Chapter 4 - The police dismissed the photograph as intimidation.Ethan did not.
He hired his own investigators.
Within forty-eight hours, they discovered the truth.
Sarah Carter had not been visiting a hospital.
She had been investigating Daniel Carter's disappearance for years.
And three months earlier, she'd discovered a bank account.
An account that had been opened under Daniel's name eleven years after he supposedly died.
The account had one deposit.
Twenty million dollars.
The transfer came from a company called Northbridge Holdings.
Ethan knew the name.
Northbridge was controlled by his father.
Or had been.
Until his father died.
Ethan sat in silence while his investigator explained.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The account was accessed six weeks ago.”
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
Ethan leaned back.
“Then find out.”
The investigator hesitated.
“There's a problem.”
“What?”
“The account's beneficiary is Lily Carter.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Lily?”
“Yes.”
“Why would Daniel leave twenty million dollars to his daughter?”
“We believe the money was meant to expose something.”
“What?”
“We don't know yet.”
Ethan returned home that night.
Lily was asleep on the couch.
He covered her with a blanket.
Then noticed something sticking out from her backpack.
A small red notebook.
He opened it.
Inside were children's drawings.
Stars.
Houses.
Trees.
But halfway through the notebook, the drawings changed.
A tall man.
A black car.
A door.
A woman crying.
And on the final page, Lily had drawn a large red X across a picture of a house.
Beneath it were three words.
Daddy was here.
Ethan sat down.
“Lily?”
She woke.
“Mr. Ethan?”
“Can I ask you something?”
She rubbed her eyes.
“What?”
“Why did you draw this?”
She stared at the page.
Then quietly said:
“Because Dad came to see me.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
“Your father?”
She nodded.
“He came last summer.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He said not to tell Mom.”
“Where did you see him?”
“The little church.”
Ethan knew the church.
It was less than two miles away.
“Why didn't you tell anyone?”
“He told me Mom would be scared.”
“Did he say his name?”
“He said he was Daniel.”
Ethan's mind raced.
Daniel Carter was alive.
Or had been.
He asked the only question that mattered.
“Where is he now?”
Lily shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Did he give you anything?”
She thought.
Then reached into her backpack.
From a hidden pocket, she pulled out a tiny brass key.
Ethan stared at it.
“Where did you get that?”
“Daddy gave it to me.”
“What's it for?”
“He said you would know.”
Ethan took the key.
There was something engraved into the metal.
A number.
He looked at Lily.
Then at the key.
His heart began pounding.
Because he knew exactly what it opened.
A safety deposit box.
Inside Mercer's old private bank.
A bank Ethan's father had shut down eleven years ago.
Ethan stood.
He picked up his coat.
“Where are we going?”
Lily asked.
“Somewhere we should have gone a long time ago.”
“Is it dangerous?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“Are you scared?”
Ethan thought about it.
Then shook his head.
“No.”
It was a lie.
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For the first time in his life, Ethan wasn't afraid for himself.
He was afraid that he was already too late.
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