Chapter 23: The Enemy’s Real Target
The words stayed in the air.
Your son.
For a moment, I couldn’t move.
I had expected money.
Property.
Business.
Something connected to my father.
But Michael?
No.
That was different.
“That’s impossible.””
Sarah shook her head.
“I wish it was.””
“You expect me to believe Ethan wants my son?””
“No.””
She looked at me.
“I expect you to believe that Ethan wants revenge.””
I stepped closer.
“Explain.””
She looked toward the street.
Like she was afraid someone was watching.
“He believes your father destroyed his family.””
“And?””
“He believes you inherited everything your father built.””
“I inherited a business.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“What?””
“You inherited his legacy.””
I frowned.
“That doesn’t explain Michael.””
Sarah looked at me.
“Ethan believes your father chose you over him.””
The room became silent.
“What does Michael have to do with that?””
Sarah hesitated.
“Because Michael is the only thing your father would have protected more than money.””
I didn’t understand.
“What are you saying?””
She opened the folder.
Inside were documents.
Old documents.
Medical records.
Letters.
Photos.
My heart tightened.
“What are these?””
“Things Ethan found.””
I looked at her.
“You had these?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I was trying to understand what he was doing.””
I looked through the papers.
Then I saw a photograph.
My father.
Michael’s mother.
And another person.
A woman I recognized.
My heart stopped.
“Who is that?””
Sarah looked down.
“Your father’s sister.””
I stared.
“My aunt?””
“Yes.””
“But she died before I was born.””
Sarah nodded.
“She did.””
“Then why is she in these pictures?””
Sarah didn’t answer.
I kept looking.
The documents showed something impossible.
My family had connections I never knew existed.
A history nobody talked about.
Then I found a letter.
A letter addressed to my father.
The signature at the bottom made my hands shake.
Ethan’s father.
I read.
You think hiding him will protect him.
It won’t.
I looked up.
“Who is him?””
Sarah’s face changed.
“I don’t know.””
“You do.””
“No.””
She looked terrified.
“I only know Ethan believes someone was taken from his family.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Taken?””
“Yes.””
I looked at the papers again.
Everything was connected.
My father.
The Cole family.
Sarah.
Ethan.
But there was still a missing piece.
And I knew who might have it.
Jordan.
When I called him, he answered immediately.
“Marcus?””
“Where is your mother?””
Silence.
“I don’t know.””
“Jordan.””
“I swear.””
I believed him.
“Do you know anything about Ethan and my family?””
Another silence.
Then:
“Yes.””
My chest tightened.
“What?””
“I found something.””
“When?””
“Before I gave you the drive.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I didn’t understand it.””
“Tell me now.””
Jordan took a breath.
“My mom had another notebook.””
Another notebook.
Of course.
“What was inside?””
“She wrote about Ethan.””
“What did she say?””
“She said he wasn’t the only one she was afraid of.””
I froze.
“Who else?””
“I don’t know.””
“Jordan.””
“She wrote one name.””
My heartbeat increased.
“What name?””
He whispered:
“Marcus.””
I felt cold.
“My name?””
“Yes.””
“What did she write?””
Jordan’s voice became quiet.
“She said…”
He stopped.
“Say it.””
“She said, ‘Marcus was never the target. He was the key.’”
I couldn’t speak.
A key.
To what?
That night, Sarah stayed.
Not because I trusted her.
I didn’t.
But because she knew things we needed.
And because for the first time, we were facing the same enemy.
The next morning, Daniel arrived with news.
“We found Ethan’s location.””
Everyone became silent.
“Where?””
Daniel looked at me.
“An old family property.””
“Whose?””
He hesitated.
“Your father’s.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“What?””
“He has been staying there.””
My father’s property.
A place I hadn’t visited in years.
A place filled with memories.
A place Ethan somehow knew about.
Daniel handed me a photograph.
It showed the house.
But something else was visible.
A symbol painted on the wall.
A symbol I had seen before.
On my father’s documents.
On Ethan’s papers.
On the old agreement.
A symbol that meant something.
But I didn’t know what.
Sarah looked at it.
And her face went pale.
“You know that symbol?””
I turned toward her.
“What is it?””
She whispered:
“The mark of the original agreement.””
“What agreement?””
May you like
She looked at me.
“The one your father never wanted you to find.””
