CHAPTER 4 — The Missing Evidence
"Ethan... someone broke into my office."
The investigator's voice was barely audible over the sound of heavy breathing.
"They didn't steal my money..."
"They stole every file about Vanessa."
Then...
The line went dead.
"Ethan?"
No answer.
"David!"
Silence.
Ethan looked at his phone.
Call Failed.
A cold feeling settled in his chest.
He grabbed his car keys and ran.
Fifteen minutes later...
He pulled up outside David Cole's office.
The front door hung half open.
A police patrol car hadn't arrived yet.
No neighbors stood outside.
The street was strangely quiet.
Ethan stepped inside.
The office had been destroyed.
Filing cabinets were overturned.
Hard drives smashed with a hammer.
Drawers ripped open.
Glass covered the floor.
Whoever had done this hadn't been looking for money.
They had been looking for one thing.
Evidence.
"David?"
Ethan called out.
No response.
He slowly walked toward the back office.
The chair had been knocked over.
A computer monitor lay face down on the floor.
There was blood.
Only a few drops.
But enough to tell him David hadn't left willingly.
His heart began pounding.
Then...
A faint groan came from the storage room.
Ethan rushed toward it.
David was lying on the floor.
His wrists tied behind his back.
A bruise spread across the side of his face.
"Ethan..."
He forced out the words.
"They came..."
Ethan quickly untied him.
"Who?"
"I never saw their faces."
"Three men."
"They wore masks."
David struggled to sit upright.
"They knew exactly what they wanted."
"The photographs."
"The videos."
"The surveillance files."
"They took everything."
Minutes later...
Paramedics arrived.
Police officers began photographing the office.
One detective approached Ethan.
"Were the attackers after cash?"
David shook his head.
"There was over twenty thousand dollars in the safe."
"They never touched it."
The detective frowned.
"So what did they take?"
David looked at Ethan.
"They took a case."
"What case?"
Ethan answered before David could.
"Corporate fraud."
The detective nodded slowly.
"I'll need both of your statements."
Across town...
Vanessa stood in front of the bedroom mirror.
She adjusted the larger silicone pregnancy belly Mr. Black had given her.
It looked far more convincing.
Her stomach now appeared several weeks bigger.
She practiced walking again.
Slower.
More careful.
One hand supporting her lower back.
Exactly like a woman entering her third trimester.
She smiled.
Perfect.
Then her phone vibrated.
One message.
The investigator's office has been cleaned.
Her smile disappeared.
She deleted the message immediately.
The next morning...
Nathan noticed the change.
He smiled as Vanessa walked into the kitchen.
"You've grown."
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"The baby is growing fast."
Nathan knelt beside her.
He gently rested his hand on her stomach.
"I think I felt a kick."
Vanessa quickly nodded.
"You did."
Nathan's eyes filled with excitement.
"I'm going to be a father."
She looked away.
Unable to meet his eyes.
Later that afternoon...
Nathan announced exciting news.
"I scheduled a gender reveal party."
Vanessa nearly dropped her coffee cup.
"What?"
"Next Saturday."
"My entire family will be there."
"My business partners too."
He smiled.
"It'll be unforgettable."
Vanessa forced a smile.
"That sounds..."
"...wonderful."
Inside...
Panic spread through her.
A public celebration meant attention.
Questions.
Photos.
People watching closely.
The risk had just become much greater.
Meanwhile...
Ethan met David at a small diner across town.
David's left eye was badly bruised.
"I remembered something."
Ethan leaned forward.
"What?"
"One of the men called someone."
"And?"
"He said..."
David closed his eyes, trying to remember.
"Tell Mr. Black the warehouse has been compromised."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"So they know we're investigating."
David nodded.
"They know."
Ethan spread several printed photographs across the table.
Not all the evidence had been stolen.
He had secretly kept digital backups on an encrypted cloud server.
David stared at him.
"You never told me."
Ethan gave a faint smile.
"I've learned never to keep everything in one place."
David exhaled with relief.
"So we still have something."
Ethan nodded.
"We have enough to keep digging."
One photograph caught David's attention.
"Wait."
He pointed toward the corner of the image.
"What?"
"Zoom in."
Ethan enlarged the picture on his laptop.
Standing behind Mr. Black...
Was a woman wearing sunglasses.
Only half her face was visible.
David whispered,
"I know her."
Ethan looked up.
"Who is she?"
David swallowed.
"Three years ago..."
"I investigated a billionaire's widow."
"She lost nearly forty million dollars."
"This woman was with her."
Ethan frowned.
"You mean..."
David nodded slowly.
"This isn't their first victim."
That evening...
Vanessa arrived at an upscale restaurant.
Private room.
No cameras.
Mr. Black was already waiting.
He didn't invite her to sit.
"You've become careless."
Vanessa lowered her head.
"I'm handling it."
"No."
"Ethan is still asking questions."
"He won't stop."
Vanessa took a deep breath.
"What do you want me to do?"
Mr. Black slid a sealed envelope across the table.
Inside...
A plane ticket.
A passport.
A large amount of cash.
Vanessa looked confused.
"What's this?"
"Your exit plan."
Her eyes widened.
"You said everything was under control."
Mr. Black looked at her coldly.
"It is."
"But if anything goes wrong..."
"You disappear."
Vanessa slowly looked back at the envelope.
"What about Nathan?"
Mr. Black gave a small, emotionless smile.
"He was never part of your future."
Those words hit harder than she expected.
For the first time...
Vanessa wondered if she had also been nothing more than a pawn.
Late that night...
Ethan returned home.
He quietly passed the nursery.
Nathan was asleep in the rocking chair.
One tiny baby blanket rested across his lap.
A parenting book had slipped from his hand.
The room was finished.
Every detail prepared with love.
Ethan stood silently in the doorway.
His brother wasn't foolish.
He was hopeful.
And hope...
Made good people easy to deceive.
Ethan looked toward the family hallway.
No matter what happened...
He made himself one promise.
May you like
Nathan would never marry a lie.
Not while Ethan was still standing.
