Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO KNEW WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED
Marcus Vale disappeared the next morning.
His wife reported that he had left home before sunrise.
He took no luggage.
He left his wallet.
His personal phone sat on the kitchen counter.
His company phone was gone.
So was his car.
Detective Ruiz delivered the news personally.
Ethan stared at him.
“You think Dad got to him?”
“We don’t know.”
“Marcus warned me not to go to the office.”
“We know.”
“And now he vanishes.”
“We know.”
Natalie was discharged from the hospital shortly after noon.
The doctor ordered strict rest.
No unnecessary travel.
No heavy activity.
Immediate return if contractions resumed, bleeding occurred, or fetal movement changed.
Ethan listened as if he were being given instructions for handling explosives.
At home, two officers had already photographed the study.
Natalie’s laptop was gone.
Ethan stared at the empty desk.
“The police said it was here.”
“It was.”
Detective Bennett stood behind him.
“When patrol arrived, your father was inside the room and your laptop was on the desk.”
Natalie looked at her.
“So where is it?”
“We released the house after documenting the scene.”
“You left Harold here?”
“No.”
“Then who came afterward?”
Bennett’s expression tightened.
“We’re determining that.”
Ethan checked the exterior cameras.
The driveway footage between 8:20 and 9:05 that morning had been deleted.
He looked at Natalie.
“Someone had access.”
She nodded.
“Remote access.”
They changed every password immediately.
The house locks were replaced.
The spare key Diane had once held became useless.
Ethan even changed the garage code.
Natalie watched him.
“You’re turning the house into a bunker.”
“Yes.”
“We still have windows.”
“I’ll handle those next.”
She almost smiled.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Ethan immediately shook his head.
“Don’t answer.”
Natalie stared at the screen.
It rang again.
Then stopped.
A voicemail appeared.
Detective Bennett asked permission to play it.
Natalie nodded.
A man’s voice filled the study.
“Natalie.”
She looked at Ethan.
Marcus.
“I don’t have much time.”
Static crackled.
“If you found the Ethan account, then you found only the outside layer.”
Ethan moved closer.
Marcus continued.
“Harold started it.”
A pause.
“Logan helped.”
Another pause.
“But neither of them built it.”
Natalie stared at the phone.
Marcus sounded terrified.
“There is someone else.”
Ethan and Detective Bennett exchanged looks.
“Someone who has been inside Mercer Development longer than any of us realized.”
The voicemail crackled again.
“I kept records.”
Ruiz leaned closer.
“Where?”
Marcus answered the question almost as if he could hear him.
“Locker 418.”
A metallic noise sounded in the background.
Then Marcus spoke rapidly.
“Union Station.”
“Marcus.”
Natalie whispered even though the recording could not respond.
“Blue key inside the old payroll ledger.”
A car door slammed.
Marcus breathed sharply.
“I have to go.”
Then he said one final sentence.
“Do not trust the board.”
The message ended.
Nobody spoke.
Detective Bennett immediately contacted units near Union Station.
Ethan looked at Natalie.
“The board?”
She nodded.
“Meaning more than Harold.”
“How many people?”
“I don’t know.”
Mercer Development had five voting board members.
Harold.
Ethan.
Marcus.
Elaine Porter.
Robert Keene.
If Marcus was warning them not to trust the board, one or both outside directors could be involved.
Or he might mean the board as a whole.
At 2:20 p.m., detectives found locker 418.
Inside was a cardboard file box.
The box contained six years of printed invoices.
Bank records.
Copies of internal emails.
Photographs of checks.
And a handwritten ledger.
Marcus had documented everything.
Not perfectly.
Not completely.
But enough.
Ruiz returned to Ethan’s house that evening with a stunned expression.
“You were right.”
Natalie looked at him.
“About what?”
“North Coast.”
“It’s fake?”
“Shell company.”
“And the others?”
“Likely the same.”
Ethan asked the obvious question.
“Where did the money go?”
Ruiz looked at him.
“Multiple places.”
“How many?”
“At least eleven accounts.”
“In my name?”
“Three use entities connected to you.”
Ethan felt sick.
“Why?”
“To create a paper trail.”
Natalie’s voice became cold.
“A criminal paper trail.”
Ruiz nodded.
“Correct.”
Ethan sat.
“How long?”
“Six years.”
“And my father?”
“He approved several transfers.”
“Logan?”
“Approved vendor contracts.”
“Marcus?”
“Processed many transactions.”
Natalie frowned.
“If Marcus knew, why keep records?”
“Insurance.”
Ethan understood immediately.
Marcus had been protecting himself.
He had participated.
Then he had collected enough evidence to destroy everyone if they tried to sacrifice him.
“What about the other board members?”
Ruiz hesitated.
“Robert Keene’s signature appears on two unusual authorizations.”
“And Elaine?”
“Nothing yet.”
The doorbell rang.
Everyone froze.
Ethan checked the camera.
Owen stood outside with his mother.
Ethan let them in.
Owen looked exhausted.
His mother, Sarah, looked furious.
“Harold came to our house.”
Ethan stared.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“What did he want?”
“Owen’s phone.”
Owen shook his head.
“My phone wasn’t involved.”
Sarah continued.
“He said Owen had copied confidential family information.”
“What did you say?”
“I told him to leave.”
“Did he?”
“Eventually.”
Owen looked at Natalie.
“He knows I sent myself Logan’s video.”
Detective Bennett turned.
“You still have a copy?”
Owen nodded.
“In the cloud.”
“Did you alter it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why did you really pick up Logan’s phone?”
Owen hesitated.
“I already told you.”
“You said you found it recording.”
“I did.”
“That isn’t the whole reason.”
Owen stared at the floor.
Sarah looked at her son.
“Owen?”
He swallowed.
“Because I saw Logan put it there.”
Ethan’s expression sharpened.
“When?”
“Before dinner.”
“What was he doing?”
“He set it up against a vase.”
“Why?”
“I asked.”
“And?”
“He said he wanted to record Natalie making a scene.”
Natalie went still.
“Before I even came upstairs?”
“Yes.”
Ethan felt anger rushing through him.
“He knew there would be a scene.”
Owen nodded.
“He said Grandpa wanted proof you were unstable.”
Natalie stared.
“So the fall was supposed to make me look unstable?”
“I don’t know.”
Owen’s voice shook.
“I thought they were going to argue with you.”
Sarah put an arm around him.
“You couldn’t have known.”
Owen looked at Ethan.
“There’s another clip.”
Detective Bennett immediately focused.
“What clip?”
“On my phone.”
“You said you sent the staircase recording.”
“I did.”
“But?”
Owen unlocked his phone.
“I also recorded something myself.”
Harold’s voice came through the speaker.
The quality was poor.
The recording had clearly been made from inside a pocket.
But the words were understandable.
“You only need Ethan out until December.”
Logan answered.
“What happens in December?”
Harold said something too quiet to hear.
Then Logan laughed.
“Seriously?”
A pause.
“That kid gets all of it?”
Natalie’s hand immediately moved to her belly.
Ethan looked at her.
The room became silent.
Owen stopped the clip.
“What did he mean?”
Nobody answered.
Ethan felt dread settle over him.
May you like
His daughter had not even been born.
And somehow she was already part of whatever Harold and Logan had planned.
