Chapter 4 - THE MAN BEHIND GREG
Greg disappeared before sunrise.
His villa was empty.
His passport was missing.
His phone was turned off.
But he had left something behind.
A laptop.
Mark arrived before breakfast.
We opened it together.
The first folder was encrypted.
The second contained financial statements.
The third contained photographs.
Hundreds of them.
My company.
My house.
Mia's school.
My office.
Even the island.
Mark looked at me.
“This is surveillance.”
“Who took the photographs?”
“We'll find out.”
He continued searching.
Then he found an email chain.
The sender was hidden behind several layers of encryption.
But the recipient was Greg.
The subject line was simple.
PHASE TWO.
I opened it.
The first message was dated eighteen months earlier.
It said:
She must believe the wedding is her sister's dream.
The next:
Once the emotional pressure is high enough, Elena will sign anything to protect the family.
Another:
The child is a weakness.
My hands began trembling.
I closed my eyes.
Mia.
They had planned to use my daughter.
Then another message appeared.
If Elena refuses, create a public scandal.
Mark looked at me.
“They intended to destroy your reputation.”
I stared at the screen.
“Why?”
He opened another file.
The answer was there.
A company called Carter Holdings International.
My company.
The company I had built quietly.
The company that owned several resorts.
Investment properties.
Technology shares.
Private equity funds.
And one asset worth far more than the island.
A controlling interest in a financial group.
Mark pointed to the figure.
“They wanted this.”
I swallowed.
“How much?”
He gave me the number.
I couldn't speak.
The wedding had never been about two million dollars.
Two million was bait.
They wanted everything.
My mother walked into the office.
“You're still investigating?”
I turned toward her.
“How long have you known?”
She frowned.
“Known what?”
“About Greg.”
Her face changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
“You knew.”
She sat down.
“Greg promised Sarah a better life.”
“You knew he was in debt.”
“He said he could recover.”
“You knew he was planning to take my company.”
Mom looked away.
“I didn't know about that.”
I placed the surveillance photograph of Mia in front of her.
She stared at it.
Then she whispered:
“I never wanted anything to happen to her.”
“You allowed someone to follow my child.”
“I didn't know.”
“You didn't ask.”
She began crying.
For the first time in my life, I felt nothing.
Not anger.
Not pity.
Just emptiness.
Then Daniel rushed inside.
“Ms. Carter.”
I turned.
“What?”
“We found Greg.”
“Where?”
“He's at the airport.”
Mark stood.
“Call the authorities.”
Daniel shook his head.
“We can't.”
“Why?”
“Because he's not alone.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Who is with him?”
May you like
Daniel looked at me.
“Your sister.”
