WAITING FOR ETHAN

CHAPTER TEN:THE MISSING PIECE

The storm raged throughout the night. Rain battered the windows of Ethan's apartment, leep refused to come.The photograph lay on the table before him.His father, Robert Hamilton, an unknown man, and the missing fourth person whose face had been deliberately torn away.

Every answer seemed to lead to more questions, and Ethan was growing tired of questions.He wanted the truth.

The next morning, Mason arrived unexpectedly, his expression was unusually serious."We have a problem."Ethan immediately stood."What happened?"Mason tossed a newspaper onto the table.A headline caught Ethan's attention.

LOCAL REPORTER FOUND DEAD IN APPARENT ACCIDENT

Ethan frowned."Why is this important?"Mason pointed to the article."Read the last paragraph."Ethan quickly scanned the page, then his eyes widened, the reporter had been investigating Blackridge Holdings before his death.The same company Daniel had discovered in his father's records, the same company whose files kept disappearing.

A cold chill crept through Ethan's body. "This wasn't an accident."Mason nodded slowly."I don't think so either."For several moments, neither spoke, the realization settled heavily between them, someone was silencing people, and Blackridge Holdings seemed to be at the center of it all.

Meanwhile, in Willow Creek, Olivia sat alone in her bedroom.Her father had become increasingly suspicious, she could feel it, every question she asked, every place she visited, every phone call she made.

It was as if Robert Hamilton was watching her every move, a knock sounded at her door, before she could answer, it opened.

Her father stepped inside.

"Good morning." Olivia forced a smile. "Morning."Robert sat down.His expression unreadable."Have you spoken to Ethan recently?"The question caught her completely off guard, her heart skipped a beat.

"What?" "Ethan."Her father watched her carefully."Have you spoken to him?"Olivia tried to remain calm."No." The lie felt heavy.

Robert studied her face, searching for something.Finally, he stood.

"Good."Then he left, the moment the door closed, Olivia released the breath she'd been holding, something was wrong, very wrong.Why was her father suddenly asking about Ethan?

Later that day, Daniel secretly contacted Olivia, they met at an abandoned park on the edge of town,neither wanted to risk being seen.

Daniel arrived carrying a folder."I found something."Olivia's pulse quickened."What is it?"Daniel opened the folder.Inside were dozens of financial records, most of them were useless, but one stood out, a payment made nearly twenty years earlier.The recipient's name had been blacked out, the amount was enormous, millions of dollars.

Olivia stared at it."Who received this?"Daniel shook his head."I don't know.""Can you trace it?""I tried.""And?"

His expression darkened."The records disappear every time."Olivia felt frustration building.Every clue seemed incomplete, every path ended in darkness.It was like chasing a ghost.

Back in New York, Ethan decided to visit the public records office.Maybe official records would provide answers, maybe not.

At this point, he was willing to try anything.Hours passed, files piled up around him, most contained nothing useful.Then he found something, a property record.His father's name appeared, Ethan's heartbeat quickened.

The document showed that his father had once owned a storage unit, a storage unit Ethan had never heard of, and according to the records…It still existed.

Two hours later, Ethan stood outside an old storage facility, the building looked neglected, rust covered the metal gates, most of the units appeared abandoned.The key listed in the records led him to Unit 47.His hands trembled as he inserted the key.The lock clicked, slowly, he opened the door.

Dust filled the air, inside sat old boxes, furniture, personal belongings, and one locked metal case.His pulse raced, this had to be important, it had to be.

After several minutes, he finally forced the case open, inside were documents, photographs, letters, evidence, years of evidence.

Ethan stared in disbelief, at last.Something real, something substantial, then he heard footsteps behind him.

His blood ran cold, slowly, he turned, a man stood in the doorway, tall, broad shoulders and the dark suit, expressionless, the same man Ethan had seen in the coffee shop weeks earlier, the same man who had chased him, the stranger smiled.

A cold, dangerous smile."You found it."Ethan immediately backed away."Who are you?"The man stepped inside, ignoring the question."You've caused a lot of trouble.""What do you want?"The stranger's eyes moved toward the documents.

"I want what's inside that case."Ethan's heart pounded, no chance.Whatever these papers contained, they were important, important enough for someone to chase him across the country, important enough for people to die.

The man took another step forward, then another, Ethan's grip tightened around the case.He had spent months searching for answers, he wasn't about to give them up now.

The stranger smiled again."Then I guess we'll do this the hard way."And suddenly, Ethan realized he was trapped.

Alone, no help, no escape, and holding something that powerful people desperately wanted to keep hidden.