Chapter 8
The email contained one attachment.
A bank statement.
Ethan’s name was on it.
Six months earlier, two hundred thousand dollars had entered an account belonging to my brother.
The sender was J. Mercer Holdings.
I stared at the screen until the numbers blurred.
My mother read over my shoulder.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“Mom.”
“No.”
“It’s right there.”
“That can be fake.”
“Yes.”
“You know Ethan.”
I almost laughed.
“Do I?”
Her expression hardened.
“He is your brother.”
“That didn’t answer me.”
Dad walked over.
“What happened?”
Mom took the phone.
He studied the statement.
His face changed.
“Call the police.”
“I already am.”
Detective Brennan arrived at my parents’ house forty minutes later.
I handed him the email.
He forwarded it to his team.
“Do not contact Ethan.”
“I know.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“No.”
My mother interrupted.
“He isn’t involved.”
Brennan gave her a respectful look.
“I hope you’re right.”
“You don’t know him.”
“Mrs. Carter—”
“He has problems with Daniel. That doesn’t make him a criminal.”
I looked at her.
“What problems?”
She stared at me.
“What?”
“You said he has problems with me.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Do I?”
Her jaw tightened.
Brennan watched us.
I suddenly felt twelve years old again.
Ethan breaking something.
Mom telling me not to make it worse.
Me winning an award.
Ethan disappearing upstairs.
Dad praising me.
Mom praising Ethan twice as loudly for something smaller.
A family balancing act none of us ever admitted existed.
“Why did Ethan quit the company?” Brennan asked.
I answered.
“We disagreed.”
“About?”
“Growth.”
Dad said, “That’s not why.”
I looked at him.
“Dad.”
“He asked.”
Brennan waited.
Dad continued.
“Ethan accused Daniel and Mark of pushing him out.”
“That’s not what happened.”
Dad looked at me.
“He believed it was.”
“I gave him equity.”
“You gave him five percent.”
“He joined four years after we started.”
“He designed half the internal systems.”
“And he was paid.”
Dad sighed.
Mom stepped in.
“This isn’t helping.”
But it was.
Because suddenly Brennan needed the ugly history I had spent years pretending didn’t matter.
Ethan had been brilliant with systems.
Better than anyone I hired later.
But he was unreliable.
Emotional.
He fought with Mark constantly.
He wanted decision-making authority equal to mine even though he hadn’t built the company from the start.
When I refused, he quit.
Then he sued us.
The lawsuit settled privately.
My parents begged us to repair things.
We tried.
We failed.
Brennan asked, “How much was the settlement?”
I hesitated.
“Three hundred thousand.”
“And he still had system access afterward?”
“That shouldn’t have happened.”
“But it did.”
“Yes.”
My mother’s face looked sick.
Brennan asked, “Would Ethan know about your city bid?”
“Maybe generally.”
“Pricing?”
“No.”
“Could he access it?”
“Not legally.”
“Technically?”
I hated the answer.
“Possibly.”
Brennan nodded.
“We need to find him.”
My phone rang.
Sarah.
I almost didn’t answer.
Then I remembered she was still my best source of information about Michael.
“Hello.”
Her voice was shaking.
“Daniel, I remembered something.”
“What?”
“Michael asked about Ethan.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he did.
“When?”
“A few months ago.”
“What did you tell him?”
“Almost nothing.”
I laughed bitterly.
“We have different definitions of almost nothing.”
“I said you had a brother who used to work with you.”
“What else?”
“That you two weren’t close.”
“What else?”
“Daniel—”
“Sarah.”
“I told him Ethan hated Mark.”
I looked at Brennan.
His eyes sharpened.
“What did Michael say?”
“He asked why.”
“And?”
“I told him they fought about the company.”
“Anything else?”
“I told him Ethan had tried to sue you.”
My mother heard every word.
Her face went pale.
I walked into another room.
“Did you give Michael Ethan’s contact information?”
“No.”
“Social media?”
“No.”
“Where he lived?”
“I didn’t know.”
Brennan motioned for me to ask something.
“Did Michael ever say he spoke to Ethan?”
Sarah went quiet.
My stomach dropped.
“Sarah.”
“Once.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Your husband’s brother understands what it’s like to be treated like trash.’”
I closed my eyes.
“And you didn’t think that mattered?”
“I thought he found Ethan online!”
“You didn’t think to tell me?”
“We were barely speaking!”
“We were married!”
“I know!”
Her voice broke.
Then she whispered, “I know.”
I breathed slowly.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Jason texted me.”
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“What did he say?”
“He wants to meet.”
“No.”
“He says he has proof about Michael.”
“Send it to police.”
“He says he won’t.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t trust them.”
“That sounds like his problem.”
“He says Michael has someone feeding him information from inside the investigation.”
Brennan heard that.
His expression changed.
“What exactly did Jason say?”
I repeated it.
Brennan took out his phone.
“Do not meet him alone.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Sarah said, “He wants me to come.”
“No.”
“Daniel—”
“No.”
“What if he really has something?”
“Then police can arrange it.”
Brennan held out his hand for my phone.
He spoke to Sarah directly.
“Mrs. Carter, do not tell Jason where you are. Tell him you’ll meet, but let us choose how.”
She agreed.
Two hours later, Brennan arranged surveillance at a coffee shop near the river.
Sarah would sit with Jason.
Plainclothes officers would be nearby.
I was told not to come.
So naturally, every part of me wanted to.
I didn’t.
For once, I did what the police asked.
I stayed with Emma.
At 6:14 p.m., Brennan called.
“Jason showed.”
“And?”
“He brought a flash drive.”
“What’s on it?”
“We’re examining it.”
“Is Sarah okay?”
“Yes.”
I hated how relieved I felt.
“What did Jason say?”
“That Michael kept records.”
“Of what?”
“Payments. Conversations. People he paid.”
My pulse jumped.
“Ethan?”
“We haven’t confirmed.”
“Mark?”
“Not confirmed.”
“How did Jason get the drive?”
“He says he took it from Michael’s apartment.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
I frowned.
“Why yesterday?”
“He says after Sarah called him panicking about the debt, he confronted Michael.”
“Before or after sleeping with my wife?”
Brennan paused.
“After.”
I laughed without humor.
“Of course.”
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Jason says he slept with Sarah last night because Michael told him you were planning to divorce her and take Emma.”
I stared at the wall.
“That makes no sense.”
“I agree.”
“Sarah never told him that?”
“Not according to her.”
“So Michael manipulated both of them.”
“That’s Jason’s claim.”
“What does Jason get out of saying that?”
“Maybe less blame.”
Exactly.
“Do you believe him?”
“You keep asking me that.”
“And you keep refusing to answer.”
“Because belief comes after evidence.”
I sat beside Emma while she stacked blocks.
“What does the evidence say?”
“Not enough yet.”
He hung up after promising to call.
At 7:40, my father ordered pizza.
Nobody was hungry.
Emma ate two bites and fell asleep in my mother’s arms.
At 8:15, someone knocked on the front door.
We all froze.
Dad moved toward it.
I stopped him.
Police had advised us not to open the door unexpectedly.
I checked the camera.
A man stood on the porch.
Hood down.
Hands visible.
My heart stopped.
Ethan.
My mother gasped.
I opened the door before anyone could stop me.
Ethan looked terrible.
Unshaven.
Eyes red.
He smelled like he hadn’t slept.
“Can I come in?”
I stared at him.
“Where have you been?”
“Daniel.”
“Did Michael Mercer pay you two hundred thousand dollars?”
Mom whispered my name.
Ethan’s face changed.
That was enough.
I stepped outside and shut the door behind me.
“Answer me.”
He looked toward the street.
“I can explain.”
I laughed.
“Everyone can explain.”
“It isn’t what you think.”
“That sentence is becoming very popular.”
“Michael paid me.”
My hands curled into fists.
“For what?”
“Consulting.”
“On what?”
Ethan looked ashamed.
“Your company.”
I stepped toward him.
“You sold him access.”
“No.”
“Then what did you sell?”
“Information.”
“What information?”
“System architecture. Vendor controls. Old security processes.”
I stared at him.
“You helped him hack us.”
“I didn’t know that was what he wanted.”
“You took two hundred thousand dollars from a stranger asking questions about the company you sued.”
“He said he was investing in construction technology.”
“And you believed him?”
“At first.”
“At first?”
Ethan looked down.
“When did you stop believing him?”
“Three months ago.”
“And what did you do?”
“Nothing.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You fit right into this family.”
He looked at me sharply.
“I came here to help.”
“Help?”
“I found out about Sarah.”
My body stiffened.
“How?”
“Michael bragged.”
“When?”
“Last month.”
“You knew my wife was involved with his brother?”
“I knew Michael had gotten close to her.”
“And you said nothing.”
“I was trying to understand what he was doing.”
“You call me.”
“I thought you’d blame me.”
“I do blame you!”
“I know!”
His voice cracked.
For a second, we stood there like we were boys again.
Fighting in our parents’ driveway.
Only now millions of dollars and my daughter’s safety were involved.
Ethan lowered his voice.
“Michael isn’t after Sarah’s debt.”
“What?”
“The gambling was bait.”
I stared at him.
“What is he after?”
“You.”
“Why?”
“Because of the city contract.”
I shook my head.
“That still doesn’t explain the threats.”
“He wants you desperate.”
“For what?”
“To withdraw from the bid.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked toward the house.
“Because another bidder is paying him.”
My stomach dropped.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I know Michael has been hired to damage your company.”
“By who?”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
“What do you know?”
“That the affair was useful.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“He told me your wife was the easiest way inside your life.”
I felt sick.
“He arranged Jason?”
“I don’t know if Jason was part of it at first.”
“At first?”
“Michael said his brother was weak around women.”
I closed my eyes.
“And Sarah was vulnerable.”
“Yes.”
“So he put them together.”
“I think so.”
I turned away.
Ethan grabbed my shoulder.
“Daniel.”
I pulled free.
“Don’t touch me.”
“I didn’t know how far he would go.”
“You gave him information.”
“I know.”
“He threatened Emma.”
Ethan’s face changed.
“What?”
“You didn’t know?”
“No.”
“He sent pictures of her.”
Ethan went pale.
“Jesus.”
“So tell me why I shouldn’t hand you to police right now.”
“You should.”
That stopped me.
He reached into his coat slowly.
I tensed.
He pulled out a laptop.
“I came to turn myself in.”
I stared at him.
“What’s on that?”
“Everything I have.”
“About Michael?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
His eyes filled.
“Because this morning he sent me a message.”
“What message?”
Ethan opened the laptop.
He showed me a photograph.
Emma.
At my parents’ house.
Taken less than an hour earlier.
My blood froze.
Under it was a message.
YOUR BROTHER STILL DOESN’T LISTEN.
Then another.
MAKE HIM WITHDRAW BY NOON TOMORROW.
OR THE NEXT PHOTO WILL COST HIM MORE THAN A CONTRACT.
May you like
I looked toward my parents’ dark street.
Someone was watching us right now.
