Chapter 4 - THE DOCTOR WHO SIGNED THE CERTIFICATE
Victor Hale had not been Amelia’s regular doctor.
That fact bothered Ethan now.
It should have bothered him then.
The night Amelia died, Ethan had been told the crash caused massive internal injuries.
She had been transported to a private hospital affiliated with the Blackwood Foundation.
Victor Hale had been the attending physician.
He had signed the final paperwork.
Ethan had been too devastated to question anything.
Detective Collins looked through the old case record.
“Your wife died on October 14?”
“Yes.”
“Seven years ago?”
“Yes.”
“And Dr. Hale left the hospital six months later.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Collins turned the laptop toward him.
“He didn’t just leave.”
Victor Hale had moved to Switzerland.
Zurich.
The same city printed on Sophie’s airline ticket.
Ethan felt the room narrow around him.
Sophie leaned against his arm.
“Daddy?”
He forced his voice to remain calm.
“I’m okay.”
He wasn’t.
Detective Collins contacted the state police financial crimes unit.
The blue ledger was photographed and sealed as evidence.
Within an hour, investigators found three companies mentioned in Amelia’s handwriting.
Each had links to accounts in Zurich.
Each company had been established by Richard Halden.
And each listed Victor Hale as an authorized representative.
Celeste sat in the library with an officer outside the door.
She had stopped crying.
When Ethan entered, she looked almost relieved.
“You found Hale.”
It was not a question.
Ethan closed the door behind him.
“You knew Amelia wrote that message.”
“No.”
“You knew about the ledger.”
Celeste looked toward the window.
“Richard told me.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Before or after Amelia died?”
Celeste stayed silent.
Ethan took one step closer.
“Did you have anything to do with my wife’s death?”
“No.”
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
“Did Richard?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Hale?”
Her eyes moved.
That was enough.
Ethan felt rage rise through him.
But Sophie was upstairs.
Police were in the house.
He would not give Celeste a way to turn the situation against him.
So he remained still.
“Tell me what the Zurich trip was for.”
Celeste gave a bitter laugh.
“You still think this is about an affair.”
“I think my daughter was locked in luggage with a one-way international ticket.”
“She wasn’t supposed to stay in there.”
Ethan’s face went cold.
Celeste realized what she had said.
He repeated it.
“She wasn’t supposed to stay in there.”
Celeste looked down.
“How long was she supposed to be in it?”
No answer.
“How long?”
“Twenty minutes.”
Ethan had to grip the back of a chair.
“Why?”
“Because she wouldn’t stop screaming.”
The words landed harder than a slap.
“She heard Richard and me arguing.”
“About?”
“Amelia’s trust.”
Ethan stared at her.
“What trust?”
Celeste looked almost confused.
“You really don’t know.”
“Know what?”
She leaned back slowly.
“Amelia never left her money to you.”
“I never asked her to.”
“It went to Sophie.”
Ethan knew Amelia’s personal estate had been transferred into a trust.
He had assumed it was a standard inheritance.
Celeste continued.
“It isn’t just money.”
“What is it?”
“Controlling shares.”
“In what?”
“The Blackwood holding company.”
Ethan’s heart stopped.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
Celeste smiled faintly.
“It’s exactly what Amelia arranged before she died.”
Ethan owned forty-six percent of Blackwood Holdings.
He had always believed the remaining shares were divided among institutional trusts and family entities.
If Sophie controlled enough of those shares, she was not merely his heir.
She was already one of the most powerful shareholders in the company.
Celeste watched realization spread across his face.
“Now you understand why Richard needed her in Switzerland.”
Ethan’s voice became quiet.
“What was he going to make her sign?”
Celeste shook her head.
“Not Sophie.”
“Then who?”
“You.”
Ethan stared at her.
Celeste leaned forward.
“The trip wasn’t the final step.”
“It was leverage.”
“Richard planned to call you after we landed.”
“And if I refused?”
May you like
Celeste’s voice dropped.
“He said you would never see Sophie again.”
