Chapter 5 - The Lie Between Them
Sophia did not cry.
Ethan almost wished she had.
Anger would have been easier.
Instead, she stared at him like a medical mystery she no longer wanted to solve.
“My name is Ethan Brooks.”
“I gathered that.”
“I can explain.”
“You became a janitor.”
“Yes.”
“To test women?”
He hated how ugly it sounded when spoken correctly.
“Not exactly.”
“That is exactly what you did.”
“Sophia—”
“You watched me split meals with you.”
“I never asked you—”
“That makes it worse.”
She stepped closer.
“I thought you were skipping dinner because you couldn’t afford it.”
Ethan stopped.
She was right.
Sophia had given from scarcity.
Ethan had accepted from abundance.
His experiment suddenly felt grotesque.
“I’m sorry.”
“For lying?”
“Yes.”
“Or because you got caught?”
He had no quick answer.
Sophia nodded.
“That’s what I thought.”
Then Victor appeared.
He had seen the television.
For the first time, Victor looked directly at the janitor and saw Ethan.
His face changed.
“Ethan.”
No contempt now.
Calculation.
“What are you doing here?”
“Cleaning.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“No.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“It isn’t.”
Victor glanced toward Room 417.
Understanding arrived.
“You spoke to her.”
Ethan said nothing.
Victor lowered his voice.
“Evelyn is confused.”
“Then why are you frightened?”
Victor laughed.
“I’m protecting you.”
“From what?”
“Your mother.”
Ethan froze.
Victor immediately knew he had gone too far.
“My mother has been dead twenty years.”
Victor straightened.
“There are things Rachel did before she died that your father chose not to tell you.”
“What things?”
Victor looked toward Sophia.
“Private family matters.”
Sophia turned to leave.
Victor stopped her with one sentence.
“Your father died because of Rachel Brooks.”
Sophia spun around.
“What?”
Ethan grabbed Victor’s arm.
“Explain.”
Victor looked at Ethan’s hand.
“Remove it.”
“No.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“Michael Reed stole evidence from this hospital. Evidence your mother created. His death occurred because he involved himself in a corporate war he didn’t understand.”
Sophia’s voice shook.
“Who killed him?”
Victor did not answer.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Was it you?”
“No.”
“Who?”
Victor smiled strangely.
“Ask Evelyn who she was protecting.”
Then investigators appeared at the hallway entrance.
Nathan had contacted federal financial investigators after finding transfers connected to Victor.
Victor saw them.
His confidence faltered.
One investigator approached.
“Victor Kane?”
Victor backed away.
Then Evelyn called from Room 417.
“Ethan.”
Everyone turned.
She was awake.
Crying.
Holding another photograph.
Ethan entered.
“What is it?”
Evelyn handed it to him.
Rachel stood beside a younger man.
Not Thomas Brooks.
Michael Reed.
Sophia’s father.
On the back, Rachel had written:
For Ethan, when he is old enough to know.
Ethan stared.
Evelyn whispered:
“Victor didn’t kill your mother to steal the company.”
“Then why?”
May you like
Her next sentence emptied the room.
“He killed her because of who your real father is.”
