Chapter 1 - The Man With the Mop
At 11:43 p.m., Evelyn Hale grabbed Ethan Brooks by the wrist so hard that the mop slipped from his hand.
“Your mother was murdered.”
For a moment, Ethan forgot he was supposed to be Eli Carter, temporary night janitor at St. Mary’s Hospital.
He forgot the dark-blue uniform, gray contact lenses, thrift-store jacket hanging downstairs, and the three weeks he had spent pretending his bank account contained less money than the vending machine beside Room 417.
He saw only the photograph trembling between Evelyn’s fingers.
Rachel Brooks.
His mother.
Twenty years younger.
Beside her stood Evelyn.
And Victor Kane.
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
“My mother died in a car accident.”
“No.”
Evelyn glanced toward the hallway.
“She survived the crash.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
“She came here conscious. She told me someone had tampered with her brakes.”
“Who?”
Evelyn’s eyes filled.
Before she could answer, polished shoes clicked outside.
Victor Kane appeared in the doorway.
Sixty-two. Silver hair. Charcoal suit. The vice chairman of Brooks Global and the man Ethan had trusted since his father’s death.
Victor looked directly at him.
No recognition.
Only contempt.
“Move, janitor.”
He knocked the photograph from Ethan’s hand.
Ethan lowered his head.
Exactly as a powerless employee would.
While picking up the photograph, he secretly photographed Victor’s hospital visitor badge.
Sophia Reed stood behind him in blue scrubs.
She noticed everything.
Victor’s aggression.
Evelyn’s fear.
The way Ethan’s expression changed when he saw the photograph.
Victor leaned over Evelyn.
“Ms. Hale. I hear you’ve been asking for old records.”
Evelyn recoiled.
Her fingers caught Ethan’s sleeve.
Victor noticed.
“Know your place,” he told Ethan.
Ethan slowly raised his eyes.
For half a second, something passed between the two men.
Victor frowned.
Recognition almost surfaced.
Then disappeared.
Sophia stepped forward.
“Mr. Kane, the patient needs rest.”
Victor smiled.
“I fund this wing.”
“And I’m her nurse.”
The smile vanished.
Victor left.
Sophia watched him disappear.
Then turned toward Ethan.
“Why was she terrified of him?”
Ethan had no safe answer.
Evelyn whispered:
“Because he came here the night Rachel died.”
Ethan shut the door.
“What happened?”
Evelyn pulled him closer.
“Your mother told me Victor stole millions from Brooks Global.”
Ethan felt the room tilt.
“She said she had proof.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then what happened?”
Evelyn’s voice broke.
“Victor arrived.”
She looked toward the door.
“And by sunrise, your mother was dead.”
Ethan stood motionless.
Then his phone vibrated.
One message from his attorney, Nathan Cole.
CALL ME NOW.
Ethan stepped into the hallway.
“What happened?”
Nathan sounded shaken.
“Someone inside Brooks Global just triggered the emergency succession clause.”
Ethan frowned.
“What clause?”
“The one that removes you as CEO if you disappear for thirty consecutive days.”
Ethan looked at the calendar.
He had been gone twenty-one.
Nathan continued.
“Victor has scheduled the board vote for nine days from now.”
Ethan stared back toward Room 417.
May you like
Victor was not merely connected to his mother’s death.
He was already moving against her son.
