Chapter 13 - THE DAUGHTER IN THE ENVELOPE
Ethan reached the hospital with Sophie beside him.
Mara followed.
The triplet had been rushed into emergency care.
Doctors surrounded the child.
Ethan stood behind the glass.
He could not see his son clearly.
Only small hands.
Tiny wires.
A machine.
Sophie stood beside him.
“I can leave.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because this is too much.”
He stared at her.
“You may be Caroline's daughter.”
Sophie laughed sadly.
“That doesn't make me yours.”
Ethan looked through the glass.
“I don't know what makes someone family anymore.”
Sophie lowered her eyes.
“My mother gave me this.”
She handed him another letter.
Ethan recognized Caroline's handwriting.
He opened it.
Sophie,
If you are reading this, then you are old enough to know the truth.
You were born into a family that wanted to use you.
I gave you to people who would love you without knowing your blood.
I am sorry I could not raise you.
But I need you to know this: you were never unwanted.
Ethan's eyes filled with tears.
Sophie whispered:
“She never stopped looking for me.”
Ethan turned toward her.
“Did you know her?”
“Once.”
“When?”
“When I was seventeen.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
“She found me.”
“Why didn't she tell me?”
“She said you were in danger.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“What did she say?”
Sophie looked at him.
“She said the man closest to you would eventually try to control everything you loved.”
Ethan immediately thought of Marcus.
Then Caleb.
Then Sheriff Cole.
Then Dr. Harris.
There were too many possibilities.
The doctor finally came out.
“The baby is stable.”
Ethan exhaled.
“But?”
“We need to understand the cause.”
Dr. Harris was still unconscious.
The hospital had been placed under police protection.
Then a nurse approached.
“Mr. Whitmore, there is a package for you.”
Ethan frowned.
“Who delivered it?”
“We don't know.”
The package contained a small cassette recorder.
Ethan pressed play.
Caroline's voice filled the room.
“If you're hearing this, then someone has already tried to kill our children.”
Ethan froze.
Her voice trembled.
“I need you to know that I never betrayed you.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“I was trying to protect you.”
The recording continued.
“Your father created a system that never died with him. People are still making money from it. People are still killing to protect it.”
A pause.
“Caleb knows part of the truth.”
Ethan looked at Mara.
“Your mother knows another part.”
Then Caroline said:
“But the person who has the final key is the person you trust to protect your children.”
The recording ended.
Ethan slowly turned.
The hospital security chief.
Marcus.
But Marcus was wounded.
And missing.
Then Sheriff Cole entered.
“We found Marcus.”
“Where?”
“He's dead.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“Who killed him?”
“We don't know.”
Sheriff Cole placed a photograph on the table.
Marcus had been found inside a vehicle.
On the windshield was written:
ONE PROTECTOR DOWN.
Ethan stared.
Then Sophie whispered:
“There's someone else.”
Everyone looked at her.
“What?”
She pointed at the photograph.
“I know that symbol.”
“What symbol?”
She pointed to the corner.
A small black triangle.
“My adoptive father had the same mark.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who was your adoptive father?”
Sophie swallowed.
“Daniel Cross.”
Ethan went still.
Daniel Cross was the head of the Whitmore Trust.
The man who had managed his family's money for twenty years.
The man who had advised Ethan after his father's death.
The man who had helped him raise billions.
The man who had been standing beside him since the night Caroline died.
Ethan's phone rang.
A message appeared.
Come home, Ethan.
Then another.
Your children are safe only while you obey.
Ethan looked at the hospital room.
Then at Sophie.
Then at Mara.
May you like
His voice became cold.
“I'm going home.”
