Chapter 13 - Vanessa's SecretWe found Vanessa in an abandoned office building near the waterfront.
She was waiting for us.
Alone.
No gun.
No guards.
Just a folder on the table.
“You came.”
I raised the gun.
“Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you.”
“Because you still need me.”
Ethan moved beside me.
“What did you do with the ledger?”
“I never had it.”
“You were with my father.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make him believe I had it.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because your father wanted him to steal it.”
I froze.
“My father?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Everyone thinks this is a war between your father and Ethan's father.”
“It isn't.”
“No.”
She opened the folder.
“The real war is between your father and someone neither of you has met.”
“Who?”
She pushed a photograph toward me.
A man.
Older.
Powerful.
I recognized him.
The chairman of the largest investment firm in Washington.
My father's former employer.
“That's Martin Hale.”
“Yes.”
“What's his connection?”
“He owns Northstar.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“He owns the people who own Northstar.”
I looked at Ethan.
Vanessa continued.
“Your father spent years pretending to work for Martin.”
“Why?”
“To build a case against him.”
“What kind of case?”
“Murder.”
My mother stepped forward.
“My kidnapping.”
Vanessa nodded.
“Your mother's kidnapping.”
She turned another page.
“Your father's death.”
My breathing stopped.
“My father was alive.”
“He is now.”
“Then whose body did I bury?”
Vanessa looked at me.
“A stranger.”
I almost collapsed.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“For four years?”
“I was ordered to watch over you.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You've been protecting her?”
“Yes.”
“Then why sleep with me?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Because Martin was watching.”
She pointed to Ethan.
“He needed to believe Ethan was still loyal to the family.”
I felt sick.
“So our affair…”
“Was theater.”
Ethan looked away.
Vanessa's eyes softened.
“Except it became a mistake.”
“What kind of mistake?”
“He started caring about me.”
I looked at Ethan.
He didn't deny it.
I felt something twist inside me.
“Did you love her?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because she was the only person who knew what I had done.”
“And what did you do?”
Vanessa's face went pale.
“June 14.”
My mother's eyes hardened.
“What did you do?”
Vanessa looked at her.
“I was the driver.”
Silence.
“I drove your mother to the facility.”
My mother stepped forward.
“You.”
Vanessa cried.
“I thought she was being moved for protection.”
“You knew nothing?”
“I learned the truth later.”
My mother slapped her.
Vanessa accepted it.
Then she pulled a small memory card from her pocket.
“This is why I brought you here.”
She handed it to me.
“What is it?”
“Security footage from June 14.”
I inserted it into a laptop.
The video loaded.
A hallway.
Two young men.
Ethan.
And another man.
Ethan's father.
Then my father entered.
Then my mother.
The timestamp appeared.
02:14 A.M.
My mother whispered:
“That's the night.”
The footage continued.
My father handed Ethan a folder.
Ethan opened it.
His face changed.
Then my father pointed to a door.
Ethan walked through.
A few seconds later, a gunshot was heard.
I turned toward Ethan.
“What did you do?”
He closed his eyes.
“I thought your father was telling me to save her.”
“Then why was there a gunshot?”
He opened his eyes.
“Because someone else was in the room.”
The video zoomed.
The shadow of a man appeared.
His face slowly became visible.
I screamed.
It was my husband.
Another Ethan.
Older.
Impossible.
My mother whispered:
“No.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“That isn't me.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“It isn't.”
May you like
Then she pointed at the man.
“That is your twin.”
