Chapter 10 - WHAT HIS WIFE LEFT BEHIND
Ethan’s first wife, Sarah, had owned a small legal office before she died.
After her death, Ethan closed it and moved the files to the storage yard.
He had never gone through everything.
Victoria had asked about those boxes many times.
At the time, he had assumed she was simply curious about Sarah.
Now he remembered one detail.
Sarah had once told Ethan she had discovered fraud in a local adoption agency.
She had planned to report it.
Then she died in a car accident.
Ethan had always believed the crash was caused by icy roads.
But Sarah’s old file was missing from the house.
Could Victoria have known about it?
Detective Ruiz called the state police and arranged surveillance around the storage yard.
Ethan entered through the front gate carrying a briefcase.
Inside were blank papers, a recording device, and a copy of the trust agreement.
Ruiz watched from a nearby vehicle.
“You’re not alone,” she reminded him through the earpiece.
Ethan walked between rows of metal containers.
The old cannery stood at the back of the property, half-hidden behind broken concrete walls.
The door was open.
“Victoria,” Ethan called.
His voice echoed through the empty building.
A baby began to cry.
Ethan followed the sound.
He found a crib in the center of the room.
The newborn was inside, wrapped in a blue blanket.
But Lily was gone.
Victoria stepped from behind a support column.
“You came without the police.”
“I want my daughter.”
“You want both children.”
Ethan stared at the crib.
“Let me hold my son.”
Victoria smiled.
“Sign first.”
She placed documents on a folding table.
Ethan moved closer.
The papers were not guardianship forms.
They transferred control of his company.
“You’ve been planning this since you married me.”
Victoria’s smile vanished.
“You were supposed to die of grief after Sarah. Instead, you built a company and protected her daughter.”
“You never loved me.”
“I loved what you had.”
A sound came through Ethan’s earpiece.
Ruiz whispered, “We see Lily.”
Ethan looked toward the upper walkway.
Lily was tied to a chair above them.
Her mouth was covered with tape.
Victoria saw his eyes move.
She grabbed the baby from the crib and pressed a hand over his mouth.
“Sign,” she ordered.
Ethan picked up the pen.
Then the lights went out.
May you like
A gunshot cracked through the cannery.
And when the emergency lights came on, Victoria and the baby were gone.
