Chapter 5 - ETHAN COMES HOME
Daniel walked into the foyer as Ethan entered through the front doors.
Six men followed him.
Adrian and Daniel’s guards immediately formed a barrier.
Ethan raised both hands.
“Can everyone calm down?”
Daniel looked at the armed contractors.
“You brought six men to my home.”
“Your security system locked me out.”
“So you brought guns?”
“They’re licensed.”
Daniel stared at his brother.
Ethan looked almost exactly as he always did.
Perfect suit.
Expensive watch.
Controlled smile.
The same younger brother Daniel had protected since childhood.
The same man who had stood beside him at Elena’s funeral.
The same man who had carried Lily from the cemetery when Daniel had been too broken to move.
Daniel wanted desperately for Margaret to be wrong.
“Send them outside.”
Ethan hesitated.
“Daniel.”
“Outside.”
Ethan finally waved the contractors back.
The doors closed behind them.
Daniel tossed the three airline tickets onto the entry table.
Ethan looked down.
His expression changed for less than a second.
Daniel saw it.
“What are those?”
“You tell me.”
“I’ve never seen them.”
“Your name is printed on one.”
“Anyone can buy a ticket.”
Daniel took out the burner phone.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Only for a moment.
But again, Daniel saw it.
“You recognize this?”
“No.”
Daniel opened the message.
Ethan read it.
His face remained controlled.
“Vanessa is setting me up.”
From the dining room, Vanessa laughed.
It was not a happy sound.
“You coward.”
Ethan turned sharply.
Vanessa appeared between two guards.
“You told me Daniel would never find the room.”
Ethan’s face hardened.
“Stop talking.”
Daniel watched both of them.
There it was.
Not proof.
But recognition.
A relationship hidden beneath years of lies.
Vanessa stepped closer.
“You promised me.”
Ethan hissed.
“Shut up.”
Daniel moved between them.
“What did he promise?”
Vanessa stared at Ethan.
Then she looked at Daniel.
“That when Lily was gone, the trust would transfer.”
Daniel felt the world narrow around him.
“What trust?”
Ethan laughed once.
“She’s lying.”
Vanessa ignored him.
“Elena changed her estate plan two weeks before she died.”
“Lily inherited controlling shares in Reed Biotech.”
“Those shares are worth more than everything you personally own.”
Daniel knew Lily had inherited assets from Elena.
He did not know about controlling shares.
Elena’s estate had been settled while Daniel was still barely functioning after her death.
Ethan and the family lawyers had handled most of it.
Vanessa continued.
“If Lily died before turning eighteen, the shares went to you.”
Ethan relaxed slightly.
Vanessa looked at him.
“But if you were legally incapacitated or dead, they went to Ethan.”
Daniel turned toward his brother.
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
Vanessa smiled bitterly.
“That was the plan.”
“First Elena.”
“Then Lily.”
“And eventually you.”
Ethan lunged toward her.
Adrian intercepted him.
Daniel grabbed his brother by the collar.
“Did you kill my wife?”
Ethan looked straight into his eyes.
“No.”
Daniel shoved him back.
“Did you plan to take my daughter?”
“No.”
“Did you pay the repair shop before Elena’s crash?”
Ethan’s face changed.
Daniel knew.
Ethan whispered.
“You found those records.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What is File 17?”
For the first time since entering the house, Ethan looked frightened.
Then a voice came from the staircase.
“Daniel.”
Everyone turned.
Detective Samuel Grant stood above them.
The former detective held an old brown evidence envelope.
He looked at Ethan.
Then at Daniel.
May you like
“I know what File 17 is.”
“And I know why someone buried it four years ago.”
