Chapter 12 - Daniel's Last Secret About Ethan)
Vivienne refused to leave Ethan alone.
The federal agents transported them together to a secure office.
Sebastian was taken to a hospital under guard.
Marcus was arrested at the scene.
Thomas voluntarily accompanied investigators.
Margaret did the same.
At 3:20 in the morning, Vivienne sat with Ethan asleep against her side on a couch.
Special Agent Torres entered carrying a tablet.
"You said this concerned my son."
"It does."
"Then tell me."
Torres sat opposite her.
"Daniel created a separate encrypted folder."
Vivienne felt exhausted beyond fear.
"What now?"
"The folder was scheduled to unlock only after the main archive transferred."
"Why?"
"Because he didn't want Sebastian to find it."
"What's inside?"
Torres placed the tablet on the table.
A legal document.
Guardianship instructions.
Vivienne frowned.
"Daniel and I already had wills."
"This is not a standard guardianship document."
She read.
If Vivienne Hale is deceased or incapacitated, Ethan Hale must not be placed under the care of Sebastian Vale under any circumstance.
Vivienne stared.
Daniel had written this before Sebastian had ever become her romantic partner.
"How did he know?"
Torres said, "Keep reading."
A second document appeared.
Daniel had commissioned an investigation into Sebastian years earlier.
Not merely financial.
Personal.
Sebastian had been obsessed with Vivienne before Daniel's death.
There were photographs.
Emails.
Private journal entries recovered from a company laptop.
Sebastian had repeatedly asked Daniel why Vivienne had chosen him.
Daniel initially treated it as jealousy.
Then Sebastian began making comments about Ethan.
If Daniel were gone, Vivienne would need someone strong.
Vivienne felt sick.
Torres continued.
"Daniel believed Sebastian's interest in you was part of his motive."
"So Daniel thought Sebastian wanted my husband dead because of me?"
"Partly."
Vivienne looked at her sleeping son.
"What does that have to do with Ethan?"
Torres opened another file.
A paternity report.
Vivienne's entire body went still.
"What is that?"
"Daniel ordered a private test."
"Why?"
Torres hesitated.
Vivienne's voice sharpened.
"Why?"
"Sebastian apparently claimed Ethan might be his."
Vivienne stood so quickly Ethan stirred.
"No."
Torres raised one hand.
"The test confirms Daniel was Ethan's biological father."
Vivienne stared.
"Of course he was."
"I understand."
"No, you don't. Sebastian and I had never been together."
"Daniel believed you."
"Then why test?"
"Because Sebastian told him he had evidence otherwise."
Vivienne's anger became almost impossible to contain.
"He tried to convince Daniel I cheated?"
"Yes."
"Before Daniel died?"
"Approximately two months before."
Vivienne thought back.
Daniel had become distant.
Restless.
Afraid.
She had assumed business pressure.
Sebastian had been poisoning him from several directions at once.
Money.
Marriage.
Family.
Torres said, "Daniel appears to have realized the claim was fabricated."
"How?"
"The test."
Vivienne sat again.
"What did Sebastian use as evidence?"
"Altered hotel records. Messages created from a cloned account. Photographs edited to place you at a conference Sebastian attended."
Vivienne closed her eyes.
"He was trying to break us apart."
"Yes."
"But Daniel never confronted me."
"He wrote something about that."
Torres opened a note.
I almost asked Vivienne whether she betrayed me.
I hated myself for even considering it.
Sebastian wanted doubt between us.
I will not give it to him.
If I survive this mess, I am taking my wife and son somewhere without boardrooms, lawyers, or men who measure their lives by what they can control.
Vivienne cried silently.
Daniel had trusted her.
Even while Sebastian tried to destroy that trust.
Ethan woke.
"Mommy?"
She wiped her face.
"I'm here."
"Is Sebastian gone?"
"Yes."
"For forever?"
Vivienne hesitated.
"He's not coming home."
Ethan looked relieved.
Then he noticed the tablet.
"Is that Dad?"
Vivienne nodded.
"Can I see?"
She considered whether to hide it.
Then remembered what hiding had done to all of them.
"Some of it."
She showed Ethan a photograph of Daniel holding him as a baby.
Ethan smiled.
"I look weird."
Vivienne laughed through tears.
"You were beautiful."
"I had no hair."
"Still beautiful."
Torres quietly left them alone for several minutes.
When she returned, she carried another message.
"Sebastian is asking to speak with you."
"No."
"He says he has information about Daniel's death not contained in the archive."
Vivienne looked at her.
"Is he manipulating us?"
"Probably."
"Then why tell me?"
"Because he specifically mentioned the missing six minutes."
Vivienne frowned.
"What six minutes?"
"Daniel's boat recording has a gap."
"Before he went overboard?"
"After."
Vivienne's stomach tightened.
"What happened during the gap?"
"Sebastian claims Daniel was still alive."
Vivienne stared.
May you like
Torres continued.
"And he says he knows who made sure Daniel never reached shore."
