Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO NEVER DIED
Ethan couldn't sleep.
At 3:17 a.m., he returned to the library.
Richard was still awake.
He was holding another photograph.
“Dad.”
Richard looked up.
“Did you know Margaret was alive?”
“I suspected.”
“For twenty-two years?”
“Yes.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Why didn't you tell Sophia?”
“Because I couldn't find her.”
“Who?”
“Margaret.”
Ethan sat down.
Richard opened a folder.
Inside were newspaper clippings.
A missing woman.
A failed investigation.
A supposed death.
A photograph from a surveillance camera.
And one name:
MARGARET VALE.
Ethan looked at his father.
“She changed her name.”
“Several times.”
“Why?”
“To hide from your grandfather.”
“Why would Grandpa want her dead?”
Richard shook his head.
“He didn't.”
Ethan frowned.
“Then what happened?”
Richard pointed to a document.
“Your grandfather wasn't the mastermind.”
Ethan read the name.
Charles Whitmore.
His grandfather.
But beneath it was another name.
Victor Hale.
“Who is Victor Hale?”
Richard's face became grim.
“The man who controlled your grandfather.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
“Your grandfather was terrified of him.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor knew where the money came from.”
Richard leaned back.
“The Whitmore fortune began with a pharmaceutical company.”
“I know.”
“You were told it was successful.”
“Yes.”
“It wasn't.”
Richard opened another file.
“The company was involved in illegal clinical trials.”
Ethan went pale.
“And Margaret found out.”
“Yes.”
“She was going to expose them.”
Richard nodded.
“So Grandpa made her disappear?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Richard looked at him.
“Victor Hale.”
Ethan stood.
“Where is he now?”
Richard's silence answered him.
“Dad.”
“He died fourteen years ago.”
Ethan exhaled.
“Then it's over.”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed toward the door.
“Because Victor had a daughter.”
Ethan froze.
“Who?”
Richard's eyes met his.
“Sophia.”
The room went silent.
Ethan whispered:
“My wife?”
Richard nodded.
“And she has spent years believing your family destroyed hers.”
Ethan stared at the floor.
Suddenly Sophia's accusation made sense.
But another question remained.
“If Sophia knew all this…”
Richard looked at him.
“Why did she need to frame you?”
Richard's answer was chilling.
“Because she wanted you to hate me.”
May you like
“Why?”
“To make you sign over control of the Whitmore estate.”
