Chapter 3 - The Bodyguard Who Forgot the Woman He Was Protecting
Maya returned to St. Catherine's under police escort.
Ethan Cross looked different after he told her his name.
Not physically.
Something had shifted in the way he held himself.
The sarcasm remained.
The gray eyes remained.
But uncertainty had been replaced by focus.
“You're a bodyguard?” Maya asked.
“I was.”
“For my father?”
“Yes.”
“Why don't I remember you?”
“You weren't supposed to.”
That answer made Maya angrier.
“You don't get to say something like that and expect me not to ask questions.”
Ethan almost smiled.
“Fair.”
Detective Ortiz sat beside the window.
“Start from the beginning.”
Ethan nodded.
“Your father discovered fraud inside Bennett Holdings. Millions were being diverted through shell companies.”
“Who was responsible?”
“Victor.”
Maya stared at him.
“My uncle?”
“He was working with two executives and an outside investor named Richard Vale.”
Ortiz wrote the name down.
“Why didn't your father go to the police?”
“He tried.”
“And?”
“Someone inside the department was leaking information.”
Ortiz's jaw tightened.
“That's a serious accusation.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I watched two investigators disappear from the case.”
Maya interrupted.
“What happened to my father?”
Ethan looked at her.
“He didn't die in a construction accident.”
Maya felt the room tilt.
“My father's death certificate says—”
“It's fake.”
“No.”
Ethan's voice softened.
“I was there.”
She shook her head.
“You weren't.”
“I escorted Daniel Bennett out of a warehouse three days before the supposed accident.”
Maya stared at him.
“You expect me to believe my father was alive after the date they said he died?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't he come home?”
“He couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because someone threatened you.”
Maya stopped breathing.
Ethan continued.
“Your father believed the only way to keep you and your mother alive was to disappear.”
“Then why didn't he contact us?”
“He tried.”
“When?”
“Several times.”
Maya shook her head.
“There were no calls.”
“There was one letter.”
“What letter?”
“Your father gave it to me.”
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“What do you mean you don't know?”
Ethan frowned.
“After the crash, I remembered the letter existed. I don't remember where I put it.”
Ortiz leaned forward.
“Could it be in the car?”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Maybe.”
The police recovered the wreckage from Route 18.
The vehicle was badly damaged, but investigators found fragments of a leather briefcase.
Inside was a blue folder.
Maya recognized it immediately.
Her father's handwriting was on the first page.
M.B.
Her initials.
She opened it.
Bank records.
Corporate transfers.
Photographs.
Names.
Dates.
And one sentence written in red ink.
If anything happens to me, trust the man wearing the watch.
Maya looked at Ethan.
His wrist was bare.
The watch was in evidence.
She picked it up.
On the back, beneath the engraving, was another line she had never seen before.
E.C.
Maya's voice trembled.
“Ethan Cross.”
“Yes.”
“My father gave you this.”
“Yes.”
“Why does it have my initials?”
“Because he wanted you to know who to trust.”
Maya turned the watch over.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Then she noticed something unusual.
The back plate moved slightly.
She used a fingernail to lift it.
A tiny memory card was hidden beneath it.
Ortiz immediately called the evidence technician.
Two hours later, the card yielded a single video.
Daniel Bennett appeared on screen.
Older than the photograph Maya remembered.
Tired.
But alive.
Maya's legs nearly gave out.
“Dad?”
Her voice cracked.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, something has gone wrong.”
Maya covered her mouth.
“I know you're going to ask why I disappeared.”
The video continued.
“I did it because Victor found out about the accounts. He wanted the money and the company. More importantly, he wanted control over my daughter.”
Maya started crying.
“Ethan will protect her.”
The video skipped.
“Never trust anyone who says my death was an accident.”
Then the final sentence appeared.
“And Maya, there is something your mother never told you.”
The video stopped.
Maya turned toward Lorraine.
Her mother had arrived at the hospital escorted by police.
She looked exhausted.
“Mom.”
Lorraine sat down.
“I knew this day would come.”
“What did Dad tell you?”
Lorraine's eyes filled.
“He said he had to disappear.”
“And you let me believe he was dead?”
“I thought it would keep you alive.”
“You let me mourn him.”
“I know.”
“You watched me cry.”
“I know.”
“You let Toby grow up without a father.”
“I know.”
Maya's voice broke.
“Why?”
Lorraine looked at Ethan.
“Because Victor wasn't the only person involved.”
Ethan went still.
“Who else?”
Lorraine whispered:
May you like
“I was.”
The room fell silent.
