Chapter 6 - The Safe Behind the WallWhat Ethan Hid Before He Died
Leo was safe.
The security team had him.
The gunshot had been intended as a warning.
But the message had been clear.
They could reach us.
Roman ordered everyone into a secure room.
Then he stood in front of the wall.
"You said your mother mentioned Ethan."
"She said she knew who killed him."
Roman nodded.
"Then there may be something in this house."
He examined the basement.
Behind an old shelving unit, he found a section of newer plaster.
He touched it.
"Help me move this."
Two men shifted the shelving.
Behind it was a steel door.
No handle.
Only a keypad.
Roman stared at it.
"I've never seen this."
I looked at the code panel.
Something about it seemed familiar.
A date.
I typed the date Leo was born.
Nothing.
Then Ethan's death date.
Nothing.
Roman tried his father's birthday.
Nothing.
I suddenly remembered the wooden box.
"The key."
Roman's eyes sharpened.
He inserted it into a tiny slot beneath the keypad.
The steel door clicked.
It opened.
Inside was a small room.
A desk.
A computer.
Stacks of files.
And a video camera.
On the desk was a handwritten envelope.
MEGAN.
My stomach twisted.
Roman stood behind me.
"Open it."
I did.
The first line made my hands shake.
Megan,
If you are reading this, I am already dead.
I stopped breathing.
The letter continued.
I know what they are planning.
They want my son.
Not because he is mine.
Because of what his existence proves.
Roman read over my shoulder.
"What does that mean?"
I kept reading.
Your mother knows more than she has told you.
David Kesler is not working for us.
He is working for them.
And the person giving him orders is someone you trust.
My eyes moved to the next line.
Do not let Roman raise the boy.
He will think he is protecting him.
He will actually lead them to him.
I looked at Roman.
He said nothing.
The final sentence was underlined.
The man who killed me is not outside the family.
He is inside it.
Roman went pale.
"Inside my family."
I nodded.
A video file appeared on the computer.
Timestamped one day before Ethan died.
Roman pressed play.
Ethan appeared on-screen.
He looked exhausted.
He stared directly into the camera.
"My name is Ethan Vale."
He paused.
"If Roman finds this, he'll blame himself."
Roman's face tightened.
"Ethan."
The recording continued.
"The truth is that our father knew about the child."
I turned toward Roman.
"Our father?"
Roman shook his head.
"My father died eight years ago."
On the screen, Ethan continued.
"He didn't die naturally."
Roman stopped breathing.
I looked at him.
"Your father was murdered?"
He nodded slowly.
The video flickered.
Then Ethan said:
"And the same person who killed him arranged my death."
Static filled the screen.
Before the recording ended, Ethan spoke one final sentence.
"Roman, don't trust your own mother."
The screen went black.
Silence filled the room.
Roman stepped backward.
"My mother."
"She lied to me for years."
He stared at the dead screen.
Then one of his men rushed into the room.
"Sir."
"What?"
"We found a second file."
Roman turned.
"What does it contain?"
The man hesitated.
"Financial records."
"Whose?"
"Laura restaurant."
My stomach dropped.
The man looked at me.
"And payments made to David Kesler."
Roman opened the file.
There were dozens of transfers.
All approved by a company I recognized.
Vale Holdings.
But one signature appeared repeatedly at the bottom.
Roman's mother's signature.
Roman stared at it.
Then the basement door slammed shut.
The lights went out.
May you like
And in the darkness, a voice whispered:
"Now you finally understand."
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