Chapter 14 - The Home Ethan Chose
Three days later, Ethan returned to the mansion.
The medical van was gone. The hidden cameras had been removed. Every lock and security system had been replaced under the supervision of investigators who had no connection to the Hale Foundation.
Victor refused to sleep until he personally checked each room.
Ethan watched from the marble hall.
“Are the walls safe now?” he asked.
Victor crouched beside him.
“The walls were never supposed to protect you.”
“What was?”
“Me.”
Ethan touched his father’s sleeve.
“You came back.”
“I should never have left without listening.”
Lily stood near the staircase in an ordinary blue dress rather than her maid uniform. Victor had offered her money, a new home and any position she wanted.
She refused all three.
“I want to stay until Ethan feels safe,” she said.
“As his maid?” Victor asked.
“As the person Celeste trusted.”
Victor looked at her.
“You should never have had to protect him alone.”
Lily’s eyes filled with tears, but she smiled.
“Then don’t leave me alone again.”
The staff gathered in the hall that afternoon.
Several admitted that Serena had pressured them into signing false reports. She threatened their jobs, families or immigration status. Victor did not excuse their choices, but he gave them the opportunity to cooperate with investigators.
Marcus arrived without his uniform.
His daughter’s medical debt had been cleared through an independent charitable trust that Conrad could not control. Victor did not restore Marcus’s position.
Trust could not be returned by a signature.
But Victor allowed him to testify and assist in locating Adrian.
Northbridge released Victor’s brother that evening.
Adrian entered the mansion through the same doors Victor had crossed during the confrontation.
He looked older than his forty years. His hair had turned gray near the temples, and his hands shook slightly when Victor approached.
For several seconds, neither brother spoke.
Then Victor embraced him.
Adrian closed his eyes.
“I tried to warn Celeste.”
“I know.”
“I failed her.”
“So did I.”
Ethan watched from behind Lily.
Adrian knelt slowly.
“You must be Ethan.”
The child looked at the silver fox pin on his jacket.
“You were in Mommy’s picture.”
“Yes.”
“Were you in my room?”
Adrian’s face changed.
“No.”
Ethan frowned.
“The man had your pin.”
Adrian removed it.
“Many people had these.”
“Did he have your face?”
“No. He wore a mask.”
Adrian looked at Victor.
“Elias collected the original pins years ago. He used them to make witnesses believe family members were present.”
Victor showed him the photograph with the missing face.
Adrian studied it.
“This was taken the week Celeste discovered the false property transfers.”
“Who was the fourth man?”
“I don’t remember a fourth man.”
“You were standing beside him.”
“No.” Adrian pointed at the image. “This shoulder was added later. Someone altered the photograph before cutting out the face.”
Lily brought the original scan from Celeste’s computer.
The digital version showed only Celeste, Victor’s father, Conrad and Adrian.
No fourth man.
The physical photograph had been manufactured to create a mystery.
“To lead us toward Adrian,” Victor said.
“Or away from someone else,” Lily replied.
That evening, Victor brought Ethan to the red room.
Together, they restored power to Celeste’s tablet.
The unfinished video continued.
Celeste looked into the camera.
“The person inside the Hale family who hired Serena is not Adrian.”
Victor sat beside his son.
Celeste’s expression became sorrowful.
“Victor, I know you will want a name. I cannot give it to you yet because I do not know which identity is real. The person has used your father’s authority, Adrian’s access and Conrad’s records.”
She held up a sealed envelope.
“But I know what they want.”
The video showed a ledger marked PROJECT ORCHARD.
“They do not want the foundation,” Celeste said. “They want what the foundation has been hiding beneath the mansion.”
The screen went dark.
Victor looked at Lily.
“What is beneath the mansion?”
Lily shook her head.
Ethan pointed toward the floor.
“There’s another door.”
Victor followed his gaze.
May you like
A thin line of red light had appeared beneath the lowest shelf.
Behind it, a hidden mechanism began to unlock.
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