WAITING FOR ETHAN

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Daniel sat in his car for nearly twenty minutes after leaving his father's office, the engine was running, the air conditioner hummed softly, yet he hadn't driven anywhere.His hands remained tightly wrapped around the steering wheel as Victor Sterling's words replayed in his mind.

"Some questions have consequences."The warning had sounded less like fatherly advice and more like a threat.Daniel stared through the windshield.For most of his life, he had admired his father.

Victor Sterling was respected. Powerful, successful, people listened when he spoke, people obeyed when he gave orders.Daniel had spent years believing his father was a man worth becoming.Now he wasn't so sure, the hidden safe.The panic in Victor's eyes when Blackridge Holdings was mentioned, the growing number of lies, none of it made sense and yet all of it felt connected.

Slowly, Daniel reached for his phone.His thumb hovered over Olivia's name, then he pressed call.She answered on the second ring."Daniel?""Can we meet?"There was a brief pause.

"Did something happen?""Yes."His voice sounded more serious than he intended.Another pause followed.Then Olivia said quietly,"Same place?"Daniel nodded before realizing she couldn't see him.

"Yeah."

"I'll be there."

An hour later, they met at the small park on the edge of Willow Creek, the sky was gray, a cool breeze drifted through the trees, the place was nearly empty.Exactly how they preferred it.Olivia arrived wearing a dark jacket and jeans, her expression immediately told Daniel she was worried.

"What happened?"Daniel wasted no time."My father caught me."Olivia stopped walking."Caught you doing what?""Looking for information."Her eyes widened."What did he say?"Daniel laughed bitterly.

"Not much.""What does that mean?"

"It means he never answered a single question."Olivia folded her arms."That's becoming a pattern."Daniel nodded."It gets worse."He explained everything, the hidden safe, victor's reaction, his anger when Blackridge Holdings was mentioned.By the time Daniel finished speaking, Olivia looked just as troubled as he felt.

For several moments neither spoke.Finally Olivia broke the silence."I think our families are hiding the same thing."Daniel looked at her."You think they're connected?""Don't you?"

The truth was obvious, too many clues pointed in the same direction, too many names appeared repeatedly, too many people were acting suspiciously.

The Hamiltons, the Sterlings, William Bennett, Blackridge Holdings.

And somehow...Ethan's father.The pieces were there, but they still couldn't see the full picture.It was like trying to complete a puzzle while half the pieces remained hidden.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Ethan sat inside his apartment staring at the photograph, the warehouse was long behind him but the image remained burned into his memory.

William Bennett, standing beside his father, twenty years ago.The discovery changed everything, the photograph rested on the table before him.Beside it sat several folders from the storage unit, every document seemed important, yet none provided a complete answer.

The frustration was beginning to wear on him.A knock suddenly sounded at the door.Ethan immediately became alert, because nobody visited him, especially not unannounced.

Slowly, he approached the door."Who is it?"

"It's me."Mason.Ethan unlocked the door, Mason stepped inside.His expression was serious, which wasn't unusual, but today he looked genuinely concerned.

"What happened?" Ethan asked. Mason glanced toward the photograph."You met someone last night."

Ethan frowned."How do you know that?" Mason ignored the question.Instead, he sat down heavily."You need to stop going places alone."Ethan laughed.

"Everyone keeps telling me what not to do.""Because you're still alive."The blunt response silenced him.

For a moment, neither spoke, then Ethan picked up the photograph."Tell me about William Bennett."Mason's expression immediately changed.

Not fear, not surprise but something else.

Regret.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that yet.""Why?""Because I don't have a simple answer."Ethan sighed, nothing was ever simple.Mason leaned back in his chair."I knew William years ago."Ethan's pulse quickened.

"How well?""Well enough.""Was he friends with my father?"Mason hesitated, then nodded.

"At one point."

"What happened?"A shadow crossed Mason's face."Something changed."

"What?""I don't know."Ethan stared at him.You don't know?

"No."Mason shook his head."One day they were working together."

He paused.

"The next day nobody trusted anyone."The statement sent a chill through Ethan.

"What happened between them?"

Mason looked away."If I knew, I would tell you."Ethan wanted to believe him and strangely enough, he did.Because Mason looked just as confused as everyone else, whatever had happened twenty years ago was bigger than any one person.Even the people who lived through it seemed unable to explain it.

That evening, William Bennett stood alone in his office overlooking Manhattan.The city lights glittered below, traffic moved like rivers of light through the streets.Normally he enjoyed the view, tonight he barely noticed it.His attention remained fixed on a file lying open on his desk.

Inside were photographs, old photographs, photographs that should have been destroyed years ago.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts."Come in."The office door opened.A woman entered.

Tall, professional, confident.William's most trusted assistant."You wanted to see me?"William nodded."Any updates?"She handed him a folder."We lost track of Ethan Carter for several hours last night."William's expression darkened.

"How?""We're still investigating."William closed the folder, his jaw tightened.Mistakes were becoming more common and mistakes were dangerous, especially now.

"Has he seen the photograph?"The woman hesitated."Most likely."William turned toward the window.For several seconds, silence filled the office, finally he spoke. "Then things are moving faster than expected."

Back in Willow Creek, Olivia sat alone in her room later that night, the house was quiet, her parents had already gone to bed, she should have been sleeping too.Instead, she found herself staring at an old photograph.

A photograph of herself and Ethan, they couldn't have been older than sixteen, both were smiling, happy, carefree, before secrets, before lies, before everything became complicated.

A tear rolled down her cheek, she quickly wiped it away, she hated crying, especially over things she couldn't control.Her phone suddenly buzzed, her heart skipped.

For one brief moment, she hoped it was Ethan, instead, it was an unknown number.Her stomach tightened.Slowly, she opened the message.There was no text, only a photograph.

Olivia's blood ran cold.The image showed Ethan standing outside his apartment building in New York.The picture had clearly been taken without his knowledge.Beneath it appeared six simple words.

Tell Ethan to stop looking.

Olivia stared at the screen, unable to breathe, unable to think, someone was watching him, someone close enough to photograph him and somehow...They knew she could contact him.

Her hands began shaking.

This wasn't a warning, it was a threat. and for the first time since Ethan left Willow Creek, Olivia truly understood how much danger he was in.She immediately reached for her phone.There was only one thing she knew for certain.

Ethan needed to see that message, because whatever secret they were chasing...Someone was becoming desperate enough to protect it and desperate people were often the most dangerous of all.