Chapter 9 - The Woman Who Knew Everything“Maria!”
Ethan dropped beside her.
There was blood on her shoulder.
Not fatal.
A bullet had grazed her.
Daniel looked downstairs.
“They missed her.”
“Who?”
Daniel pointed toward the open door.
“They're gone.”
Ethan helped Maria sit up.
“Where's Ellie?”
Maria's eyes widened.
“My daughter…”
Ethan turned.
Ellie was gone.
“No.”
He searched the hallway.
“ELLIE!”
Silence.
Panic ripped through him.
He had spent millions protecting his estate.
Cameras.
Guards.
Locked gates.
And a three-year-old girl had disappeared from inside the house.
Claire appeared at the top of the stairs.
“She’s not here.”
Ethan grabbed her arm.
“Where is she?”
“I don't know!”
Daniel found something on the floor.
A pink sneaker.
Ellie’s.
Next to it was a piece of paper.
Ethan picked it up.
One sentence.
BRING THE BLUE CUP TO THE GREENHOUSE.
Claire whispered,
“Hale.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“This isn't Hale.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because Hale wouldn't need a child.”
Daniel looked at the paper.
“He needs you.”
The greenhouse.
The old key.
Grace’s hidden files.
Everything pointed there.
They moved quickly.
At the greenhouse door, Ethan stopped.
The lock was already open.
Inside, the glass walls reflected the moonlight.
Plants swayed in the cold air.
“Ellie!” Ethan shouted.
Nothing.
Then a tiny voice answered.
“Mr. Ethan?”
He turned.
Ellie stood beside the old fountain.
She wasn't crying.
She was holding a photograph.
“I found this.”
Ethan took it.
His mother.
Grace.
Daniel.
All standing together.
And someone else.
Victor Hale.
On the back was a date.
Three months before Grace’s death.
Ethan stared.
“My mother knew Hale.”
Daniel nodded.
“She did.”
Then Ellie pointed toward the floor.
“There's a door.”
Ethan looked down.
Under the fountain was a hidden hatch.
Claire stepped backward.
“I didn't know about that.”
Ethan opened it.
A ladder descended into darkness.
At the bottom was another underground room.
This one was different.
There were no files.
No medical equipment.
Only a bed.
A chair.
And a large glass wall.
Behind the glass was another room.
Ethan stepped closer.
Someone was sitting inside.
An older woman.
Dark hair streaked with silver.
She slowly lifted her head.
Ethan stopped.
His breath disappeared.
“Mom?”
The woman stood.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Ethan.”
He couldn't move.
His mother was alive.
She pressed one hand to the glass.
“You shouldn't have come here.”
Ethan approached.
“Why?”
She looked at the blue cup.
Then at Ellie.
Then at Claire.
Finally she whispered:
“Because now they know you remember.”
A metallic sound echoed behind them.
The basement door locked.
Lights turned red.
A speaker crackled.
Victor Hale's voice filled the room.
“Thank you, Ethan.”
The glass door between Ethan and his mother began to close.
Hale continued.
“Now that your mother is awake, we can finally finish what your father started.”
Ethan looked at Claire.
She was crying.
“Finish what?”
Hale laughed.
“Create the first permanent subject.”
Ethan stared at the red lights.
Then he realized the truth.
May you like
The target was never his money.
It had always been him.
