Chapter 3 - The Friend Who Helped Bury the Truth
Lauren did not sleep that night.
Neither did Marcus.
The network moved Lauren and Ethan to a private hotel under another name. NYPD placed officers on the floor, while Daniel added two men he trusted personally to the elevator bank.
Lauren disliked every part of it.
She disliked needing protection.
She disliked Marcus being the one who understood this kind of danger better than anyone.
Most of all, she disliked the fact that Ethan kept glancing toward the door whenever footsteps passed in the hallway.
At midnight, Marcus stood near the window with his jacket off and his sleeves rolled to his forearms, speaking quietly into his phone.
Ethan sat on the couch with a blanket around his shoulders.
Lauren made tea neither of them drank.
At 12:43 a.m., Marcus ended another call.
"Raymond is gone," he said.
Lauren looked up. "Gone where?"
"His house is empty. His office too. Two cars are missing."
"Cassandra?"
"Her apartment is empty."
Lauren gave a humorless laugh.
"Convenient."
Marcus looked at her. "Very."
Ethan spoke from the couch.
"If they ran, doesn't that mean they're guilty?"
"It means they're afraid," Marcus said.
"What's the difference?"
Marcus considered the question.
"Afraid people run for a lot of reasons. Guilty people usually run with a plan."
"Do they have a plan?"
Marcus's expression darkened.
"I think Raymond always has a plan."
Lauren set the mug down too hard.
"Then stop talking like this is one of your business meetings. My son is being threatened."
"Our son."
The correction came quietly.
Lauren's eyes flashed.
Marcus did not take it back.
Ethan looked between them and pulled the blanket tighter.
Lauren saw it and immediately regretted the argument.
"Ethan, sweetheart, go wash up."
"I'm not five."
"I know."
"And you're going to talk about me when I leave."
Lauren sighed. "Probably."
He stood.
"At least you're honest."
When the bathroom door closed, Marcus spoke first.
"I am not trying to take him from you."
Lauren stared at him.
"You don't get points for saying that."
"I'm not asking for points."
"Then what are you asking for?"
He looked toward the closed bathroom door.
"A chance not to fail him the way I failed you."
Lauren's anger flared so fast it surprised her.
"You don't get to turn this into redemption. Not yet."
"I know."
"Do you? Because you flew here, surrounded us with security, and started saying our son as if biology automatically gives you ten years of history."
Marcus absorbed every word.
"You're right."
That stopped her.
The old Marcus would have argued.
The old Marcus would have listed facts, threats, reasons, responsibilities.
This one looked exhausted.
"I am his father," he said. "But you are the parent who was there. I understand the difference."
Lauren's eyes burned.
"You should."
"I do."
A phone vibrated on the table.
Not Marcus's.
Lauren's.
She glanced at the screen.
MEGAN.
For a second, she could not process the name.
Then ten years of memory crashed into her at once.
Megan sitting on Lauren's kitchen counter drinking cheap wine before the secret wedding.
Megan helping Lauren choose a dress no one would photograph.
Megan hugging her after the divorce announcement.
Megan commenting under Cassandra's post.
Finally. I've been waiting forever for this.
Lauren let the phone ring.
Marcus saw the name.
His face hardened.
"Answer it."
"Don't tell me what to do."
"Lauren-"
"I said don't."
The call stopped.
A message appeared.
PLEASE. I HAVE SOMETHING YOU NEED TO HEAR. I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU TEN YEARS AGO.
Lauren stared at it.
Marcus stepped closer but did not touch the phone.
"Could be a trap."
"Everything is a trap in your world."
"Tonight, assume it is."
Another message arrived.
CASSANDRA KNEW ABOUT ETHAN. RAYMOND MADE ME HELP HER. I HAVE PROOF.
Lauren's stomach turned.
She called.
Megan answered immediately.
She was crying.
"Lauren."
"Where are you?"
"New Jersey."
"Why are you calling me now?"
"Because I saw the interview. Because I saw Ethan. Because I can't do this anymore."
Lauren's voice turned sharp.
"You managed for ten years."
Megan sobbed harder.
"I know."
"You knew Cassandra had people watching me?"
Silence.
Marcus stepped closer.
Lauren put the call on speaker.
"Answer me."
"Yes."
The word hollowed out the room.
Lauren gripped the back of a chair.
"Did you know I was pregnant?"
Megan whispered, "Yes."
Lauren closed her eyes.
A strange sound escaped her throat.
Not a sob.
Not a laugh.
Something broken between the two.
"How long?"
"I found out after you left. Cassandra showed me a surveillance photo outside the clinic."
"And you said nothing."
"Raymond threatened me."
"For ten years?"
"Lauren-"
"For ten years, Megan?"
"No. Not for ten years."
That answer was worse.
Lauren opened her eyes.
"Then say it."
Megan's breathing shook through the speaker.
"At first I was scared. Later I was ashamed. Then every year that passed made it harder to admit what I had done."
Marcus's jaw tightened.
Lauren felt suddenly calm.
"What exactly did you do?"
Megan was silent too long.
"I gave Cassandra your forwarding address."
Marcus swore under his breath.
Lauren did not move.
"You what?"
"You mailed me a birthday card three weeks after you disappeared. The return address was a post office box. I told Cassandra. Raymond's people followed the mail pickup and found you."
Lauren remembered that card.
She had spent forty minutes choosing it.
Megan loved ridiculous cards with glitter.
Lauren had written only two lines inside.
I'm safe. I need distance. Please don't tell anyone where I am.
Megan had promised.
Lauren's knees weakened.
Marcus pulled a chair toward her without touching her.
She sat because she had to.
"Why?" Lauren asked.
Megan started crying again.
"Because Cassandra told me Marcus was dangerous and unstable after the divorce. She said he was searching for you. She said Raymond needed to know where you were so he could keep Marcus away."
Lauren looked at Marcus.
His face was unreadable.
"Was I searching for her?" he asked.
Megan went silent.
Marcus repeated the question.
"Was I searching for Lauren?"
"Yes."
Lauren's head snapped toward him.
Marcus looked at her.
"For months," Megan said. "Cassandra told me you had men everywhere. She said Lauren needed to stay hidden."
Lauren stared at Marcus.
"You looked for me?"
"Every day for almost a year."
"Why didn't you ever say that?"
His eyes hardened with pain.
"To whom? You were gone."
"You could have found me."
"Apparently my own people found you first and made sure I didn't."
Megan interrupted.
"There's more."
Lauren almost did not want to hear it.
"Of course there is."
"Cassandra told Raymond that if Marcus learned about the baby, he would go after you. Raymond said that could not happen."
Marcus's voice went dangerously quiet.
"Why?"
Megan swallowed audibly.
"Because of the succession agreement."
Marcus froze.
Lauren frowned. "What succession agreement?"
He did not answer immediately.
Then he walked to the window.
"When my father died, the Hale organization was divided between legitimate companies and criminal interests controlled through old family agreements. Raymond managed several of those interests. Under the succession documents, if I had a biological child, control of certain trusts would eventually pass through my line instead of Raymond's."
Lauren stared at him.
"You're telling me my unborn child was a financial problem for your uncle?"
Marcus turned.
"Not just financial. Ethan would have ended Raymond's leverage over the family permanently."
Megan said, "That's what Cassandra told me."
Lauren's voice was cold. "Why would Cassandra help him?"
Megan gave a shaky breath.
"Because Raymond promised her something too."
Marcus looked at the phone.
"What?"
"You."
Silence.
"Cassandra thought if Lauren disappeared and stayed gone, eventually you'd marry her publicly. Raymond told her a public wife could control the Hale Foundation, the social assets, the political relationships. She wanted the life Lauren had in private."
Lauren laughed once.
"She wanted a secret marriage to become her public prize."
Megan whispered, "Yes."
Marcus's expression was filled with disgust, but Lauren did not let him hide inside it.
"Don't look shocked," she said. "You gave her reason to believe she could have you."
Marcus met her eyes.
"I know."
"You slept with her."
"Yes."
"You defended her to me."
"Yes."
"You asked me for a divorce and protected her feelings when I found out the truth."
His face tightened.
"Yes."
Lauren looked away.
She needed him to own it.
She hated that hearing him do so hurt almost as much as the original betrayal.
Megan spoke softly.
"Lauren, I have recordings."
Marcus turned back to the phone.
"What recordings?"
"Voicemails. Messages. One conversation I recorded after Ethan was born because I was scared. Raymond and Cassandra were arguing. Cassandra wanted to tell Marcus. Raymond told her if she did, she would lose everything."
Lauren's hand curled into a fist.
"Where are they?"
"On a flash drive."
Marcus said, "Do not bring it here."
"I was going to meet Lauren."
"No."
Lauren glared at him.
Marcus ignored it.
"Megan, if Raymond knows you kept evidence, you are a target. Send Daniel the location and stay where you are."
"I don't trust your people."
"Neither do I," Marcus said. "That's why Daniel will come himself."
Megan hesitated.
"Lauren?"
Lauren's throat tightened.
Megan had been the sister she chose.
Now her voice sounded like a stranger's.
"Send the location," Lauren said.
"Will you ever forgive me?"
Lauren closed her eyes.
"Tonight isn't about forgiveness. Tonight is about keeping Ethan alive."
The call ended.
For several minutes, no one spoke.
Then the bathroom door opened.
Ethan stood there.
Lauren's heart dropped.
"How long were you listening?"
"Long enough."
"Ethan-"
"People knew I was going to be born and decided Dad shouldn't know because of money?"
Marcus crossed the room slowly.
"Ethan, none of this is your fault."
"I know."
The boy's voice cracked for the first time.
"But if you had known, would you have come?"
Marcus stopped.
"Yes."
"Even after what you did to Mom?"
Marcus looked at Lauren, then back at Ethan.
"Yes."
"Would you have taken me from her?"
Lauren's breath caught.
Marcus answered immediately.
"No."
Ethan studied him.
"How do I know?"
Marcus's face changed.
"You don't."
He lowered himself into a chair so he was not towering over the boy.
"You don't know me. You should not trust me because I tell you to. You should watch what I do."
Ethan blinked hard.
"Mom says trust is what people do when their actions and words keep matching."
Marcus looked at Lauren.
"Your mother is right."
Ethan walked to the couch and sat beside her.
Lauren put an arm around him.
Her phone buzzed again.
This time it was Daniel.
Marcus answered.
"Tell me."
Daniel's voice was tight.
"Megan is not at the address she sent."
Lauren went cold.
"What do you mean?"
"The room is empty. Door was open. Phone is on the floor."
Marcus stood.
"Blood?"
"No. Signs of a struggle, maybe. One chair overturned."
Lauren's stomach twisted.
Daniel continued.
"But I found the flash drive. She taped it under the bathroom sink."
Marcus closed his eyes briefly.
"Get out of there."
"Already moving."
"Do not connect it to anything networked."
"Understood."
The call ended.
Ethan whispered, "Is Megan dead?"
Lauren pulled him closer.
"We don't know."
Marcus walked toward the door.
Lauren stood. "Where are you going?"
"To meet Daniel."
"No."
Marcus turned.
"Lauren-"
"If Raymond is trying to pull you away from us, leaving is exactly what he wants."
Marcus stared at her.
Ten years ago she would have followed his instructions because he knew the dangerous world and she did not.
Now she had built twelve businesses, raised a child, negotiated bank loans, survived betrayal, and created a life from almost nothing.
She was not waiting behind a locked door while men decided the future.
"Daniel brings the drive here," Lauren said. "We hear it together."
Marcus's first instinct was written all over his face.
Protect her.
Exclude her.
Control the information.
Then he stopped himself.
"All right."
Lauren almost looked behind her to see if someone else had spoken.
Marcus pulled out his phone.
"Daniel, bring it here."
Two hours later, they listened to the recording.
Cassandra's voice came first.
"The baby was born today. A boy."
Lauren squeezed Ethan's hand.
Raymond answered.
"Then this becomes permanent. Marcus cannot know."
Cassandra sounded panicked.
"He will find out eventually."
"Not if Lauren believes he chose you completely. Not if Marcus believes Lauren left because she hated him."
"He is still looking for her."
"He will stop."
"How?"
Raymond laughed softly.
"You will give him something else to lose."
The recording crackled.
Then Cassandra said, "And if he never marries me?"
Raymond's answer came clearly.
"Then we remind him what happens to women he loves."
The recording ended.
No one moved.
Lauren stared at Marcus.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus did not answer.
His face had gone white.
"Marcus."
He looked at her.
"Before you," he said, "there was someone else."
Lauren's chest tightened.
"Another woman?"
"My fiancee. Her name was Evelyn. She died in a car bombing when I was twenty-six."
Lauren stared at him.
He had told her Evelyn died in an accident.
Not this.
Never this.
Marcus continued.
"Raymond told me our enemies did it."
May you like
His voice turned hollow.
"Now I am not sure they did."
