Chapter 3 - The Boy Who Wasn't LostMarcus found footprints near the roses.
Small ones.
And several larger ones.
Someone had followed Sam.
Robert's mind raced.
"Could the larger prints belong to whoever left the boy?"
Marcus nodded.
"Maybe."
"Check the cameras."
"We did."
"Nothing?"
"Someone disabled the garden cameras."
Robert stared.
"From inside."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
That meant someone in the estate had helped.
Robert looked at the staff.
Maria.
Carver.
The chef.
Security.
Anyone.
Sam watched from the staircase.
He looked scared.
Robert walked toward him.
"You did nothing wrong."
Sam nodded.
"Can I ask you something?"
Sam hesitated.
"How did you find my house?"
"I don't know."
"Who brought you?"
"No one."
"Sam."
The boy looked at Maria.
She shook her head.
Then he whispered:
"My dad did."
Robert froze.
"Your dad?"
"He told me where to go."
"When?"
"Before he died."
Robert crouched.
"What did he tell you?"
Sam reached into his backpack.
He pulled out a folded map.
A red circle marked Ellington Manor.
Robert stared.
"Why?"
"He said to find Robert Ellington."
Robert's throat tightened.
"Why me?"
"Because Dad said you were the only person who would help."
Silence.
Maria started crying.
Elizabeth covered her mouth.
Robert looked at the map.
Daniel had trusted him.
Even after Robert had failed him.
That hurt.
That night, Robert hired a private investigator.
His name was James Cole.
Within twenty-four hours, James uncovered another layer.
Daniel had been building evidence against Walter Vane.
But there was a second person.
Someone higher.
Robert's own younger brother.
Thomas Ellington.
Robert stared at the report.
"Thomas?"
James nodded.
"Transactions connect him to Northstar Holdings."
"Impossible."
"I thought so too."
Robert called Thomas.
He answered immediately.
"What happened?"
"I need to see you."
"Now?"
"Now."
Thomas arrived forty minutes later.
He looked nervous.
Robert placed the file in front of him.
"What is this?"
Thomas read it.
His face hardened.
"Where did you get this?"
"Answer me."
Thomas looked away.
"I didn't do this."
"Your name is everywhere."
"I'm being framed."
"By whom?"
"I don't know."
Robert stared.
"Daniel accused you."
Thomas's eyes widened.
"He shouldn't have."
"Why?"
Thomas stood.
"Because he didn't know the whole story."
Robert leaned forward.
"Then tell me."
Thomas sighed.
"Daniel wasn't investigating us."
"Who?"
"The board."
Robert frowned.
"What board?"
"The people behind the company."
Robert's blood ran cold.
Thomas continued.
"Years ago, Dad created a hidden trust."
"What trust?"
"One worth nearly six hundred million."
Robert stared.
"Why?"
"To protect the company from hostile takeover."
"And?"
"Someone gained access."
"Who?"
Thomas looked directly at him.
"Walter."
Robert's mind raced.
"If Walter controls the trust..."
"He controls everything."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I tried."
Robert remembered.
Thomas had warned him two years earlier.
Robert had dismissed it as jealousy.
His younger brother had been right.
Then Thomas said something else.
"Daniel discovered a transfer."
"To whom?"
Thomas lowered his voice.
"Your wife."
Robert went silent.
"Elizabeth?"
"Yes."
"But Elizabeth didn't know."
"Maybe not."
Robert's eyes narrowed.
"Maybe?"
Thomas looked away.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Daniel said Elizabeth was being watched."
Robert's chest tightened.
"By whom?"
Thomas didn't answer.
A gunshot cracked outside.
The window shattered.
Thomas dropped.
Robert grabbed him.
"Are you hit?"
Thomas shook his head.
Marcus stormed into the room.
"Everyone down!"
Another shot.
Then silence.
Outside, tires screamed.
Robert's security team pursued.
But the car escaped.
A bullet had struck the photograph on Robert's desk.
Daniel's picture.
Robert stared at the hole.
Then he looked toward Sam.
The boy was standing in the hallway.
He had seen everything.
Robert walked toward him.
"Sam."
The boy ran into his arms.
Robert held him.
And for the first time, he understood.
May you like
This was no longer charity.
This was war.
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