Chapter 11: The Assistant Who Knew Everything
Arthur called Ethan immediately.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Then a familiar voice answered.
“Mr. Hayes.””
“Where are you?””
“Somewhere safe.””
“Ethan, I need you to tell me what you know.””
A pause.
“Not over the phone.””
Arthur looked at Detective Brooks.
“Then tell me where to meet you.””
“Your mother's old house. The study. Come alone.””
Arthur almost laughed.
“Everyone seems to want me alone lately.””
“This is different.””
“How?””
Ethan's voice dropped.
“Because the person who killed Richard is still watching you.””
The line went dead.
Arthur stared at his phone.
Detective Brooks immediately stood.
“Absolutely not. If Ethan has information about a murder, we meet him with police present.””
“He specifically asked me to come alone.””
“Which is precisely why you won't.””
Arthur looked toward Benjamin.
“Do you know what Ethan might be talking about?””
Benjamin shook his head.
“I haven't seen him in years.””
“Years?””
“He stopped visiting after Evelyn threatened him. He was sixteen when she told him the truth about his birth. She said his biological father was Richard and that his grandmother had lied to everyone.””
Arthur closed his eyes.
Ethan had grown up knowing he was connected to the Hayes family, yet he had spent years working beside Arthur without telling him who he was.
Arthur wondered how many times Ethan had wanted to speak.
How many times he had swallowed the truth because he feared what would happen if he didn't.
Detective Brooks interrupted his thoughts.
“We'll arrange a controlled meeting at the house. Officers will secure the property, and we'll record the conversation.””
Arthur nodded.
“Fine.””
But when he reached the parking lot, another message arrived.
*If you bring the police, Noah dies.*
Arthur stopped walking.
He showed the screen to Detective Brooks.
Her expression changed instantly.
“Call Victoria.””
Arthur did.
She answered immediately.
“Arthur?””
“Where's Noah?””
“Right here. Why?””
“Is he safe?””
Victoria's voice tightened.
“What happened?””
“Nothing yet. But I need you to listen carefully. Lock the doors. Don't let anyone in unless Daniel confirms their identity.””
“Arthur, you're frightening me.””
“I'm sorry. Just do it.””
He heard Noah in the background.
“Is that Arthur? What's going on?””
Victoria covered the phone, but Arthur could still hear her.
“Stay away from the window.””
A sharp knock sounded on her end of the line.
Victoria went silent.
Arthur's blood ran cold.
“Victoria?””
Another knock.
Then a man's voice spoke through the phone.
“Open the door, Miss Ward.””
Arthur recognized the voice.
Owen Mercer.
The man from the chapel.
“Victoria, don't open it!”” he shouted.
A crash followed.
The line disconnected.
Arthur lunged toward the car.
Detective Brooks grabbed his arm.
“Wait for backup!””
“They're in danger!””
“And if you rush in without a plan, you'll give the attacker another hostage!””
Arthur stared at her, breathing hard.
She was right.
He hated that she was right.
He forced himself to stand still while Daniel called the security team.
Within four minutes, two vehicles were moving toward the apartment.
Arthur sat in the back seat, his injured side burning with every turn.
He called Victoria again.
No answer.
Then Noah's phone.
Nothing.
He looked at the screen until Daniel spoke.
“Sir, we have an update.””
“What?””
“The apartment is empty.””
Arthur's stomach dropped.
“Empty?””
“Security arrived. The front door was forced, but there are no signs of a struggle. Victoria's phone was left on the kitchen counter.””
“Then where are they?””
Daniel hesitated.
“There's a note.””
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Read it.””
Daniel unfolded the paper.
Bring Ethan to the old house. Midnight. No police.
Beneath the message was a small photograph.
Victoria and Noah sat in the back of a vehicle, their hands bound.
Arthur felt something inside him turn to ice.
The note continued.
You wanted your family back. Come collect it.
By eleven-thirty, Arthur stood outside his mother's old house.
The building had remained empty since Margaret's death, its gardens overgrown and its windows covered with dust.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, the hallway smelled of damp wood and forgotten memories.
Arthur moved toward the study.
Every step brought back something he had tried to forget.
The staircase where Margaret used to sit while reading letters.
The narrow corridor where Ethan had once fallen asleep waiting for Arthur to come home.
The study door where his mother had stood on the night she died.
Arthur pushed it open.
Ethan stood beside the desk.
He wore a dark coat, and his hair was wet from the rain. He looked older than Arthur remembered, though he was only twenty-eight.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ethan said, “You came.””
“Where are Victoria and Noah?””
“Alive.””
“Where?””
“Somewhere Evelyn can't reach them.””
Arthur stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that after someone kidnapped them?””
Ethan lowered his eyes.
“I know how it looks.””
“Then explain.””
Ethan walked to the desk and opened a drawer.
Inside lay a collection of old documents, a silver pocket watch, and a photograph of Margaret holding a newborn baby.
“My grandmother gave me these before she died,” he said.
“She told me to keep them until the day you were ready to hear the truth.””
Arthur's voice cracked.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I was afraid.””
“Of me?””
“Of what would happen if I told you who I was.””
Arthur stepped closer.
“I raised you for three years.””
“You were grieving. You barely knew what was happening around you. Evelyn told you I was a relative who needed help, and you believed her.””
“I would never have abandoned you.””
Ethan's eyes filled.
“You did abandon me. Not intentionally, but you did. When Evelyn took me away, I waited for you to come looking.””
Arthur felt the words like a physical blow.
“I didn't know.””
“I know.””
“Ethan—”
“You were the only person who could have stopped her. You had the power, the money, the influence. But you didn't even ask where I went.””
Arthur looked down.
There was no defense.
Ethan continued.
“After she sent me away, I lived with a family Richard paid to keep quiet. When I turned eighteen, I found Benjamin. He told me everything. I tried to contact you, but Evelyn intercepted my letters.””
“Why come back as my assistant?””
Ethan gave a sad smile.
“Because I wanted to know whether the man who had once held my hand through thunderstorms was still in there somewhere.””
Arthur stared at him.
“And?””
Ethan's expression softened.
“Sometimes.””
The word hurt more than anger would have.
Arthur reached for the photograph.
His mother was smiling at the baby in her arms.
On the back, she had written:
My grandson. My second chance.
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Where is Evelyn?””
Ethan's face hardened.
“She was arrested, but she escaped custody three hours ago.””
Arthur's head snapped up.
“What?””
“Someone helped her leave the station. Richard was supposed to meet her at a private airfield, but he never arrived.””
Arthur stared at him.
“You said you knew who killed Richard.””
Ethan nodded.
“I do.””
“Who?””
Ethan looked toward the window.
“Evelyn.””
Arthur shook his head.
“She was with me at the chapel when Richard disappeared.””
“Not the entire night. She left before the shooting. She had already arranged for someone to intercept Richard.””
“Who?””
Ethan hesitated.
“Me.””
Arthur stepped back.
“You killed Richard?””
“No. I found him after someone attacked him. He was still alive. He gave me the envelope with the birth records and told me where to find the original agreement.””
“Then who killed him?””
Ethan looked directly at Arthur.
“Richard was alive when I left him. Someone came afterward.””
“Who?””
Ethan's face went pale.
“The same person who has been protecting you for fifteen years.””
Arthur felt a chill spread through him.
“Stop speaking in riddles.””
Ethan opened the desk drawer again and removed a small digital recorder.
“This was hidden inside Richard's envelope. It contains a recording made the night your mother died.””
Arthur stared at the device.
“We already heard the recording.””
“Not the whole recording. The file you found in the chapel was edited. This one contains the missing section.””
Ethan pressed play.
Static filled the study.
Then Margaret's voice emerged.
“Richard, you promised me the baby would be safe.””
Richard answered, “He will be.””
A third voice spoke.
A voice Arthur recognized instantly.
His father's voice.
“Neither child will leave this family.””
Arthur froze.
His father had supposedly died three years before the babies were born.
The recording continued.
Margaret whispered, “You told me you were dead.””
The man's answer was calm.
“I told the world I was dead.””
Arthur stumbled backward.
Ethan stopped the recording.
“Your father didn't die fifteen years ago,” he said.
“He disappeared. Richard helped him fake his death, and Evelyn has been protecting him ever since.””
Arthur stared at the recorder.
The man who had shaped his childhood.
The man whose funeral he had attended.
The man whose death had transformed him into the head of the Hayes empire.
Alive.
Somewhere in the world.
Arthur's phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
*Come to the east wing. Bring Ethan.*
May you like
A second message followed.
*Your father wants to meet his sons.*
