Chapter 5 - Brooke's Confession
Ethan had spent three years believing the worst day of his life had been the day his car struck the concrete divider.
He now wondered whether the accident had only been the beginning.
"Where is my mother?" he demanded.
Chad slipped his phone into his pocket.
"I don't know."
"You just showed me a video of her."
"Someone sent it to me."
"Who?"
Chad's jaw tightened.
"I don't know."
Ethan almost lunged from his wheelchair, but the sudden movement pulled sharply at his injured leg. Pain flashed through him, and he gripped the armrest until it passed.
Chad watched without sympathy.
"You see? This is why you should stop. You can't fight the people behind this."
"Then help me identify them."
"I can't."
"Or you won't?"
Chad looked toward the hallway.
"You have no idea how many people will lose everything if those records become public."
"You're concerned about their money?"
"I'm concerned about what happens when powerful people panic."
Before Ethan could answer, a second vehicle pulled into the driveway.
Brooke entered the archive room several minutes later, rain dripping from her coat.
She looked at Chad with unmistakable anger.
"You said you were going to stop him, not threaten him."
Chad turned.
"Go home, Brooke."
"No."
Ethan stared at her.
"Why are you here?"
She looked away.
"Because I lied to you."
The admission was so quiet that he almost missed it.
Brooke took a shaky breath.
"The night of your accident, I was with Michael."
Ethan felt his chest tighten.
"Why?"
"Michael called me. He said he needed someone he could trust, and I thought he meant you."
"Where was he?"
"At the old company offices. He had documents proving that several directors had been diverting money from the family's charitable foundation."
Daniel looked sharply at her.
"Which directors?"
"I don't know their names. I saw two signatures, but I didn't understand everything Michael showed me."
Ethan's voice was flat.
"And you never told me."
"You were in intensive care. The police said the accident was caused by your own negligence. Chad told me that if I spoke to anyone, I'd be implicated in the financial investigation."
"So you left."
Brooke flinched.
"I was scared."
"You told me you couldn't spend your life caring for a man in a wheelchair."
She closed her eyes.
"I know."
"You told my friends I had become bitter and unstable."
"I know."
"You let people laugh at me tonight."
Tears ran down her face.
"I know."
Ethan looked away.
Brooke reached into her bag and produced a small black notebook.
"Michael gave me this before he disappeared. I kept it because I was afraid to destroy it."
"Why bring it now?"
"Because Chad told me something tonight that made me realize he was never protecting me."
She placed the notebook on the cabinet.
"He said if Ethan finds Margaret, everyone involved in the old agreement will be finished."
Daniel opened the notebook.
Most of its pages contained dates, initials, and handwritten figures. One name appeared repeatedly.
Richard Vance.
Ethan's father.
"He died six years ago," Ethan said. "Heart attack."
Brooke shook her head.
"Michael believed he had been poisoned."
The room fell silent.
Daniel turned another page.
A line of text had been written in red ink.
IF RICHARD DIES, THE SUCCESSION CLAUSE ACTIVATES.
Beneath it was a list of names.
The first was Ethan Vance.
The second was Brooke Whitmore.
The third was Daniel Price.
Daniel stepped back.
"That can't be right."
Ethan looked at him.
"Why is your name there?"
Daniel's face had gone pale.
"I was your father's outside counsel. I reviewed the succession documents."
"Did you know about this clause?"
"I knew there was a contingency provision. I didn't know it included Brooke."
Brooke whispered, "Neither did I."
Chad suddenly snatched the notebook from the cabinet.
Daniel caught his wrist.
"Put it down."
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Then Chad released the notebook.
"You don't understand what you're holding," he said.
Ethan looked directly at him.
"Then explain it."
Chad's expression shifted.
"Your father created a succession arrangement designed to prevent anyone from taking control of the company if the family was compromised. But it wasn't just about money."
"What was it about?"
Chad leaned closer.
"Your father believed one of his sons would eventually betray the family."
Ethan's throat tightened.
"Which son?"
Chad looked toward the portrait of Michael.
"That's the question your brother spent the last months of his life trying to answer."
A phone rang in the corridor.
It was Daniel's.
He answered, listened, and slowly lowered it.
"The board has just voted to suspend your executive authority pending a review of the acquisition dispute."
Ethan stared at him.
"Who called the meeting?"
May you like
Daniel swallowed.
"Your mother."
