Chapter 4 - The Man Ethan Trusted with His Life
Ethan didn't reach for his gun.
That frightened me more than if he had.
He stared at Malik's name on the screen, his expression unreadable.
“Explain.”
Malik stood perfectly still.
“I entered the east wing three nights ago.”
“Why?”
“Because someone sent me a message claiming the study contained evidence about your father's murder.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“And you didn't tell me?”
“I wanted to verify it before involving you.”
The bitter irony hung between them.
Ethan looked at me, and I knew he understood the resemblance between Malik's excuse and his own habits. Both men had convinced themselves that keeping secrets was another form of protection.
“What did you find?” Ethan asked.
“A locked drawer. Inside it, an old photograph, a flash drive, and a letter addressed to you.”
“Where are they?”
Malik's silence answered before his words did.
“Someone took them from my office last night.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“Who has access?”
“Six people. Including Victoria.”
I looked down at Lily, who was carefully brushing her rabbit's ears with her little fingers.
She had no idea that the adults around her were fighting over secrets that began before she was born.
Ethan turned toward Malik.
“From this moment forward, nobody enters the east wing without my authorization. Nobody contacts Victoria. And nobody discusses Rosa or Lily outside this room.”
Malik nodded.
Then he added, “There's one more thing.”
Ethan waited.
“The flash drive contained a partial recording of your father speaking to someone shortly before he died.”
“Who?”
Malik looked at me.
“Rosa's name was mentioned.”
My stomach dropped.
Ethan turned slowly.
“What?”
Malik swallowed.
“The recording is incomplete. But your father says, 'If anything happens to me, make sure the girl gets out safely. She doesn't know what she carries.'”
I felt the floor tilt beneath me.
I had never met Thomas Caldwell privately. I'd spoken to him only once, briefly, at the university fundraiser where Ethan and I had fallen in love.
What could I possibly have carried?
Malik continued.
“The person answering him says, 'The girl is already being watched.'”
Ethan's face became pale.
“Who was speaking?”
“We couldn't identify the voice.”
A crash sounded downstairs.
Malik rushed toward the corridor while Ethan stayed beside us.
Then the estate's alarm began blaring.
A guard's voice crackled through the speaker.
“Security breach at the south entrance. We have an unidentified vehicle leaving the property.”
Ethan immediately reached for Lily, but I pulled her close.
“Don't move her without telling me.”
He stopped.
Then nodded.
“Rosa, please take her to the secure family room with me. You can stay beside her the entire time.”
I agreed.
We reached the room just as Malik returned.
“The vehicle was registered to a company owned by Victoria's father.”
Ethan swore under his breath.
“Where is Victoria?”
“No answer at her apartment. Her driver says she left the city.”
Ethan stared at the locked door across the corridor.
Then Lily tugged on his sleeve.
“Daddy?”
The word slipped out before she could stop herself.
Ethan crouched, stunned.
Lily looked frightened.
“Are you mad at me?”
His face broke.
“No, sweetheart. Never.”
He kissed her forehead.
Then he stood and looked at me.
“Rosa, there's something I should have told you years ago.”
“What?”
“My father didn't die in a random robbery.”
May you like
He paused.
“The police suspected someone inside our family ordered his murder.”
