Chapter 5 - THE FAMILY CHOOSES SIDES
By noon, the family group chat had exploded.
Ethan had been removed from it.
So had Natalie.
Owen had not.
That was how they saw the messages.
Owen quietly forwarded screenshots.
Aunt Martha was furious.
Rachel wanted everyone to cooperate with police.
Two older relatives insisted the incident had been an accident.
Harold posted only once.
NO ONE DISCUSSES PRIVATE FAMILY MATTERS OUTSIDE THIS FAMILY.
Ten minutes later, Diane replied.
HAROLD, STOP.
Then Harold removed her from the group.
Ethan stared at the screenshot.
His mother had never publicly challenged his father before.
Natalie watched him.
“You should call her.”
“The detectives told me not to confront her.”
“Calling your mother isn’t necessarily confronting her.”
“With messages from her phone?”
Natalie did not answer.
Another screenshot arrived.
This one came from Logan.
ETHAN HIT ME FIRST.
Owen had responded before anyone could stop him.
AFTER YOU PUSHED NATALIE DOWN THE STAIRS.
Logan replied.
DELETE THAT.
Owen wrote back.
NO.
Ethan almost smiled.
Then another message appeared.
Harold.
OWEN, YOUR PARENTS WILL DEAL WITH YOU.
Natalie’s expression changed.
“He’s threatening him.”
“Not directly.”
“He knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Ethan called Owen.
The teenager answered immediately.
“Uncle Ethan?”
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Are your parents there?”
“My mom is.”
“What about your dad?”
“Work.”
“Has Grandpa contacted you privately?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants me to meet him.”
“Do not go.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Good.”
“He says I stole Logan’s phone.”
“You handed evidence to police.”
“I know.”
Owen sounded less certain than his words.
Ethan softened.
“You did the right thing.”
“Everyone’s mad.”
“Not everyone.”
“Grandpa says I destroyed the family.”
Ethan looked at Natalie.
“No.”
His voice became firm.
“The people who did this destroyed the family.”
Owen went quiet.
“There’s something else.”
Ethan sat straighter.
“What?”
“Last night before dinner, I heard Grandpa and Logan arguing in the garage.”
“About Natalie?”
“I don’t know.”
“What did you hear?”
“Logan said, ‘You promised Ethan takes the blame.’”
Ethan’s chest tightened.
“What did Grandpa say?”
“He said, ‘He will if everyone keeps their mouth shut.’”
Natalie’s eyes widened.
Ethan put the phone on speaker.
“Anything else?”
Owen hesitated.
“Grandpa said something about a board vote.”
Ethan looked at Natalie.
“What board vote?”
Mercer Development’s annual board meeting was in six weeks.
Ethan owned twenty-eight percent of the company.
Harold owned thirty-four percent.
Diane owned twelve.
Logan owned ten.
The remaining shares belonged to two minority investors.
Without Ethan, Harold could effectively control almost every major vote.
“What exactly did he say?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Try.”
Owen breathed nervously.
“He said, ‘Once Ethan is out, the vote is mine.’”
Ethan stared at the wall.
Natalie whispered.
“There it is.”
Ethan closed the call after telling Owen to stay close to his mother.
He immediately contacted the company’s outside counsel.
No answer.
He tried the board secretary.
No answer.
Then his company email stopped working.
Ethan stared at his laptop.
LOGIN DISABLED.
He tried again.
Nothing.
His phone rang.
Marcus Vale.
Ethan answered.
“Marcus.”
“Ethan.”
The CFO sounded exhausted.
“I assume you’ve seen that your access was suspended.”
“Yes.”
“Your father ordered it.”
“On what grounds?”
“Internal investigation.”
Ethan laughed.
“Into me?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Marcus was silent.
“Say it.”
“Misappropriation of company funds.”
Natalie closed her eyes.
The trap was moving faster than either of them had expected.
“How much?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Twelve million dollars.”
Exactly the amount Natalie had found.
Ethan’s voice became quiet.
“You know I didn’t take that money.”
“I know what the records show.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Another silence.
“Marcus.”
“I have to be careful.”
“You’ve known me since I was seventeen.”
“I know.”
“You watched me build half the operations division.”
“I know.”
“You know my signature.”
“Yes.”
“Then you know the authorization is fake.”
Marcus did not respond.
Ethan stood.
“Who told you to suspend me?”
“Your father.”
“Who ordered the investigation?”
“Your father.”
“Who controls the records?”
Marcus exhaled.
“Ethan.”
“Who?”
“I do.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
Natalie leaned closer.
“Ask him about North Coast.”
Ethan did.
Marcus stopped breathing for a moment.
“How do you know that name?”
“Natalie found it.”
“Ethan.”
“What?”
“You need to stop talking on this phone.”
The tone changed everything.
“Why?”
“Because company devices are monitored.”
“This is my personal phone.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“Marcus.”
A pause.
Then Marcus whispered.
“Do not come to the office.”
The call disconnected.
Ethan stared at the screen.
Natalie looked at him.
“He’s scared.”
“Yes.”
“Of Harold?”
“I don’t know.”
Detective Ruiz returned twenty minutes later.
Ethan told him about the call.
Ruiz wrote down every detail.
“We’ll contact Mr. Vale.”
“He might not talk.”
“He might if we give him the right reasons.”
Natalie stared at the fetal monitor.
“Something is moving quickly.”
Ethan understood.
“My access.”
“Yes.”
“The fake transfer to you.”
“Yes.”
“The anonymous photograph.”
“Yes.”
“They’re cleaning up.”
Ruiz nodded.
“That is possible.”
Ethan’s phone rang again.
This time it was his mother.
Detective Bennett was in the room.
She nodded once.
“Answer.”
Ethan put it on speaker.
“Mom?”
Diane’s breathing sounded unsteady.
“Ethan, I need to see you.”
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Dad there?”
“No.”
“Logan?”
“No.”
“Mom, the police say messages about Natalie were sent from your phone.”
Diane began crying.
“I know.”
Ethan’s face hardened.
“You know?”
“I didn’t send them.”
“Then who did?”
“Your father.”
Natalie stared at the phone.
Diane continued.
“He uses my phone sometimes because certain messages can’t be traced back to his company line.”
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“I was afraid.”
“Of Dad?”
“Yes.”
The word barely came out.
Ethan sat slowly.
“What did you ask Natalie to investigate?”
“Money.”
“How much did you know?”
“Not enough.”
“Did you know Dad was using my name?”
“No.”
“Did you know Logan was involved?”
“I suspected it.”
“Mom.”
Diane started crying harder.
“I should have told you.”
“Yes.”
“I know.”
“Did Dad tell Logan to push Natalie?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I never heard that.”
“Did he tell Logan to scare her?”
Diane was silent.
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Mom.”
“Yes.”
Natalie looked away.
Ethan’s voice became quieter.
“You heard him?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
“What did he say?”
“He told Logan Natalie had to stop.”
“What did Logan say?”
“He asked how far he was allowed to go.”
Ethan gripped the phone.
“And Dad?”
Diane’s answer came as a whisper.
“He said, ‘Far enough that she remembers who this family belongs to.’”
Natalie’s eyes filled.
Ethan struggled to control his breathing.
“Why didn’t you warn us?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“I called Natalie.”
Natalie picked up her phone.
There was no missed call from Diane.
“I never got it.”
Diane sounded confused.
“I called at four sixteen.”
Natalie shook her head.
“No.”
“Check your blocked numbers.”
Natalie frowned.
She opened the settings.
Then stopped.
Diane Mercer’s number was in the blocked list.
Natalie stared.
“I didn’t block you.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who had your phone?”
Natalie thought.
Then her face changed.
“Logan.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why?”
“He said his battery died.”
Ethan felt rage rising again.
“He took your phone?”
“For maybe two minutes.”
Diane spoke through the speaker.
“Ethan, listen to me.”
“What?”
“There’s something in the house.”
“What?”
“A safe.”
“You and Dad have three.”
“Not those.”
Diane lowered her voice.
“There is another one behind the wine cabinet in his study.”
Ethan stared at the phone.
“What is inside it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why does it matter?”
“Because last night, after Natalie fell, Harold came home from your house.”
Ethan’s pulse quickened.
“And?”
“He opened that safe.”
“What did he take?”
Diane began breathing faster.
“A passport.”
Natalie looked at Ethan.
“Whose passport?”
Diane answered.
“Logan’s.”
Ethan stood.
“Where is Logan now?”
“I don’t know.”
A new notification appeared on Ethan’s phone.
It was from the family location-sharing application they had used for years.
LOGAN MERCER HAS STOPPED SHARING LOCATION.
May you like
And suddenly Ethan understood why his brother had not called again.
Logan was planning to run.
