Chapter 4: The Man My Father Feared
My mother's words seemed to drain every bit of warmth from the room.
“He's the reason your father was afraid to die.””
I stared at her.
“Mom, who is Ethan?””
She pressed both hands against her mouth. For several seconds, the only sound was the faint hum of the air conditioner and the distant music coming from the hotel's ballroom.
Daniel closed the laptop.
“Evelyn, I think it's time she knew.””
Mom shook her head.
“Richard made me promise.””
“Dad is gone,” I whispered.
“And someone is threatening us using his grave. Whatever promise you made, it isn't protecting us anymore.””
She looked at me, and I saw something I'd never seen in her eyes before.
Fear.
Not the fear of losing a home or watching a daughter walk away from her wedding.
The fear of someone who had spent eleven years hoping the past would stay buried.
“Ethan Cole was your father's nephew,” she finally said.
I blinked.
“My cousin?””
“Your father's older brother had a son named Ethan. They were close when they were young, but the relationship changed when the company started making money.””
Daniel nodded.
“Ethan worked at Cole Medical Supply for several years. He had access to the financial records.””
Mom's fingers twisted together.
“Richard trusted him. He gave him opportunities that nobody else received. When the company began expanding, Ethan became responsible for several major accounts.””
“And he stole from the company?””
Mom flinched at the bluntness of the question.
“Your father believed he had discovered missing money. Ethan insisted the records were wrong. They argued terribly.””
“Where is he now?””
Neither of them answered.
I looked at Daniel.
“Where is he?””
Daniel adjusted his glasses.
“Officially, Ethan left the country shortly before your father's death. His last known address was in London. There was never enough evidence to charge him with anything.””
Mom's voice dropped.
“But Richard found something else. He discovered that Ethan had been meeting Arthur Vance in secret.””
The pieces began moving in my mind.
Arthur Vance. Marcus Vance. The property agreement. The photograph of Marcus and Vanessa in my mother's house.
And the name on the threatening note.
“Why would Ethan matter now?”” I asked.
Daniel tapped the photocopy of my father's agreement.
“Because the original financial ledger could prove where the missing money went. If it shows that Arthur and Ethan diverted company funds, it could expose a fraud that has remained hidden for more than a decade.””
“And someone wants that ledger.””
“Precisely.””
I looked at the paused image of my father on Daniel's laptop.
He had looked tired in the recording, but determined. I remembered how he used to kiss my forehead before leaving for work and promise he'd be home for dinner.
Then one evening, he never came home.
My mother had told me his heart simply gave out.
I had believed her.
Now I wondered whether the story was more complicated.
“Was Dad's death connected to the company?”” I asked.
Mom immediately shook her head.
“No. Don't think that.””
“Then tell me what happened.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Your father had been under enormous stress. He wasn't sleeping. He kept receiving calls late at night, and sometimes he'd go into the garage to answer them. Two days before he died, he told me he had made a terrible mistake trusting family.””
She paused.
“He said if anything happened to him, I had to keep you away from the business.””
I felt sick.
“And you never told me?””
“You were seventeen, Nia. You'd just lost your father. I couldn't put that burden on you.””
I reached across the table and took her hand.
“I understand why you wanted to protect me. But someone is using that silence against us now.””
Daniel opened his briefcase again.
“There's another problem. Marcus's connection to Arthur may not be limited to the family name.””
He pulled out a printed company record.
A corporation called Vance Meridian Holdings had recently submitted an inquiry concerning the development rights attached to my mother's property.
The filing listed Marcus as its managing director.
I stared at the paper.
“He told me he worked in commercial consulting.””
“He does,” Daniel replied.
“But this company was formed specifically to acquire properties connected to the old Cole Medical Supply trust.””
“Specifically?””
“Three properties have been identified so far. Your mother's house is the largest.””
I pushed my chair back.
“He planned to marry me, gain my family's trust, and take the house?””
“We can't prove his full intentions yet,” Daniel said carefully.
“But the pattern is concerning.””
My phone vibrated.
A message from Marcus.
*We need to talk. Don't let that lawyer manipulate you. Your father wasn't the man you think he was.*
I read it twice.
Then another message appeared.
*Ask Evelyn why she never told you about the money Richard took from his own company.*
I looked at my mother.
She had seen the screen.
Her expression crumpled.
“What money?”” I asked.
Mom closed her eyes.
“Your father didn't steal from his company.””
“Then what is Marcus talking about?””
She looked toward Daniel.
He seemed just as troubled.
“Richard authorized a transfer shortly before he died,” Daniel said.
“The records show that a substantial sum left the company's accounts and was never returned.””
“Where did it go?””
“We don't know. That's why the original ledger matters.””
Mom shook her head.
“He told me the money was safe.””
I leaned toward her.
“Where did he put it?””
She opened her mouth, then stopped.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“He gave me something the night before he died. He said it was the only thing that could save us if Arthur ever came looking.””
My pulse quickened.
“What did he give you?””
Mom reached into the lining of her purse and pulled out a small brass key attached to a faded blue ribbon.
“I kept it all these years,” she whispered.
“I never knew what it opened.””
Daniel took one look at the key and went completely still.
“Evelyn,” he said, “where have you kept this?””
“In my jewelry box.””
He shook his head slowly.
“That key belongs to a safe-deposit box at the bank where Richard kept the company's original records.””
I stood.
“Then we're going there.””
Daniel glanced at the time.
“The bank closes in forty minutes.””
Mom clutched the key.
For the first time that day, her expression held something other than fear.
Hope.
But as Daniel gathered the documents, my phone rang.
The caller ID showed a private number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke quietly.
“Nia Cole?””
“Who is this?””
“You need to listen carefully. If you're going to that bank, don't go through the front entrance.””
“Why?””
“Because Marcus is already there.””
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Then a photograph arrived from the same number.
Marcus stood outside a bank vault entrance.
Beside him was an older man with silver hair.
May you like
The caption contained only one sentence.
*The man beside your fiancé is Ethan Cole.*
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