Chapter 5 - THE GODFATHER
Victor descended the stairs slowly.
He was seventy years old, broad-shouldered, and still carried himself like the federal prosecutor he had once been.
Ethan had called him Uncle Victor since childhood.
Victor had spoken at Richard’s funeral.
He had comforted Ethan after Claire disappeared.
He had introduced Ethan at the charity gala.
Now he aimed a gun at them.
“Step away from the files.”
Ethan moved in front of Claire.
“You helped my mother.”
Victor smiled faintly.
“Your mother helped herself.”
“I protected the institution.”
“You kept my father imprisoned.”
“I kept Whitmore Holdings alive.”
Claire reached toward the phone inside her pocket.
Victor noticed.
“Do not.”
She let her hand fall.
Ethan’s voice hardened.
“Where is my father?”
“Alive when I last saw him.”
“When?”
“Yesterday morning.”
“Where did you take him?”
Victor looked toward the projector.
“Richard always believed documents could protect people.”
“He never understood that documents only matter when someone powerful chooses to read them.”
“You burned the clinic.”
“I removed a liability.”
Claire stepped from behind Ethan.
“Was Olivia a liability too?”
Victor’s eyes moved toward her.
“Olivia became sentimental.”
“She discovered her mother’s role.”
“She threatened to expose us.”
“So you killed her?”
“No.”
“Eleanor arranged another solution.”
“Where is she?”
Victor said nothing.
A siren sounded outside the estate.
Police had discovered the hidden room through Ethan’s security team.
Victor glanced toward the ceiling.
The distraction lasted one second.
Claire threw the metal film canister.
It struck Victor’s wrist.
The gun fired into the floor.
Ethan tackled him.
They crashed against the filing cabinets.
Victor struck Ethan across the face.
Claire kicked the gun toward the stairwell.
A detective appeared above them.
“Do not move.”
Victor released Ethan and raised his hands.
His expression remained calm.
“You have no idea what you are interrupting.”
The detective handcuffed him.
Before leaving, Victor looked at Ethan.
“Ask Claire why your father trusted her with the key.”
Ethan froze.
Victor smiled.
“Ask what she promised him.”
After police removed Victor, Ethan turned toward Claire.
“What did he mean?”
Claire looked at Richard’s frozen image on the projector screen.
“Your father made me promise that if he could not clear his name, I would destroy Whitmore Holdings.”
Ethan stared at her.
“My entire company?”
“The company financed Saint Aurelia.”
“It paid the people who hid him.”
“It used children’s charities to move money.”
“You came back to destroy everything.”
“I came back to give you a choice.”
“What choice?”
“To expose it yourself.”
He stepped away.
“You should have told me.”
“You did not believe me ten years ago.”
“I believe you now.”
“Because the evidence is standing around us.”
The words cut deeper than she intended.
A detective opened the box labeled BOARD MEMBERS.
Inside was a list of twelve names.
Eight still served on Ethan’s board.
May you like
Beside each name was a payment amount.
The final name belonged to Ethan himself.
