Chapter 8: The Sister Hidden for Twenty-Six Years
Ethan stared at the photograph.
The woman in it had his eyes.
The same dark eyes.
The same sharp jawline.
Even the faint crease that appeared between the eyebrows when she was angry.
He knew that face.
Not because he had seen it before.
Because it looked like his own.
“Emily Bennett,” he whispered.
Vanessa slowly stood.
Her face was drained of color.
“You know her?”
“No.”
“But you recognize her.”
Ethan turned toward her.
“She looks like me.”
Vanessa said nothing.
Ethan's voice hardened.
“Who is she?”
Vanessa looked down.
“Your sister.”
The words struck him harder than any gunshot.
“You knew?”
“I knew about her.”
“How long?”
“Since before I met you.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You've known I had a sister for twenty years?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“I didn't know where she was.”
“That's not what I asked.”
“Yes.”
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
Ethan turned away.
His breathing became uneven.
For twenty-five years, he had believed he was an only child.
Now, in one night, he had discovered that his father was alive, his marriage had been built on a lie, his mother hadn't died the way he remembered, and he had a sister hidden somewhere in the world.
And his daughter had just been taken.
Ethan looked at the empty space where Sophie had been.
“Where did Thomas take her?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You'd better start knowing.”
A sound came from the darkness.
Victor stepped out.
Blood still stained his shirt.
“You're wasting time.”
Ethan turned.
“Where were you?”
“Trying to shut down the security system.”
“Thomas took Sophie.”
“I know.”
“Then help me find him.”
Victor looked at the photograph in Ethan's hand.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“Thomas.”
Victor stared at Emily's face.
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
Victor looked at Vanessa.
“You never told him?”
“No.”
Victor's voice became quiet.
“Emily died.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“What?”
“Michael told us she was dead.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“He lied.”
Victor stared at her.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your mother.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Stop talking around me.”
Victor sighed.
“Emily was born six months before you.”
Ethan stared at him.
“My sister is older?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was I never told?”
“Because Michael wanted you separated.”
“Why?”
Victor looked at Vanessa.
“Because Emily knew the truth.”
“What truth?”
Victor hesitated.
“She saw what happened the night your mother disappeared.”
Ethan's heart hammered.
“What did she see?”
Victor looked toward the security cameras.
“She saw Michael shoot someone.”
“Who?”
Victor's eyes met Ethan's.
“Your mother.”
Silence.
Ethan felt his stomach turn.
“My mother survived.”
“Yes.”
“Then who did he shoot?”
Victor shook his head.
“We don't know.”
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
“Where is Emily now?”
Victor answered,
“That's what Thomas is using against you.”
Ethan's phone vibrated.
A message.
BLACK MERIDIAN ARCHIVES. ROOM 17.
Then coordinates appeared.
Vanessa stared at the screen.
“That's an old warehouse.”
“Where?”
“Los Angeles.”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because it's a trap.”
“Everything tonight is a trap.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Room 17 was where Michael stored people.”
Ethan frowned.
“People?”
“Witnesses.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“How many?”
“Dozens.”
“Alive?”
Victor didn't answer.
That was enough.
Ethan grabbed his keys.
“We're going.”
Vanessa blocked him.
“No.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Move.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“Thomas wants you there.”
“Good.”
“He wants you angry.”
“I am angry.”
“He wants you to kill someone.”
Ethan stopped.
“Who?”
Vanessa whispered,
“Michael.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because Thomas wants control of Black Meridian.”
Victor nodded slowly.
“She may be right.”
Ethan looked between them.
“So Thomas took Sophie to force me into killing my father.”
“Yes.”
“And Emily?”
“Leverage.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“Then we don't play his game.”
Victor smiled grimly.
“Finally, you're thinking like your mother.”
They drove to Los Angeles.
The warehouse sat beneath an old railway bridge.
No signs.
No security.
No lights.
It looked abandoned.
Ethan parked across the street.
Victor checked the building through binoculars.
“Three guards.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Only three?”
Victor shook his head.
“That's what you can see.”
Ethan opened the trunk.
Inside were flashlights, rope, medical supplies and an old shotgun.
Vanessa stared.
“You keep that in your car?”
“Not usually.”
“Then why tonight?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Because tonight stopped being normal hours ago.”
They entered through a side door.
The warehouse smelled of rust and dust.
Rows of old filing cabinets filled the room.
A sign hung above a corridor.
ARCHIVES.
Ethan walked forward.
Room numbers appeared on the doors.
Then...
The door was unlocked.
Inside was a single table.
A cassette player.
And a television.
The screen turned on by itself.
Sophie appeared.
She was sitting in a chair.
Her eyes were red from crying.
“Daddy.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Sophie!”
A man's voice came from the speaker.
“Don't touch the screen.”
Thomas.
Ethan froze.
Thomas appeared on the television.
“You came.”
“Where is my daughter?”
“Safe.”
“Let me see her.”
“You already are.”
“Face to face.”
Thomas smiled.
“Not yet.”
Ethan clenched his fists.
“You wanted me here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted you to see what your father built.”
Thomas gestured.
The screen changed.
Images appeared.
Black Meridian accounts.
Politicians.
Celebrities.
Billionaires.
Judges.
Police officials.
Ethan stared.
“This is impossible.”
“No.”
Thomas's voice was calm.
“This is power.”
The screen changed again.
A list appeared.
At the top:
MICHAEL BENNETT
Below it:
THOMAS HALE
Then:
VANESSA HALE
Ethan stopped.
“Hale?”
Vanessa's face changed.
Thomas laughed.
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Your surname is Hale?”
Vanessa said nothing.
Thomas continued.
“She wasn't just Victor's sister.”
Ethan stared at Vanessa.
“She was my daughter.”
Silence.
Victor's face went blank.
“What?”
Thomas smiled.
“Vanessa is my daughter.”
Ethan slowly backed away.
“No.”
Thomas continued.
“Victor is her brother.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
She was crying.
“You knew?”
Ethan's voice was barely audible.
“Yes.”
“You've been lying about your identity too.”
“Yes.”
“Your real name?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“Vanessa Hale.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
Every secret seemed to lead to another.
Thomas continued.
“And now you understand why she was chosen.”
“Chosen for what?”
“To marry you.”
Ethan's eyes opened.
Thomas smiled.
“Because Vanessa was the only person who could get close enough to you.”
Ethan turned toward her.
“Was any of it real?”
Vanessa cried silently.
Thomas answered for her.
“No.”
Vanessa suddenly screamed.
“That's a lie!”
Thomas laughed.
“You loved him?”
“Yes!”
“You betrayed me for him.”
“I did.”
“You protected Sophie.”
“Yes.”
“You ruined everything.”
Vanessa stared at the screen.
“Because I finally realized you were a monster.”
Thomas's expression hardened.
Then he pressed a button.
The television showed Sophie again.
A man stood behind her.
His face remained hidden.
Thomas spoke.
“Enough.”
The screen changed.
A new image appeared.
Emily.
She was sitting in a dark room.
Alive.
Terrified.
Thomas leaned toward the camera.
“Here is your choice.”
Ethan stared.
“Your daughter or your sister.”
Thomas smiled.
“You have ten minutes.”
The screen went black.
Ethan's voice cracked.
“I'll take both.”
Thomas laughed.
“Then you'll have to find them.”
A door behind Ethan opened.
Inside was a long corridor.
At the far end, two red lights blinked.
One marked:
SOPHIE
The other:
EMILY
Ethan started running.
Vanessa followed.
Victor shouted,
“Wait!”
But Ethan didn't stop.
He reached the first corridor.
A metal door slammed behind him.
He tried the handle.
Locked.
Then he heard a girl's voice.
“Ethan?”
He froze.
It was Emily.
“Emily?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Behind the wall.”
He looked around.
“Can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
Then another voice came through the speaker.
Sophie.
“Daddy!”
Ethan's heart broke.
He had two doors.
Two lives.
One choice.
A countdown appeared on the wall.
09:32
09:31
09:30
Emily screamed,
“Don't come for me!”
Sophie cried,
“Daddy, please!”
Ethan stood between the two doors.
Then Vanessa shouted from behind him.
“Ethan!”
He turned.
She was holding something.
The metal key.
The one Michael had shown him.
“This isn't a key,” she said.
“What is it?”
Her eyes widened.
“It's a switch.”
She inserted it into a hidden slot in the wall.
A click echoed.
The entire warehouse shook.
The two doors opened simultaneously.
Ethan stared.
Behind the first door was Sophie.
Behind the second...
Emily.
But neither was alone.
A man stood behind each of them.
One was Thomas.
The other was Michael.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
Michael looked at him.
“Now.”
He pointed at Thomas.
“Choose who dies.”
Thomas pointed at Michael.
“Choose correctly.”
Ethan stared at both men.
Then he noticed something.
Emily wasn't looking at Michael.
She was staring at Vanessa.
Her lips moved.
One word.
“Mom.”
Vanessa froze.
Ethan's eyes widened.
Emily wasn't just his sister.
She was Vanessa's daughter.
And suddenly the entire twenty-six-year-old conspiracy made sense.
Except for one thing.
If Emily was Vanessa's daughter...
then Ethan wasn't her brother by blood.
And Thomas wasn't Ethan's biological father.
Someone else was.
Someone who had been missing from every photograph.
Someone who had been erased from every record.
Then Michael slowly smiled.
“Now you finally know why we hid you.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Why?”
Michael answered:
“Because your real father is the only man who can destroy all of us.”
May you like
The lights went out.
And in the darkness, a gunshot echoed through the warehouse.
