Chapter 5 - The hospital went into lockdown.Doors were sealed.
Elevators stopped.
Security guards searched every floor.
But the man in the photograph was gone.
Nobody had seen him enter.
Nobody had seen him leave.
And that frightened Rowan more than anything.
Ava refused to sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her father's face.
Not the father she remembered.
A younger man.
Angry.
Secretive.
Always disappearing into his office.
Always locking doors.
Always telling Ava there were things she was too young to understand.
She had spent years thinking he was simply controlling.
Now she wondered whether he had been afraid.
At 4:00 a.m., Ethan entered her room.
“You should rest.”
“So should you.”
“I can't.”
“Neither can I.”
He sat beside the bed.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Ava asked:
“Did your father ever mention Claire?”
Ethan looked toward the window.
“Yes.”
Her heart stopped.
“When?”
“Before he died.”
“What did he say?”
Ethan hesitated.
“He asked me whether I trusted your family.”
Ava frowned.
“My family?”
“Yes.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I loved you.”
“And?”
“He said love wasn't the same as trust.”
Ava looked down.
“What else?”
“He told me never to let your mother touch your father's trust.”
“My father had a trust?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Ethan looked at her.
“Around $480 million.”
Ava stared.
“What?”
“You didn't know?”
“No.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“I didn't either. I learned six months ago.”
Ava's expression hardened.
“You learned six months ago.”
“Yes.”
“The same time you signed the medical authorization.”
Ethan didn't answer.
She slowly understood.
“You weren't protecting me.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You wanted access to the trust.”
“No.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Margaret threatened me.”
Ava's anger faded.
“What did she threaten?”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“She said if I didn't cooperate, she'd reveal what happened the night your car crashed.”
Ava froze.
“What happened?”
“I don't know.”
“You know something.”
“I was there.”
Silence.
Ava's heart hammered.
“You were there?”
“Not at the crash.”
“Then where?”
“Following you.”
“Why?”
“My mother told me you were meeting another man.”
Ava stared.
“You thought I was cheating?”
“I didn't believe her.”
“But you followed me.”
“Yes.”
“What did you see?”
Ethan looked sick.
“I saw someone tampering with your car.”
Ava's entire body went cold.
“You watched?”
“I was too late.”
“What did you do?”
“I called the police.”
“Did you warn me?”
“I tried.”
“But?”
“My phone died.”
Ava stared at him.
“You watched my car leave.”
“I ran after you.”
“And?”
“The crash happened less than a mile away.”
Ava covered her mouth.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“And you said nothing.”
“My mother said she'd kill you if I did.”
Ava looked at him for a long time.
Then:
“Where is she?”
“We don't know.”
A knock interrupted them.
Rowan entered.
“We found Margaret.”
Ava's eyes sharpened.
“Where?”
“Your father's old property.”
The location made Ava's stomach twist.
“Take me there.”
“No.”
“Take me.”
“You're not physically ready.”
“I've spent months trapped in this wheelchair while everyone lied to me.”
She looked at him.
“I am going.”
Hours later, Ava entered the abandoned property.
It stood at the edge of the city.
Windows broken.
Walls covered in vines.
A place that felt less abandoned than forgotten.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, they found Margaret.
She was sitting at a table.
No restraints.
No panic.
She looked almost peaceful.
Ava stared at her.
“You tried to kill me.”
Margaret lifted her head.
“No.”
“Then tell me what the pills were.”
Margaret smiled.
“They were meant to keep you alive.”
Ava frowned.
“What?”
Margaret looked at Ethan.
“He doesn't know what you are.”
Rowan stepped forward.
“What is she?”
Margaret's smile disappeared.
“Did you ever wonder why Ava survived the crash?”
Ava whispered:
“I was lucky.”
“No.”
Margaret leaned forward.
“You were selected.”
“For what?”
Margaret's eyes moved toward the ceiling.
“Your father was part of a program.”
“What program?”
“People who didn't know they were being watched.”
Ava felt dizzy.
“What does that mean?”
Margaret whispered:
“Your father wasn't protecting your fortune.”
She looked directly at Ava.
“He was protecting you from the people who created you.”
Silence.
Then a door slammed upstairs.
Everyone looked up.
Rowan drew his weapon.
Ethan moved Ava backward.
Footsteps crossed the ceiling.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Then someone shouted from upstairs:
“Margaret!”
Margaret went rigid.
She whispered:
“No…”
A man appeared at the staircase.
Daniel Hale.
Alive.
And beside him stood a woman.
May you like
Ava's dead sister.
Claire.
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