Chapter 6: What Did My Father Do?
2638 Words
Ethan read the message again.
Ask your father why he paid to make your children disappear.
His thumb hovered over the screen.
Then another message appeared.
And ask him what happened to the third child.
Ethan's expression hardened.
Three children.
He had seen three children.
Three little faces standing beside Ava in that hotel lobby.
So why would someone ask what happened to the third child?
Unless the message wasn't talking about the present.
Unless something had happened five years ago that Ava had never told him.
He called the number immediately.
The call didn't connect.
Ethan tried again.
Nothing.
He tossed the phone onto his desk and stared at the documents scattered before him.
The clinic.
Richard's payment.
Ava's pregnancy.
Multiple fetal heartbeats.
A missing medical file.
And now this message.
None of it made sense.
Unless the person behind the message wanted him to believe something that wasn't true.
That possibility made Ethan even more uneasy.
He grabbed his jacket.
“I'm going to my father's house.”
The new security manager, Marcus Hale, looked up from the tablet in his hand.
“Do you want security with you?”
“No.”
“Sir—”
“I said no.”
Marcus hesitated.
Ethan rarely refused protection without a reason.
Tonight, however, he didn't want anyone between him and his father.
“Keep monitoring Ava's location,” Ethan added. “But nobody approaches her.”
Marcus nodded.
“Understood.”
Ethan stopped at the door.
“And Marcus?”
“Yes?”
“If anyone contacts you about Ava, you tell me before you tell anyone else.”
“Of course.”
Ethan left.
He drove through the city without turning on the radio.
Five years ago, he had believed Ava had abandoned him because she no longer wanted the marriage.
He had been angry.
Then confused.
Then, eventually, resigned.
But he had never stopped wondering why she had left without taking anything.
Not her jewelry.
Not the gifts.
Not even her wedding ring.
Now he knew she had been pregnant.
And possibly carrying three children.
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
He remembered the way she had looked at him in the hotel.
There had been no surprise in her expression when he realized the children were his.
Only fear.
Not fear of him.
Fear of what would happen if he discovered the truth.
That distinction bothered him more than anything.
When Ethan arrived at the Blackwood estate, Richard was already waiting in the study.
He was seated behind his enormous desk, reading a financial report as though his son hadn't just walked into the house looking ready to tear apart everything he had built.
Richard didn't look up.
“You're late.”
Ethan closed the door behind him.
“Did you know Ava was pregnant?”
Richard's eyes lifted.
The silence that followed was answer enough.
Ethan walked toward the desk.
“You knew.”
Richard placed the report aside.
“I knew she was pregnant.”
The admission was so calm that Ethan almost didn't believe what he had heard.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“You were already aware she was pregnant when she left.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Richard leaned back.
“You were married to her. If she wanted you to know the details, she could have told you herself.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“She was my wife.”
“And you were planning to end the marriage.”
“I never said that.”
“You didn't have to.”
Richard's gaze sharpened.
“You were miserable. The marriage was damaging your relationship with Sophia's family and complicating the business alliance we had spent years developing.”
Ethan stared at him.
“So you decided to interfere.”
“I protected this family.”
“You manipulated my marriage.”
Richard's expression remained unmoved.
“I gave you an opportunity to correct a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“You're talking about Ava.”
“I am talking about the woman you married because circumstances forced you to.”
Ethan's eyes darkened.
“Don't.”
Richard stood.
“You heard that conversation five years ago, didn't you?”
Ethan froze.
For a moment, neither man moved.
Then Ethan asked quietly, “What did you just say?”
Richard realized his mistake.
But he recovered quickly.
“You've always been observant.”
“You knew she was outside the study.”
“I suspected.”
“And you knew she heard us?”
“I didn't know what she heard.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Did you arrange for her to leave?”
Richard's silence returned.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then explain the clinic.”
Richard's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Ethan noticed.
“What clinic?”
“The private clinic Ava went to the night she left.”
Richard said nothing.
“You paid them.”
“I've made many payments to many companies.”
“This one was made the same night my wife disappeared.”
Richard's gaze hardened.
“You've been investigating me.”
“I've been trying to understand what happened to my family.”
“Your family?”
Richard's mouth tightened.
“You didn't even know you had children.”
“Because someone made sure I didn't.”
The room went quiet.
Ethan placed his phone on the desk and turned the screen toward him.
The anonymous message was still visible.
Richard read it.
His face changed.
For the first time since Ethan had entered the room, genuine concern appeared in his eyes.
“You shouldn't have received that.”
Ethan noticed immediately.
“What does that mean?”
Richard looked away.
“Nothing.”
“You recognized it.”
“I said nothing.”
Ethan picked up the phone.
“Then I'll ask you another question.”
Richard remained silent.
“How many children was Ava carrying?”
Richard's eyes snapped back to him.
Ethan saw it.
That tiny reaction told him more than any confession could have.
“Three?”
Richard didn't answer.
Ethan's voice lowered.
“She was carrying triplets.”
Richard's face became unreadable.
“You saw them.”
“Yes.”
“All three?”
Ethan frowned.
“Yes.”
Richard looked down at the desk.
For the first time, he seemed to be calculating his next words.
Ethan noticed.
“You're hiding something.”
Richard looked up.
“You need to leave.”
“No.”
“Ethan.”
“I've spent five years believing my wife abandoned me.”
His voice cracked with anger.
“I spent five years believing she took my child away because she hated me.”
Richard's expression remained rigid.
“Now I find out she had three children, you knew she was pregnant, you paid the clinic, and someone is sending me messages about a missing child.”
Ethan leaned over the desk.
“Tell me what happened.”
Richard's eyes hardened.
“Some truths destroy families.”
“Then let this family break.”
Ethan straightened.
“I'll build another one.”
Richard stared at him.
“You think Ava will simply forgive you?”
“No.”
Ethan's answer came without hesitation.
“But forgiveness isn't why I'm looking for the truth.”
He picked up his phone.
“They're my children.”
Richard said nothing.
Ethan turned toward the door.
“I'm going to find out everything.”
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
Richard's voice had changed.
“Leave this alone.”
Ethan slowly turned around.
“Why?”
Richard's expression was grim.
“Because there are people involved who won't hesitate to hurt you to protect what they buried.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Are you threatening me?”
“No.”
Richard paused.
“I'm warning you.”
Ethan walked back toward the desk.
“Then tell me who I'm supposed to be afraid of.”
Richard didn't answer.
“Who?”
Still nothing.
Ethan gave a cold smile.
“Fine.”
He headed for the door.
“If you won't tell me, I'll find them myself.”
When the door closed behind him, Richard remained motionless.
Only after Ethan had gone did he reach for his phone.
He made one call.
Sophia answered.
“What happened?”
Richard's voice was low.
“He knows.”
There was silence.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
Sophia's breathing changed.
“Does he know about the children?”
“He knows they're his.”
“And the clinic?”
“He found the payment.”
Sophia cursed under her breath.
Richard's expression darkened.
“You told me the records were destroyed.”
“They were supposed to be.”
“Supposed to be isn't good enough.”
“I handled the problem.”
“No.”
Richard looked toward the closed door.
“You handled Ava.”
His voice became colder.
“You didn't handle the evidence.”
Sophia fell silent.
Richard continued.
“Ethan has already started digging.”
“Then stop him.”
“I can't.”
“You're his father.”
“And you're the woman he believes betrayed Ava.”
Sophia's breathing stopped.
Richard's voice lowered.
“If Ethan discovers what really happened that night, neither of us will be able to control him.”
The call ended.
Across the city, Ava was sitting at Olivia's apartment while the children watched a movie in the living room.
Olivia placed two cups of tea on the coffee table.
“You look terrible.”
Ava gave her a tired glance.
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”
Olivia sat beside her.
“Now tell me what happened.”
Ava hesitated.
“I saw Ethan.”
Olivia's teasing expression disappeared.
“You're serious?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“At the hotel.”
Olivia stared at her.
“And the children?”
“They saw him.”
“Oh, Ava.”
“I know.”
Olivia leaned back.
“What did he do?”
“He figured it out.”
“That they were his?”
Ava nodded.
Olivia was silent for a moment.
Then she asked, “What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.”
“Good.”
Ava looked at her.
“Is it?”
Olivia sighed.
“I don't know.”
She studied her friend's face.
“But I know you.”
Ava looked away.
“You're still in love with him.”
“No.”
“Ava.”
“I don't love him.”
Olivia raised an eyebrow.
“You've said that sentence three times since you walked through my door.”
“Because it's true.”
“Then why are you shaking?”
Ava looked down at her hands.
She hadn't realized they were trembling.
Olivia's expression softened.
“I'm not telling you to take him back.”
“I couldn't.”
“I know.”
“I don't trust him.”
“I know that too.”
Ava swallowed.
“But when he looked at the children…”
She stopped.
Olivia waited.
“He looked broken.”
“And that hurt you.”
Ava didn't answer.
Olivia reached over and squeezed her hand.
“You spent five years protecting those children. Don't let one look from Ethan make you forget why.”
“I won't.”
“Good.”
Ava nodded.
Then her phone vibrated.
She glanced at the screen.
Unknown number.
Her stomach tightened.
Olivia noticed.
“What is it?”
Ava opened the message.
This time, there was no photograph.
Only a sentence.
Ask Ethan what happened to Baby Three.
Ava's face went pale.
Olivia took the phone from her hand.
“What does that mean?”
Ava stared at the message.
“I don't know.”
But somewhere deep inside her, a memory she had buried for five years began to surface.
The hospital.
The bright lights.
The doctor's worried expression.
A nurse telling her to wait.
A document she had never been allowed to see.
And Richard's letter.
If Ethan discovers the truth, neither you nor the child will be safe.
Ava stood abruptly.
“Olivia.”
“What?”
“I need to find something.”
“What?”
“My old hospital records.”
Olivia frowned.
“Why?”
Ava looked toward the living room.
Three children were laughing at something on the television.
Three children.
She had always remembered that night as the night she discovered she was carrying triplets.
But there was one part of the memory she had never understood.
Why had the doctor refused to let her see the complete medical report?
Why had Richard appeared at the hospital before she had told anyone where she was?
And why had he insisted that she leave immediately?
Ava's face tightened.
“I thought I knew what happened five years ago.”
Olivia stood.
“And now?”
Ava looked at the message again.
“Now I think someone lied to me.”
At Blackwood Enterprises, Ethan stood in front of the office windows while Marcus entered with a folder.
“Sir.”
Ethan turned.
“What did you find?”
Marcus placed the folder on the desk.
“We traced the anonymous number.”
“And?”
“It isn't registered to Sophia.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Richard?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Marcus opened the folder.
“We don't know yet.”
Ethan frowned.
“But we found something else.”
He handed Ethan a photograph.
It showed the private clinic five years earlier.
A woman was standing near the entrance.
Ethan recognized her immediately.
Sophia.
But she wasn't alone.
Beside her stood Richard.
Ethan's fingers tightened around the photograph.
“Get me the original footage.”
“We're working on it.”
“Tonight.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
He turned to leave.
“Marcus.”
The man stopped.
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
“Find out who was working at the clinic that night.”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Even if they've left?”
“Especially if they've left.”
After Marcus departed, Ethan's phone rang.
This time, there was no number.
Just “Private Caller.”
He answered.
“Who is this?”
A distorted voice replied.
“You're looking in the wrong place.”
Ethan's eyes hardened.
“Then tell me where to look.”
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I be asking?”
A pause.
Then:
“Don't ask where Ava went.”
Ethan's grip tightened around the phone.
“Then what?”
The voice lowered.
“Ask why she came home from the hospital alone.”
Ethan went completely still.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
“What did you say?”
The caller continued.
“You think Ava left you because she was heartbroken.”
A faint laugh came through the phone.
“That isn't the whole story.”
“Who are you?”
“You'll find out.”
The line went dead.
Ethan slowly lowered the phone.
He looked at the photograph on his desk.
Richard.
Sophia.
The clinic.
Ava.
Three children.
And now a mysterious reference to a hospital.
He had spent five years believing Ava had simply walked away.
Now he was beginning to understand something far more frightening.
Maybe Ava hadn't been running from him.
Maybe she had been running from someone else.
And if that was true, then the question wasn't why she had kept his children from him.
The real question was:
What had happened to Ava five years ago that made her believe Ethan himself couldn't be trusted?
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