Chapter 1 - The Night Everything ChangedRain hammered the windows of Whitmore Manor as Ethan Whitmore stood alone in the library, staring at an old photograph of his father, Michael.
Twenty-two years had passed since Michael Whitmore died under circumstances everyone had agreed to call an accident.
Ethan had never questioned that story.
Until the anonymous envelope arrived.
Inside was a photograph of Michael meeting three strangers outside an abandoned warehouse—and a handwritten message:
YOUR FATHER DIDN'T DIE BY ACCIDENT.
Ethan felt the air leave his lungs.
Behind him, his mother Eleanor entered the room.
She stopped when she saw the photograph.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Eleanor whispered, “Where did you get that?”
Ethan turned.
For the first time in his life, he saw genuine fear in his mother's eyes.
“Who are these people?”
Eleanor slowly sat down.
“One of them,” she said, “destroyed our family.”
Before Ethan could ask another question, his phone rang.
Claire.
The woman he loved.
The woman he intended to marry.
The woman who, unbeknownst to him, had already become entangled in the secret his father died protecting.
Ethan answered.
“Claire?”
Her voice trembled.
“We need to talk.”
Outside the manor, a black sedan waited beneath the rain.
May you like
Inside it, Victor Kane watched the house through binoculars.
And smiled.
Related Stories
