Chapter 11 - The Warehouse Trap
The message arrived at 9:17 p.m.
By 9:19, Detective Mitchell had ordered the entire rescue operation reassessed.
And by 9:22, I understood that Gregory Davis had been watching us from the beginning.
"He's using the warehouse to lure Ethan," I whispered.
Mitchell nodded.
"That's what the evidence suggests."
Ethan stood near the conference table.
His face was expressionless.
But his hands were shaking.
"Daniel warned Norah," he said. "That means he's still trying to protect us."
I looked at him.
"Then listen to him."
Ethan turned.
"What?"
"Your brother warned you. Don't ignore him again."
The words struck harder than I'd intended.
For a moment, Ethan looked wounded.
Then he nodded.
"You're right."
Detective Mitchell received another call.
She listened carefully.
Then approached the table.
"The tactical team located evidence of surveillance equipment at the warehouse. We're treating the location as a possible decoy."
My heart pounded.
"Then where is Daniel?"
"We're reviewing the latest communications and tracing the call."
I stared at the phone in my hands.
Daniel's voice still echoed in my ears.
Baby, I'm so sorry.
I'd imagined hearing those words a thousand times.
Sometimes I imagined screaming at him.
Sometimes I imagined collapsing into his arms.
But now, all I wanted was to know he was safe.
An hour passed.
Then another.
Ethan remained beside me.
He ordered food, but neither of us could eat much.
When my hands began trembling, he silently pushed a glass of water toward me.
I looked up.
"Thank you."
He nodded.
Then spoke quietly.
"Norah, I need to tell you something."
My stomach tightened.
"What?"
"Daniel called me the night he disappeared."
I went still.
"You never said that."
"I didn't answer."
The room seemed to grow colder.
"Why?"
"We'd argued that morning. He accused Gregory of stealing from the company. I told him to stop making accusations without proof."
Ethan looked down.
"When he called again that evening, I let it ring."
Tears filled his eyes.
"I thought he wanted another argument."
My throat tightened.
"What happened afterward?"
"He left a voicemail."
"Did you listen to it?"
"Not until the next morning."
I stared.
Ethan's voice cracked.
"By then, his car had already been found."
For the first time, I understood the guilt he'd been carrying.
Not merely because he'd trusted Gregory.
Because his brother had reached out to him.
And he hadn't answered.
I placed my hand over his.
"You couldn't have known."
Ethan shook his head.
"But I could have listened."
Before I could respond, Detective Mitchell returned.
"We traced Daniel's call."
I jumped to my feet.
"Where?"
"An older commercial building near the South Branch of the Chicago River."
Ethan stared at her.
Then his face changed.
"What building?"
She gave him the address.
He slowly sat down.
"No."
I turned.
"Ethan?"
He looked at the detective.
"That property belonged to our father."
My heart hammered.
"What?"
Ethan swallowed.
"Daniel and I used to play there when we were children."
Detective Mitchell frowned.
"Why would Gregory take him there?"
Ethan stared at the table.
Then whispered, "Because he knows something about our father."
I felt cold.
"What about him?"
Ethan raised his eyes.
"Our father didn't leave us only money."
A terrible silence followed.
"He left a sealed archive of everything our family did before I took control."
I stared.
"And where is it?"
Ethan looked toward the address.
"Under that building."
May you like
Then he whispered the secret Gregory had been willing to kill for.
"Daniel discovered evidence that our father wasn't the man we believed he was."
