Chapter 4: The Package
1468 Words
Ethan kept Marcus on speaker while staring at the warehouse photograph on Sophia’s desk.
“Where exactly am I picking this package up?” he asked.
“I already told you.”
“The address, yes. Not the person.”
Marcus exhaled impatiently. “A man named Victor Lane will meet you. He’ll give you a black case. Bring it straight to me.”
Sophia’s expression changed at the name.
Barely.
But Ethan caught it.
“How big is the case?”
“Why does that matter?”
“I have a strange habit of wanting to know what I’m putting in the car.”
“Ethan.”
There was a warning in Marcus’s voice.
Sophia silently reached for a notepad.
She wrote two words.
KEEP TALKING.
Ethan leaned back.
“I'm just saying, if I'm transporting something illegal, I'd prefer a heads-up.”
Marcus laughed.
Too quickly.
“You've been watching too many movies.”
“Probably.”
“Pick it up. Don't open it. Don't stop anywhere. And don't mention this to anyone.”
Sophia wrote again.
ASK ABOUT OLIVIA.
Ethan frowned at her.
She tapped the paper.
He reluctantly obeyed.
“What about Olivia?”
Silence.
“What about her?”
“You said we have to keep pretending we're together.”
Sophia’s eyes sharpened.
Marcus lowered his voice. “Yes. For now.”
“So what's the story at work?”
“You two have been dating for three months. Keep it simple.”
“And Sophia?”
Another pause.
“My wife doesn't need to know anything beyond that.”
Ethan looked directly at Sophia.
She seemed almost amused.
Marcus continued, “And Ethan?”
“Yes?”
“Stay away from Sophia today.”
Sophia’s amusement disappeared.
“Why?”
“Just do what I tell you.”
The line went dead.
Ethan lowered the phone.
For several seconds, neither he nor Sophia spoke.
Then she said, “Victor Lane.”
“You know him.”
“I know the name.”
“That isn't what I said.”
She stood and walked toward the window.
Morning sunlight cut across the office, catching the glass towers beyond her.
“Victor handled acquisitions for one of Marcus’s subsidiaries.”
“Handled?”
“He disappeared from the corporate directory two months ago.”
“Fired?”
“No termination record.”
Ethan stared at her.
“People don't usually disappear from billion-dollar companies without paperwork.”
“Exactly.”
She turned.
“Don't go to the warehouse.”
“That sounds easy.”
“Tell Marcus your car broke down.”
“He knows I maintain that Rolls better than most people maintain their children.”
“Then invent something else.”
“You hired me because I'm good at lying?”
“I haven't hired you yet.”
She glanced at the unsigned contract.
“Right.”
Ethan stood.
“I should go.”
“To Marcus?”
“To the warehouse.”
Sophia’s eyes hardened.
“I just told you not to.”
“And if I don't go, he'll know something is wrong.”
“That isn't your problem.”
“It becomes my problem when he starts asking why I suddenly stopped following instructions the morning after meeting privately with you.”
That stopped her.
Ethan picked up the contract.
“For someone who runs an investment firm, you don't seem very interested in protecting your investment.”
“You aren't my investment.”
“Then why triple my salary?”
Sophia folded her arms.
“Because apparently stubbornness is expensive.”
He smiled.
She didn't.
Mostly.
Ethan held up the contract.
“One condition.”
“You're negotiating now?”
“I drive to the warehouse.”
“No.”
“You want to know what Marcus is doing. He already trusts me enough to send me.”
“I don't want you hurt.”
The words came out faster than the rest.
Both of them noticed.
Sophia looked away first.
Ethan’s expression softened.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough to understand that Marcus wouldn't send himself if there was risk.”
That sounded more like her.
Still, Ethan remembered the previous sentence.
I don't want you hurt.
He placed the contract back on her desk.
“I'll go. I won't open the case. I'll call you immediately afterward.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then I suppose you need another driver.”
He headed toward the door.
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
Sophia crossed the room and held out a small black phone.
“This isn't registered to Anderson Capital.”
He took it.
“You keep spare secret phones in your desk?”
“I lead a very exciting life.”
“Beginning to notice.”
“If anything feels wrong, leave.”
“Agreed.”
“And do not play hero.”
“That won't be difficult.”
Her eyes swept over him.
“I'm serious.”
“So am I. Heroes generally have better salaries.”
“You just rejected triple pay.”
“Technicality.”
This time she really did smile.
It lasted perhaps a second.
Then it was gone.
“Call me when you have the case.”
Ethan slipped the phone into his pocket.
As he opened the door, Sophia said, “One more thing.”
He turned.
“Marcus told you to stay away from me.”
“Yes.”
“Did that bother you?”
Ethan considered the question.
“It made me curious.”
“About?”
“Why he's afraid of me.”
Sophia held his gaze.
“He isn't.”
“No?”
“No.”
Her voice became quiet.
“He's afraid of what I might discover.”
The warehouse sat on the industrial edge of the city, squeezed between an abandoned packaging plant and a freight yard.
No company sign.
No reception desk.
No obvious reason for a billionaire CEO to visit.
Ethan parked across the street and stayed inside the Rolls.
Sophia’s burner phone felt heavy in his pocket.
At exactly eleven, a gray sedan pulled up.
A man stepped out.
Mid-forties. Shaved head. Navy overcoat.
He carried a black aluminum case.
Victor Lane.
Ethan got out.
“You Carter?”
“Yes.”
Victor looked at the Rolls.
“Anderson sent his driver?”
“Apparently I'm having an exciting week.”
Victor didn't smile.
He held out the case.
Ethan reached for it.
Victor didn't release the handle.
“Straight to Marcus.”
“That's what he said.”
“No stops.”
“I heard that too.”
Victor finally let go.
The case was heavier than Ethan expected.
“What’s inside?”
“You don't want to know.”
Ethan looked at him.
“I generally find that answer makes people want to know more.”
Victor stepped closer.
“You've worked for Marcus a long time.”
“Ten years.”
“Then take some advice.”
He glanced toward the warehouse.
“Start looking for another job.”
Ethan’s grip tightened around the case.
“Why?”
Victor walked back toward his sedan.
“Because Marcus Anderson doesn't keep people around after they know too much.”
The car pulled away.
Ethan stood alone.
For a moment, he considered calling Sophia.
Then he noticed something.
The case wasn't fully closed.
One latch had failed to catch.
A thin white envelope was trapped along the edge.
Ethan should have ignored it.
Marcus had explicitly told him not to open the case.
Sophia had told him not to play hero.
Victor had just warned him to find another job.
Three excellent reasons to do nothing.
Ethan pulled the envelope free.
There was no name on the front.
Inside was a single photograph.
He stared at it.
Sophia.
She was leaving a restaurant at night.
Taken from across the street.
A second photograph followed.
Sophia entering Anderson Capital.
A third.
Sophia standing outside her apartment building.
Ethan’s stomach turned.
Then he found the last one.
It showed Sophia sitting in the back seat of a car.
His car.
The Rolls-Royce Ethan drove for Marcus.
Written across the bottom in black ink were five words:
NEXT TIME, SHE DOESN'T ARRIVE.
Ethan immediately pulled out the burner phone.
Sophia answered on the first ring.
“Do you have it?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Ethan looked at the photographs again.
“Sophia, I need you to listen carefully.”
Silence.
“I'm listening.”
“Do not leave your office.”
Her voice changed.
“Why?”
“Because whatever Marcus is hiding…”
Ethan stared at the picture of her sitting in his car.
“…someone has been using me to follow you.”
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