandfather.
Then, six months into my pregnancy, he disappeared.
One day he was there.
The next, he was gone.
I searched hospitals.
Police stations.
Friends.
Every place I could think of.
Nothing.
Eventually, I learned he had left California entirely.
I assumed he had abandoned us.
“You knew him from where?”
Ethan didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he asked, “Did Daniel ever mention the Callahan name?”
“No.”
“He never mentioned Chicago?”
“No.”
“His real name?”
I stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
Ethan’s voice was careful.
“Daniel Mercer wasn’t his real name.”
The floor seemed to move beneath me.
“What?”
“His real name was Daniel Callahan.”
Silence.
I could hear the low hum of the air-conditioning.
Sophie slept in my arms.
My daughter’s father had the same last name as the most feared man in Chicago.
I looked at Ethan.
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No. You’re wrong.”
“I wish I were.”
I shook my head violently.
“Daniel wasn’t involved in anything like this.”
“You only knew the version of him he wanted you to know.”
I backed away.
“What does that make you?”
Ethan’s expression changed.
“His older brother.”
I stopped breathing.
Everything came rushing back.
The expensive watch Daniel never explained.
The stranger who once paid his hospital bill.
The nights he disappeared.
The mysterious men who had stood outside our apartment.
The way Daniel always insisted I never ask questions about his family.
My eyes burned.
“You’re his brother.”
“Yes.”
“And he’s dead.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Ethan looked toward the window.
“Someone killed him.”
I felt suddenly cold.
“Who?”
“That is what I’ve been trying to find out.”
“And my sister?”
“Your sister knew something.”
“Then tell me.”
Ethan turned toward me.
“She contacted me four days ago. She said Daniel had hidden evidence before he died.”
My heart raced.
“What evidence?”
“She didn’t know. She only knew it was connected to you and Sophie.”
“Why wouldn’t she tell me?”
“Because she was afraid.”
I shook my head.
“My sister hasn’t spoken to me properly in years. She barely knows Sophie.”
“She knows more than you think.”
A phone buzzed.
One of Ethan’s security men answered, then walked over.
“Boss, the warehouse was hit.”
Ethan’s entire body went still.
“What warehouse?”
“The one connected to Daniel.”
“Anyone inside?”
“Two guards. Both injured.”
His gaze shifted to me.
The room suddenly felt too small.
“Get Rachel somewhere secure.”
I stepped in front of him.
“I’m not leaving.”
“Rachel—”
“No.”
My voice shook, but I forced myself to continue.
“You said my sister knows something. I want to know what.”
Ethan stared at me.
Then he pulled a small key from his pocket.
“This was found in Daniel’s apartment.”
He placed it in my hand.
The metal was cold.
There was a tiny tag attached.
A number was written on it.
“What is it?”
“We don’t know.”
I looked at the key.
Then at Ethan.
“What if it’s for something that proves Daniel wasn’t who I thought he was?”
“Then we find out.”
“And if it proves something about Sophie?”
His gaze softened.
“Then we protect her.”
I hesitated.
The answer came too quickly.
Too naturally.
As if he had already made a promise.
Before I could question him, another security guard rushed into the room.
“Boss.”
Ethan turned.
“There’s a message.”
He handed him a phone.
Ethan read it.
His face became stone.
I knew immediately that it concerned me.
“What does it say?”
He didn’t answer.
“Ethan.”
He looked at me.
The screen displayed a photograph.
Sophie.
Taken while we were in the private terminal.
The timestamp was three minutes old.
Underneath it were six words.
YOU BROUGHT THE BABY TO HIM.
My stomach turned.
“How did they get that picture?”
Ethan’s voice dropped.
“They didn’t.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“They had someone inside my security team.”
He looked at his men.
Every one of them stiffened.
Then Ethan said quietly:
“Lock the building.”
The doors slammed shut.
May you like
And for the first time, I realized the danger wasn’t waiting outside.
It was already inside.
