Chapter 8 - “No.”Ethan stumbled backward.
“That footage is fake.”
Ava watched the screen.
Ethan was sitting beside her in the car.
Hours before the crash.
They were arguing.
Young Ava looked terrified.
Ethan said something.
The audio was distorted.
Then the video suddenly cleared.
“Where did you put it?”
Ava heard his voice.
Her own voice answered:
“Your mother will never find it.”
Ethan looked at Rowan.
“I don't remember this.”
Ava turned.
“You were there.”
“I wasn't.”
“The video says you were.”
“I swear I don't remember.”
Claire whispered:
“Neither does he.”
Ava stared.
“What?”
“They erased it.”
“Who?”
“The same people who erased yours.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“This is why they selected Ethan.”
Ava looked at him.
“To protect me?”
“No.”
“To monitor me.”
“Yes.”
The room went silent.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“What did I know?”
Daniel answered:
“You knew too much.”
The footage continued.
Ava in the car reached beneath the dashboard.
She pulled out a small metal box.
She handed it to Ethan.
“Hide this.”
“What is it?” Ethan asked.
Ava whispered:
“The thing my grandfather told me never to let them find.”
Then headlights appeared.
A black SUV.
The crash happened seconds later.
The footage cut to static.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“I had the box.”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“Where is it?”
Nobody knew.
Rowan searched the control room.
“Maybe the original recording has metadata.”
He connected the system.
A hidden location appeared.
SAFEHOUSE 19.
Ava recognized it.
“That's where my father took me when I was a child.”
Daniel shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
“You keep saying that.”
Ava turned toward him.
“I am tired of hearing what is impossible.”
They traveled to the safehouse before dawn.
It was buried beneath an old farmhouse.
Inside they found the box.
Ava opened it.
There was a flash drive.
A key.
And a handwritten letter.
The handwriting belonged to her father.
Ava unfolded it.
Ava,
If you're reading this, then the program failed to erase you.
Her hands trembled.
I lied to you because the truth would get you killed.
She kept reading.
Your mother did not cause the accident.
Ava stopped.
Everyone stared.
Then:
Neither did Margaret.
Ethan whispered:
“Then who?”
Ava continued.
The order came from inside the trust itself.
The letter named seven people.
Six were dead.
One was alive.
Ava read the name.
Her face went blank.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Who?”
Ava didn't answer.
Claire took the paper.
She read it.
Then dropped it.
“No.”
Daniel looked.
His expression collapsed.
Rowan picked it up.
Then stared at Ava.
The seventh name was:
ETHAN HALE.
Ethan shook his head.
“No.”
Ava looked at him.
“You were involved.”
“I don't remember.”
“You signed the authorization.”
“I told you why.”
“You were paid two million dollars.”
“I told you.”
“And my father named you.”
“I didn't know.”
Rowan interrupted.
“Wait.”
He examined the document.
“There is a code.”
“What code?”
“It's not a name.”
He turned the paper over.
Seven symbols.
Each corresponded to an individual.
“The name listed doesn't mean the person who ordered the crash.”
“Then what does it mean?”
“It means the person who was supposed to inherit the network.”
Ava's eyes widened.
Ethan looked at her.
“No.”
Rowan pointed to the last symbol.
“The seventh heir.”
Ava stared.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
Claire whispered:
“That's why they tried to kill you.”
Ava looked at the flash drive.
“We need to see what's on this.”
They connected it.
A single audio file appeared.
A man's voice spoke.
Ava recognized it immediately.
Daniel.
But he sounded younger.
“Phase three begins once Ava marries Ethan.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
“After the crash, Ethan will assume the trust.”
Ava looked at him.
The voice continued.
“Margaret will control the medical process.”
Ava's heart stopped.
Then the final sentence played.
“Once Ava remembers, terminate the entire family.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel whispered:
“That wasn't me.”
Ava looked up.
“What?”
“I never recorded that.”
Rowan checked the file.
Created date.
Three months ago.
Everyone went silent.
May you like
Because three months ago…
Daniel was supposed to be dead.
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