Chapter 4:The Man at the Door
1043 Words
The apartment remained silent long after the video ended. Ava stared at the frozen image of Ethan on the laptop screen, unable to process everything she had just heard. Her heart pounded so hard it felt painful, and a thousand questions raced through her mind at once. If Ethan had truly left to protect her, then why hadn’t he trusted her enough to tell her the truth before the wedding? More importantly, who were the people he seemed so terrified of?
Mia was the first to break the silence. She leaned forward and replayed part of the recording, hoping they had missed something important. The same warning echoed through the room, making the atmosphere even heavier than before. “This is insane,” she finally said, running a hand through her hair. “We’re talking about secret enemies, mysterious family possessions, and a billionaire who vanishes overnight. This sounds like something out of a movie.”
Ava closed the laptop slowly and looked toward the window. The city below continued moving as if nothing had happened. Cars filled the streets, people walked along the sidewalks, and life carried on normally. Yet her entire world had been turned upside down in less than forty-eight hours. “It may sound crazy,” she said quietly, “but Ethan believed it. You saw his face. He wasn’t lying.”
Mia wanted to argue, but she couldn’t. The fear in Ethan’s eyes had been real. It wasn’t the fear of a man trying to escape a marriage. It was the fear of someone running out of time. The more they talked about it, the more obvious it became that Ethan had been carrying a burden long before the wedding. Somehow, he had hidden it from everyone around him.
Just as Ava reached for the flash drive again, a loud knock echoed through the apartment. Both women jumped. The sound came unexpectedly, sharp enough to make Ava’s pulse accelerate. She exchanged a quick glance with Mia before looking toward the front door. Very few people knew she was home.
“Are you expecting someone?” Mia asked.
Ava slowly shook her head.
The knock came again.
This time it was louder.
A strange feeling settled in Ava’s stomach. It wasn’t fear exactly, but instinct. Something about the timing felt wrong. Ethan’s warning was still fresh in her mind, and suddenly every ordinary sound seemed suspicious. She carefully stood and walked toward the door while Mia followed close behind.
When Ava looked through the peephole, her breath caught.
A man stood outside.
He appeared to be in his late fifties, dressed in a charcoal-gray suit that looked expensive enough to belong in a corporate boardroom. His silver hair was neatly combed, and his posture remained perfectly straight despite his age. He wasn’t carrying flowers or a package. He simply stood there waiting, as though he knew she would eventually answer.
“Do you know him?” Mia whispered.
Ava stared for another second before nodding slowly.
“Yes.”
The answer surprised even her.
She had only met the man twice before.
His name was Victor Hayes.
And he had been Ethan’s personal attorney for nearly a decade.
Ava unlocked the door cautiously and opened it halfway. Victor’s expression softened the moment he saw her, though concern remained visible in his eyes. He looked as though he hadn’t slept much recently. “Mrs. Blackwood,” he said respectfully. “I’m relieved to see you’re safe.”
The greeting instantly sent chills down her spine.
Safe.
The same word Ethan had used in the video.
“What do you want?” Ava asked.
Victor glanced down the hallway before responding. His eyes briefly scanned the area as if checking whether someone had followed him. When he finally looked back at her, his voice was noticeably lower. “May I come inside? What I have to tell you shouldn’t be discussed out here.”
Ava hesitated.
Everything inside her screamed that trusting strangers was dangerous.
But Victor wasn’t exactly a stranger.
He had attended the wedding.
He had worked for Ethan for years.
And judging from his expression, he was carrying information she desperately needed.
A few moments later, Victor sat across from Ava and Mia in the living room. The older man accepted a glass of water but barely touched it. His attention remained fixed on Ava. The tension in the room felt almost unbearable. It was obvious he had come for a reason, and he seemed unsure how to begin.
“Where is Ethan?” Ava finally asked.
Victor lowered his gaze.
The reaction immediately terrified her.
“Victor.”
The attorney looked back up.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
Ava felt her stomach drop.
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“He contacted me two nights ago.”
Victor paused before continuing.
“He told me that if anything happened to him, I was to find you immediately.”
The room fell silent.
Mia leaned forward.
“Anything happened to him?” she repeated.
Victor nodded slowly. “Ethan believed someone was watching him. At first, I thought he was being overly cautious. Wealthy people often attract unwanted attention. But over the last few weeks, several unusual incidents occurred. Business files disappeared. Private meetings were somehow leaked. Unknown vehicles were seen outside his properties.”
Ava listened carefully.
Every sentence seemed to confirm Ethan’s fears.
Victor reached inside his jacket and removed a sealed envelope. The envelope looked old, almost as though it had been stored away for years. He placed it gently on the coffee table between them. The sight of it immediately reminded Ava of the letter Ethan had left behind.
“He instructed me to give you this,” Victor said.
Ava stared at the envelope.
On the front, written in Ethan’s unmistakable handwriting, were five simple words:
Only if I disappear.
A cold shiver traveled down her spine.
Whatever answers she was searching for were inside that envelope.
But deep down, she suspected the truth would be far more dangerous than she imagined.
And as she slowly reached for it, none of them noticed the black SUV parked across the street.
Or the man inside watching the apartment window.
- Writer
