Chapter 11 - Ethan’s Confession
Ethan knew something was wrong the moment I entered his room.
“What happened?”
I showed him the message.
His face changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“What really happened eleven years ago?”
He looked away.
“Ethan.”
“You won’t understand.”
“Try me.”
He took a long breath.
“I worked for Vale first.”
The admission landed hard.
“Rebecca got the bookkeeping job because of me.”
“You brought her into his company?”
“I thought it was legitimate.”
“When did you learn it wasn’t?”
“Before she did.”
“Why didn’t you warn her?”
“Because by then I owed Vale money.”
I stared at him.
“How much?”
“Enough that he owned me.”
Ethan’s voice broke.
“He made me introduce people.”
“Drivers.”
“Accountants.”
“People who could move money.”
“Rebecca was good with numbers.”
“So you recruited your own sister.”
“I was twenty-four and stupid.”
He wiped his face.
“Then she found the ledger.”
“She wanted to expose him.”
“I begged her not to.”
“She went to the FBI anyway.”
“And Vale took you.”
Ethan gave a bitter laugh.
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean no?”
“I went voluntarily.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“You helped Vale fake your kidnapping.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he promised he would leave Rebecca alive if I scared her into silence.”
I stepped away before I did something I would regret.
Rachel had spent eleven years believing her brother had been abducted because of her.
Her entire life had been built on guilt.
And Ethan had allowed it.
“I thought I was saving her.”
“You ruined her.”
“I know.”
“No.”
I pointed toward the hallway.
“My daughter is five years old and already knows how to hide under furniture because adults taught her secrets were safer than truth.”
“That is what all of you created.”
Ethan began crying.
“I know.”
For a moment I hated him.
Then he said something unexpected.
“I’ve been trying to fix it.”
“How?”
“I became Vale’s accountant.”
I stared.
“After Rebecca disappeared, I stayed.”
“For eleven years?”
“To document everything.”
“You’ve been working for him?”
“Against him.”
He nodded toward the ledger.
“That original ledger proves what Vale did then.”
“I can prove what he’s doing now.”
“Where?”
“In an account only Rebecca knows.”
That made no sense.
“She thinks you were kidnapped.”
“She thinks the account belongs to our father.”
He gave me a number.
“Tell Brooks.”
“What will he find?”
“Every transaction Vale made for the past decade.”
“Why not give it to the FBI yourself?”
“Because three agents who tried to help me were exposed.”
“How?”
“Someone inside leaked their names.”
The implication was terrifying.
Vale had contacts inside law enforcement.
Possibly inside the investigation happening around us right now.
I thought about the original ledger.
Judges.
Police.
Officials.
Then Ethan grabbed my arm.
“Daniel.”
“If Brooks asks you where you got that account number, don’t tell him.”
“Why?”
“Because Vale’s source is close enough to know every move the task force makes.”
May you like
I looked through the glass wall toward Agent Brooks.
For the first time, I did not know whether the people protecting my family were actually safe to trust.
