Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO NEVER STOPPED LOOKING
I followed Eleanor to her car.
Olivia tried to come with me.
I stopped her.
“You need to stay with Mason.”
She shook her head.
“I don't want you facing this alone.”
I touched her cheek.
“I won't be alone.”
Dana stepped forward.
“I'll go with him.”
Olivia nodded.
“Call me.”
“I will.”
The drive lasted fifteen minutes.
Neither Eleanor nor Dana spoke much.
Finally, we turned onto a quiet street.
A modest house sat at the end.
No gate.
No guards.
No luxury cars.
Nothing about it looked threatening.
Eleanor parked.
I stared at the house.
“He lives there?”
“Yes.”
“What does he do?”
“He repairs clocks.”
I almost laughed.
The man who had supposedly been dangerous spent his life repairing clocks.
Eleanor looked at me.
“People change.”
We walked to the door.
She knocked.
A minute passed.
Then the door opened.
The man standing there was older than the photograph.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Blue eyes.
But I recognized the eyes.
They were mine.
He stared at me.
His lips parted.
“Ethan?”
I couldn't answer.
He reached for the doorframe.
“Ethan.”
My throat tightened.
“How do you know?”
He smiled sadly.
“I've seen your pictures.”
“My mother?”
“No.”
He looked at Eleanor.
“She kept them.”
“Who?”
“My grandmother.”
I stepped inside.
The house smelled like coffee and old wood.
Clocks covered the walls.
Hundreds of them.
Ticking.
Tocking.
Each one moving at a slightly different rhythm.
Michael sat down.
I remained standing.
“Why didn't you find me?”
He looked at me.
“I tried.”
“My mother said you gave up.”
His face changed.
“She told you that?”
“Yes.”
He laughed bitterly.
“I searched for you for eleven years.”
“What happened?”
“She moved.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
He rubbed his hands.
“I hired investigators. I contacted lawyers. I went to schools. I searched hospitals.”
“Why didn't you go to court?”
“I did.”
My eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“Your mother accused me of threatening her.”
I froze.
“She lied?”
“Yes.”
“Did you have proof?”
“I had everything.”
“Then why didn't you win?”
He looked down.
“Because your mother had something I didn't.”
“What?”
“Your grandfather.”
I frowned.
“My grandfather?”
“He wanted you protected.”
“From you?”
“No.”
Michael's voice dropped.
“From the people who wanted control of your grandfather's company.”
He walked to a cabinet and pulled out a box.
Inside were legal documents.
Photographs.
Letters.
Bank records.
One letter was addressed to me.
To Ethan, when he is old enough to understand.
I stared at it.
“Why didn't I get this?”
Michael shook his head.
“Because your mother intercepted it.”
I opened the letter.
My grandfather's handwriting filled the page.
He wrote that the family company had been targeted by fraudulent investors.
He wrote that certain accounts had been created without authorization.
And he wrote something that made my hands go cold.
Your mother knows more than she has told you.
I looked up.
“Did my grandfather trust my mother?”
Michael gave a sad smile.
“Not after the last year.”
“What happened?”
“He discovered money missing.”
“How much?”
“Millions.”
I thought of the transactions Dana had found.
The property transfer.
The insurance money.
The family trust.
Everything suddenly seemed connected.
“Was my mother involved?”
Michael didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Dana stepped forward.
“Mr. Hayes, do you know anything about the Carter family trust?”
Michael nodded.
“It was designed to protect Ethan.”
“From what?”
“From anyone who tried to use him as a financial asset.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“Your grandfather placed controlling rights in your name.”
I shook my head.
“I never had controlling rights.”
Michael looked at me.
“You did.”
“Where are they?”
He pointed toward the box.
“In there.”
I opened another document.
My name appeared.
The trust had been established when I was born.
The assets were substantial.
But there was a clause.
I read it twice.
The trust would become fully accessible when I turned thirty-five.
I was thirty-six.
“Why haven't I heard about this?”
Michael looked toward Eleanor.
She answered.
“Because someone filed an amendment six weeks before your birthday.”
“Who?”
Eleanor looked at me.
“Your mother.”
I felt my stomach drop.
Michael leaned forward.
“She didn't just take your household money.”
He pointed at the documents.
“She tried to take control of your inheritance.”
I stared at the pages.
“How much?”
He said the number.
I couldn't speak.
It was more money than I had ever imagined possessing.
And suddenly my mother's behavior made terrifying sense.
The transfers.
The pressure.
The property.
The lies.
She wasn't simply stealing household money.
She was preparing to control everything.
My phone rang.
Olivia.
I answered.
Her voice was shaking.
“Ethan.”
“What happened?”
“There are police cars outside the house.”
My blood ran cold.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Then I heard another voice in the background.
My mother's.
She was shouting.
“Tell Ethan to come home!”
I stood.
“What is she saying?”
Olivia whispered:
“She says someone has been arrested.”
I looked at Michael.
His face had gone pale.
“Who?”
May you like
Olivia's voice cracked.
“Brandon.”
