CHAPTER 6: THE INVESTIGATION
807 Words
By Tuesday afternoon, Ethan had the birth certificate.
He sat in his private study at home, far from the office where Ava might walk in unexpectedly. The document glowed on his laptop screen, each word a knife to his chest.
Name: Noah Alexander Monroe
Date of Birth: March 15, 2019
Place of Birth: Geneva, Switzerland
Mother: Ava Elizabeth Monroe
Father: Unknown
Ethan stared at the date. March 15, 2019. He counted backward nine months. June 2018.
The same month Ava disappeared.
The same month he married Chloe.
His hands trembled as he scrolled to the attached medical records his investigator had obtained through less-than-legal means. The boy's condition was clearly documented. A rare genetic blood disorder passed through paternal lines. The same condition that had killed Ethan's father at forty-two.
The same condition Ethan carried the gene for.
There was no question. Noah was his son.
Ava had been pregnant when she fled. She'd given birth alone in a foreign country. She'd raised their child for four years without telling him.
And now that child was dying.
Ethan closed his laptop and stared at the wall. A thousand emotions crashed through him. Rage that she'd kept this secret. Grief for the years he'd missed. Terror that his son might die before he ever got to meet him.
And underneath it all, a cold, calculating fury directed at one person.
Chloe.
Whatever had happened five years ago, whatever had driven Ava to run, Chloe was at the center of it. Ethan had always sensed something wrong about that night, about the pregnancy, about everything. Now he was certain.
His phone buzzed. A text from Ava.
Meeting with Zhang Industries confirmed for Thursday. Documents prepared.
Professional. Distant. Like they were strangers.
They weren't strangers. They were parents. And she didn't know he knew.
Ethan typed a response: Come to my office tomorrow morning. 7 AM. We need to discuss something privately.
He watched the three dots appear as she typed. Then disappear. Then appear again.
Finally: Of course, Mr. Blackwood.
Mr. Blackwood. The formality made him want to punch a wall.
He had twenty-four hours to decide how to confront her. Twenty-four hours to figure out how to meet his dying son. Twenty-four hours to unravel five years of lies.
Starting with his wife.
Chloe was in the living room when Ethan came downstairs, flipping through a fashion magazine with practiced boredom. She looked up and smiled that empty smile he'd grown to despise.
"Darling. You've been hiding in your study all day. Everything alright?"
"Fine." Ethan poured himself a whiskey. "I have a question."
"Oh?"
"The night we supposedly conceived. At the Henderson party. Walk me through it again."
Chloe's smile flickered. Just for a second. "That was five years ago, Ethan. Why does it matter now?"
"Humor me."
She set down her magazine, and Ethan watched her carefully construct her lie. He'd seen her do it a thousand times but never recognized it until now.
"We had drinks. We talked. You were upset about something with your grandmother. I comforted you. One thing led to another." She shrugged delicately. "You don't remember because you had too much to drink."
"I remember feeling dizzy," Ethan said slowly. "Unusually dizzy for two drinks."
"You had more than two."
"Did I?"
Something shifted in Chloe's expression. Fear. She covered it quickly, but he'd seen it.
"What's this about, Ethan? Why are you dredging up ancient history?"
"Because I'm starting to remember things differently than you've told me."
Chloe stood, her posture defensive. "This is about her, isn't it? About Ava being back. She's filling your head with lies."
"Ava hasn't told me anything."
"Then why—"
"Because I have questions, Chloe. Questions I should have asked five years ago." Ethan set down his glass. "And I'm going to find the answers. One way or another."
He walked out before she could respond.
Behind him, Chloe's hands were shaking. She grabbed her phone and dialed a number she hadn't called in months.
"We have a problem," she said when Victor Kane answered. "Ethan's asking questions about that night. I think he's remembering."
Victor's voice was cold. "Then make sure he stops remembering. Whatever it takes."
"How am I supposed to—"
"That's your problem. Fix it. Or I'll release everything I have on you."
The line went dead.
Chloe stared at her phone, panic rising in her chest. Five years of carefully constructed lies were crumbling around her.
And it was all Ava's fault.
She opened her contacts and found another number. Jessica Lim. Her oldest friend. Her partner in crime.
We need to meet. Tomorrow. It's urgent.
Jessica's response came immediately: I'll be there.
Chloe took a steadying breath. She'd destroyed Ava once. She could do it again.
This time, she'd make sure her sister stayed gone forever.
- Writer
