THE FIRST CRACK
1428 Words
Chapter 30– The First Crack
The morning after the Whitmore Business Excellence Gala, the entire city was buzzing with speculation.
Television stations replayed Ethan Carter's public declaration over and over again.
"I trust my wife completely."
The statement quickly became the headline of every major business and entertainment network.
Some praised Ethan for standing firmly beside his wife.
Others questioned why someone had gone to such great lengths to target Olivia.
Inside Carter Manor, however, none of that mattered.
The family was simply enjoying breakfast together.
---
William folded the morning newspaper with a satisfied smile.
"I have to admit..."
"I'm proud of you, Ethan."
Ethan looked up from his coffee.
"For what?"
William pointed at the front page.
"You protected your wife without hesitation."
"I did what any husband should do."
Olivia lowered her eyes, feeling warmth spread through her heart.
William chuckled.
"That's exactly why I'm proud."
---
Anna entered carrying another tray of fresh pastries.
She smiled brightly.
"The reporters are still gathered outside the estate."
Ethan sighed.
"They'll lose interest eventually."
"I hope so," Olivia said softly.
William looked at her reassuringly.
"They're chasing a story."
"The truth is much less exciting."
Olivia nodded, though she still looked uneasy.
Ethan noticed immediately.
He reached across the table and gently squeezed her hand.
"They won't bother you."
"I'll make sure of it."
She smiled gratefully.
"I know."
---
Later that morning...
Ethan prepared to leave for Carter Group.
As he reached the front entrance, Daniel approached him.
"Sir."
"Our investigators found something."
Ethan immediately stopped walking.
"What is it?"
"The anonymous envelope."
"We traced the paper."
"And?"
"It came from a private printing company."
"Owned by?"
Daniel handed him a report.
"A subsidiary of Hayes International."
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"So Victor really sent it."
"It appears that way."
Ethan slipped the report into his briefcase.
"Keep investigating."
"I want proof."
"Not assumptions."
"Yes, sir."
---
Meanwhile...
Olivia decided to spend the day at school
Late that afternoon, Ethan was halfway through a meeting with Carter Group's senior executives when Daniel quietly entered the boardroom.
The urgency on his face immediately caught Ethan's attention.
"Excuse us for a moment," Ethan said to the board members.
He stepped into the hallway.
"What happened?"
Daniel lowered his voice.
"Our cybersecurity team detected an attempted breach."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"Carter Group?"
Daniel nodded.
"Someone tried to access confidential files from one of our overseas servers."
"Were they successful?"
"No."
"Our security systems stopped the intrusion."
Ethan exhaled slowly.
"Any trace of who was behind it?"
Daniel handed him a tablet.
"The attack was routed through several countries."
"But..."
"Our analysts believe it was professionally organized."
Ethan looked at the report.
"This wasn't a random hacker."
Daniel shook his head.
"No, sir."
"It looked like someone was testing our defenses."
Ethan closed the tablet.
"Double security on every server."
"And inform the IT department that no employee accesses confidential files without authorization."
"Understood."
---
At the Carter Foundation, Olivia had just finished a literacy workshop.
Several children surrounded her, proudly showing the stories they had written.
One little girl held up her notebook.
"Mrs. Carter!"
"I wrote my first story!"
Olivia smiled warmly.
"That's wonderful."
"Would you like to read it to me?"
The little girl nodded excitedly.
As she began reading aloud, Olivia listened carefully, applauding when she finished.
"You have a wonderful imagination."
The little girl's face lit up.
"Really?"
"Really."
Nearby, Grace smiled.
"You always know how to encourage them."
Olivia laughed softly.
"They're the ones who inspire me."
---
As Olivia prepared to leave, Grace handed her another envelope.
"This arrived a few minutes ago."
Olivia frowned.
"Another invitation?"
Grace shook her head.
"There wasn't a sender."
Olivia immediately became cautious.
She slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten note.
'Kindness can save lives...
...but it can also destroy them.'
There was nothing else.
No signature.
No explanation.
Olivia felt a chill run down her spine.
Grace looked concerned.
"Mrs. Carter..."
"Is everything alright?"
Olivia forced a small smile.
"I'm not sure."
She folded the note and slipped it into her handbag.
For the first time...
She decided not to keep something from Ethan.
---
That evening...
Ethan arrived home just before sunset.
The moment he entered the living room, Olivia stood and walked toward him.
"I need to show you something."
He immediately noticed the seriousness in her expression.
"What happened?"
She handed him the anonymous note.
Ethan read it once.
Then again.
His jaw tightened.
"He sent another one."
"You think it's Victor?"
"I'd bet my company on it."
Olivia sighed.
"I don't understand."
"Why keep sending these?"
"Because he wants us unsettled."
"He wants us looking over our shoulders."
He folded the note carefully.
"And he's failing."
She looked at him.
"How can you be so sure?"
Ethan reached for her hand.
"Because every time he tries to frighten us..."
"...we end up trusting each other even more."
Olivia smiled softly.
"I hadn't thought of it that way."
"It's exactly what he's afraid of."
---
Just then, Daniel entered the room.
"Sir."
Ethan turned.
"What is it?"
"We've received another report from the cybersecurity team."
"They confirmed today's attack targeted Project Phoenix."
Ethan frowned.
"Project Phoenix?"
Daniel looked confused.
"Our team doesn't know what it is."
"The attackers specifically searched for files using that name."
Ethan slowly looked toward Daniel.
"I've never heard of Project Phoenix."
Daniel nodded.
"Neither has anyone in our company."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Somewhere...
Someone was searching for something that didn't officially exist.
---
Across the city...
Victor Hayes stood alone inside a dimly lit vault beneath his headquarters.
He unlocked a steel cabinet and removed the thick black file marked:
PROJECT PHOENIX
He opened it slowly.
Inside were confidential contracts...
Financial records...
And several old photographs.
One photograph showed two young men standing together outside a newly constructed office building.
One of them was a much younger Ethan Carter.
The other...
Was Victor Hayes.
Victor stared at the picture for a long moment.
"We built an empire together..."
His voice was cold.
"And you destroyed everything."
He closed the file with a sharp snap.
"This isn't about business anymore, Ethan."
"It's about a debt..."
"...that has waited far too long to be paid."
He locked the file away once more.
Far across the city, Ethan stood beside Olivia on the balcony of Carter Manor, completely unaware that Victor's hatred had roots stretching back years long before Olivia had ever entered his life.
The game was no longer about rumors.
It was about the past.
And the past was finally coming back to claim them.
the Carter Foundation.
She hoped returning to her normal routine would help her forget everything that had happened at the gala.
When she arrived, the volunteers welcomed her warmly.
"Congratulations on the award, Mrs. Carter!"
"Your speech was beautiful."
"We were all cheering."
She smiled modestly.
"Thank you."
"But the award belongs to all of us."
Grace Sullivan approached carrying several folders.
"We've received dozens of new volunteer applications."
Olivia looked surprised.
"So many?"
Grace nodded happily.
"Your speech inspired a lot of people."
Olivia couldn't help smiling.
"Then something good came from last night after all."
---
Across the city...
Victor Hayes stood inside his office looking through a stack of newspapers.
Every headline featured Ethan defending Olivia.
His assistant entered.
"Sir."
"The public reaction wasn't what we expected."
Victor calmly placed the newspapers on his desk.
"No."
"It wasn't."
"The Carters became even more popular."
His assistant looked nervous.
"Should we abandon the plan?"
Victor slowly laughed.
"Abandon it?"
"No."
He walked toward the large window overlooking the city.
"They're stronger together than I anticipated."
He looked at his reflection in the glass.
"So..."
"We'll stop trying to separate them."
The assistant frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Victor's smile slowly returned.
"If Ethan won't doubt Olivia..."
"...then we'll make him choose."
"Between his company..."
"...and his wife."
The assistant's eyes widened.
"You've already prepared something?"
Victor nodded.
"I've been preparing it for years."
He opened a locked drawer and removed a thick confidential file.
Across the cover were two words written in bold black letters.
PROJECT PHOENIX
Victor gently placed his hand on the file.
"It's finally time."
Far away...
Completely unaware of what was coming...
Olivia stood laughing with a group of children visiting the Carter Foundation.
And Ethan sat confidently in his office, believing he had finally gained the upper hand.
Neither of them knew...
That Victor Hayes had just decided to stop playing games.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD