Chapter 7 - The Man in the Rain
Ethan dropped the family photograph.
The frame struck the wooden floor but did not break.
Victor moved toward him.
“Ethan?”
His son stared past him.
“He was here.”
“Who?”
“Theodore.”
Maya crouched several feet away, giving Ethan space.
Victor knelt.
“What are you remembering?”
Ethan pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Rain.”
Victor’s chest tightened.
“The day of the crash?”
Ethan nodded.
“He came to the house.”
“You’re sure?”
“He was yelling at Mom.”
Victor glanced at Maya.
“What were they saying?”
“I don’t know.”
Ethan’s breathing quickened.
Maya spoke gently.
“You don’t have to force it.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I want to.”
Victor stayed silent.
Ethan closed his eyes.
“The doors to Dad’s office were open. Mom told me to go upstairs.”
“What did Theodore say?”
Ethan swallowed.
“He said she had no idea what she was threatening.”
Victor’s hands curled.
“Anything else?”
“He said something about Grandpa.”
Victor froze.
“My father?”
Ethan nodded slowly.
“He said, ‘Your husband has no idea what his father built this on.’”
The lake struck the boathouse doors outside.
Victor felt eighteen years of family history shift beneath his feet.
Maya asked, “What happened after that?”
“Mom told him to leave.”
“Did he?”
“I think so.”
Victor said, “Did your mother tell you anything?”
Ethan opened his eyes.
“She said grown-ups sometimes build big things on bad decisions.”
Victor lowered his head.
That sounded exactly like Simone.
“And then?”
“She said it was our job to decide whether we protected the thing or fixed the decision.”
Maya looked at Victor.
Ethan’s voice weakened.
“I asked if Dad made the bad decision.”
Victor’s throat tightened.
“What did she say?”
“She said no.”
Victor exhaled.
“But she looked scared.”
A long silence followed.
Victor picked up the fallen photograph.
Simone smiled through glass.
He had spent two years grieving her death.
Now grief was mutating into rage.
Maya touched the invoice.
“We need law enforcement.”
Victor nodded.
“Eventually.”
“Eventually?”
“If we go in with partial evidence and Theodore has people inside my company, we alert him.”
“This isn’t a board dispute.”
“I know.”
“Then stop acting like you can manage it like one.”
Victor turned sharply.
Maya held his gaze.
Ethan said, “She’s right.”
Victor looked at him.
“Wonderful. I’ve created an alliance.”
“You created nothing,” Ethan said. “She just has common sense.”
Maya smiled.
Victor nearly did.
Then his phone vibrated.
A text from an unknown number.
YOU FOUND THE ROOK.
Victor’s blood chilled.
Another message appeared.
SIMONE SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT BURIED.
Maya saw his face.
“What?”
Victor showed her.
Ethan leaned forward.
“Who knows we’re here?”
“Adrian,” Victor said.
“Security,” Maya added.
Victor looked toward the camera mounted beneath the roof.
“It’s disconnected.”
Maya’s eyes moved around the boathouse.
“Are we sure?”
A sound came from outside.
Vehicle tires on gravel.
Victor immediately moved between Ethan and the door.
Maya looked through the side window.
“It’s Raymond.”
Victor’s suspicion sharpened.
The security chief entered alone.
“You left without protection.”
Victor held up the phone.
“Did you send these?”
Raymond read the messages.
“No.”
“Who knew about the rook?”
“No one on my team.”
“Someone knew.”
Raymond looked at Ethan.
“We should move him.”
Ethan bristled.
“I’m sitting right here.”
Raymond nodded.
“Sorry.”
That apology came quickly.
Victor watched him.
“Did Ethan ever tell you someone followed the SUV?”
Raymond’s eyes shifted.
Ethan saw it.
“So it was you.”
Raymond’s face tightened.
Victor stepped closer.
“What did you tell him?”
Raymond looked ashamed.
“I told him trauma can alter memory.”
“You dismissed him.”
“I was following instructions.”
Victor went still.
“Whose?”
Raymond said nothing.
Victor’s voice became dangerous.
“Whose instructions?”
“Theodore Blackwell’s attorney contacted me.”
Maya inhaled.
Victor stared.
“Why would you take instructions from Theodore?”
“Because after the crash, you were in New York, then the hospital. Adrian was unstable. Theodore effectively took control of the family response.”
“You worked for me.”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“By silencing my son?”
“I thought he was confused.”
Ethan’s voice was cold.
“You didn’t think. You chose the easier version.”
Raymond looked at him.
“I’m sorry.”
Ethan turned away.
Victor asked, “What else did Theodore tell you to do?”
“Secure Simone’s files.”
“Destroy them?”
“No.”
“Disable the boathouse camera?”
Raymond hesitated.
Victor understood.
“You did.”
“Yes.”
Maya stared.
“The executive authorization?”
“Theodore had access through emergency board authority.”
Victor felt sick.
“Who gave him that?”
Raymond looked at Adrian’s name flashing on Victor’s phone.
“Your brother.”
Victor answered.
“Adrian.”
His brother spoke before Victor could accuse him.
“Theodore knows.”
Victor’s heart pounded.
“Knows what?”
“That you found the financial trail.”
“How?”
“I confronted him.”
Victor closed his eyes.
“You did what?”
“I panicked.”
“You panicked for two years.”
Adrian’s voice broke.
“He told me Daniel Carter is alive.”
Maya grabbed Victor’s arm.
“What?”
Victor put the call on speaker.
Adrian continued.
“Theodore said Daniel has been alive this whole time.”
Maya’s face lost color.
“Where?”
“He wouldn’t say.”
Victor’s voice hardened.
“What does he want?”
Adrian whispered, “The memory card from the boathouse camera.”
Victor looked at the camera above them.
“And if we don’t give it to him?”
Adrian hesitated.
“He said Daniel won’t get another chance to disappear.”
Maya’s eyes filled with shock.
The game had changed.
May you like
![92 The Girl They Called Broke Was a Billionaire’s Daughter—But Her Father’s Arrival Exposed a Secret Powerful People Had Buried for Years]](https://cdn.treeiq.biz/site_590/2026/11/clone-0-0915d882-53d7-4d17-b43a-a010ca1a1068.webp)
They were no longer investigating a dead woman’s secrets.
They were racing to find a living witness.
