WAITING FOR ETHAN

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE SAFE

Daniel Sterling stood frozen in his father's office.The room suddenly felt smaller.A few seconds earlier, he had been standing in front of the hidden safe, trying to figure out how to open it. Now Victor Sterling was standing in the doorway, staring directly at him.

Neither man spoke, the silence stretched between them like a wire pulled too tight.

Victor slowly closed the office door behind him and placed his briefcase on the desk. His face showed no anger, but somehow that was worse. Daniel had learned long ago that his father was most dangerous when he appeared calm.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Victor finally asked.Daniel forced himself to remain composed.

"I was looking for a file."Victor's eyes narrowed slightly.

"A file?"

"Yes."

"What kind of file?"

Daniel shrugged."Business records."Victor continued staring at him.For a moment Daniel wondered if his father could hear his heartbeat. It felt loud enough to fill the room.Then Victor walked past him and stopped in front of the safe.His hand rested against the steel door.

"Interesting place to look for business records."Daniel swallowed.The conversation was becoming dangerous."I didn't know there was a safe there."Victor let out a soft laugh.

"No, Daniel. You knew exactly where it was."The accusation hung in the air, Daniel remained silent.There was no point denying it, Victor turned toward him, something cold flashed in his eyes.

"Tell me the truth."Daniel met his father's gaze, for years he had obeyed him, for years he had followed every instruction without question, but lately things had changed.

The lies, the secrets, the missing records, the mysterious company called Blackridge Holdings and now Ethan Carter's name seemed to appear wherever Daniel looked.Too many things no longer made sense.

"What are you hiding?" Daniel asked, victor's expression immediately hardened, the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

"What did you say?" Daniel took a deep breath."What are you hiding from me?"For the first time, genuine anger appeared on Victor Sterling's face, "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then explain it."

"Explain what?"

"The hidden accounts. The missing files. Blackridge Holdings."Victor went completely still, that reaction alone was enough, Daniel knew he had touched something important.

For several seconds, neither moved.Then Victor slowly walked around the desk."Who told you about Blackridge Holdings?"The question sent a chill through Daniel, because his father wasn't denying anything, instead, he wanted to know how Daniel had learned about it.

"No one."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not."Victor's jaw tightened."Was it Olivia?"Daniel shook his head."No.""Then who?"When Daniel refused to answer, Victor suddenly slammed his hand against the desk.

The loud c***k echoed through the office, Daniel jumped, it was the first time in years he had seen his father lose control."You need to stop digging into things that don't concern you."Victor's voice was low and threatening.

Daniel stared at him. "Why?""Because some questions have consequences."The words sounded familiar, almost identical to the warnings Ethan had been receiving, a strange feeling settled in Daniel's stomach.

For the first time, he wondered if Ethan Carter had been telling the truth all along.Perhaps there really was something dangerous hidden beneath Willow Creek's peaceful surface and perhaps their fathers were at the center of it.

Victor adjusted his tie and regained his composure.When he spoke again, his voice was calm."Your engagement party is in three weeks."Daniel frowned."What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything."

Victor moved toward the window."You are going to marry Olivia Hamilton."Daniel remained silent."You are going to take your place in this family."Still silent."And you are going to stop asking questions."

Daniel looked away.Victor smiled slightly, a smile that contained no warmth."Do we understand each other?"Daniel wanted to say yes.It would have been easier, safer, but he couldn't, not anymore, because every answer his father gave only created more questions.

And deep down, he knew one thing with certainty, whatever was inside that safe was important, important enough for Victor Sterling to panic, important enough to protect and important enough to risk everything to uncover.

As Daniel left the office a few minutes later, he glanced back one final time, Victor was standing beside the safe.

Watching him, waiting, distrust had entered their relationship and once distrust appeared, it rarely disappeared.

Daniel stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind him, then he reached for his phone.There was only one person he could talk to, Olivia.Because whether they liked it or not, they were now caught in the same mystery.

And somewhere in New York, Ethan Carter was unknowingly moving closer to the truth,a truth that powerful men had spent more than twenty years trying to bury, a truth hidden behind locked doors, missing records, and whispered warnings, a truth that was finally beginning to surface.