Chương 5
Ethan looked at her.
“I thought you said we do this together.”
A small surprised expression crossed her face.
Then she nodded.
“We do.”
They moved quietly through the mansion.
The silence felt heavier than usual.
Every room seemed normal.
Every piece of furniture looked exactly where it belonged.
That was what made it unsettling.
Someone had entered without disturbing anything.
Someone comfortable enough to move through the house like they belonged there.
When Ethan reached the twins' room, he opened the door carefully.
The soft glow of the nightlight filled the room.
Avery and Sophie were sleeping peacefully.
For a moment, Ethan simply stood there.
He watched their small faces.
The calm breathing.
The blankets pulled up around them.
Everything he had spent years trying to protect was right in front of him.
Clara stood behind him quietly.
“She trusts you,” Clara whispered.
Ethan looked back.
“Who?”
“Sophie.”
He glanced at his sleeping daughter.
“She asked you if you were still mad because she cared about what you felt.”
Ethan lowered his eyes.
“I spent so much time thinking I had to protect them from everyone else.”
Clara waited.
“I never realized I also had to protect them from my own mistakes.”
Clara did not answer immediately.
She understood that some regrets were not meant to be erased quickly.
They had to be accepted first.
A faint sound came from downstairs.
Both Ethan and Clara turned.
A door closing.
Not loudly.
Almost carefully.
Ethan immediately stepped toward the hallway.
“Stay here.”
Clara shook her head.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I am not leaving you alone with this anymore.”
The words surprised him as much as they surprised her.
Together, they walked downstairs.
The mansion remained dark except for the small security lights along the walls.
Ethan moved slowly.
He knew every corner of the house.
Every sound.
Every place someone could hide.
When they reached the east wing entrance, the door was slightly open.
Ethan stopped.
He remembered the last time he had seen that door open.
The day everything changed.
The day his family broke apart.
He reached for the handle.
Clara noticed his hesitation.
“Ethan.”
He looked at her.
“You do not have to face that memory alone.”
Those words gave him the strength to open the door.
Inside was an old sitting room.
Dust covered some of the furniture.
The curtains were closed.
The room had been preserved exactly as it was.
Ethan walked inside slowly.
On the wall were framed photographs.
Pictures from years ago.
Before loss changed everything.
Before fear controlled every decision.
His eyes stopped on one photograph.
A younger Ethan holding his daughters when they were babies.
He looked happy.
Different.
Clara saw the sadness in his face.
“You miss that person.”
Ethan looked at the photograph.
“I do not know who that person was anymore.”
“You still are.”
He shook his head.
“I made too many mistakes.”
Clara looked around the room.
“People who do not care do not regret their mistakes.”
Before Ethan could respond, something caught his attention.
A small drawer near the old desk was slightly open.
He walked toward it.
Inside was a stack of documents.
The top page had his name.
Ethan picked it up.
His expression changed.
“What is it?”
He read silently for a moment.
Then he handed the paper to Clara.
She looked confused.
The document contained private notes about Ethan's behavior.
His routines.
His emotional reactions.
His fears.
Someone had been recording details about him.
Not professionally.
Personally.
Clara's face became serious.
“This is not about me.”
Ethan looked at her.
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“This was always about me.”
He continued searching through the drawer.
More documents appeared.
Notes about his daughters.
Their habits.
Their favorite foods.
Their bedtime routines.
Clara's hands tightened.
“Someone was watching all of you.”
Ethan stared at the papers.
The anger inside him grew.
But beneath the anger was something worse.
Guilt.
Because he had spent months accusing the wrong person while someone else had been studying his family.
A small envelope sat beneath the documents.
Ethan opened it carefully.
Inside was a single photograph.
His eyes froze.
It showed Clara standing outside the mansion months earlier.
But the picture was taken from a distance.
Someone had been following her.
Watching her.
A handwritten note was attached.
“Remove her before he realizes the truth.”
Clara looked at the message.
For the first time, fear appeared in her expression.
Ethan noticed immediately.
“Clara.”
She looked at him.
“This person knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That I was getting close to the girls.”
Ethan looked at the photograph again.
“No.”
His voice became firm.
“They were afraid you were getting close to me.”
The realization changed everything.
The goal was not to remove Clara because she was a threat.
The goal was to remove Clara because she was becoming someone Ethan could trust.
Someone who could reveal the truth.
A sudden noise came from the hallway.
A floorboard creaked.
Ethan turned instantly.
Someone was outside.
He moved toward the door.
“Stay behind me.”
This time Clara did not argue.
Not because she was afraid.
Because she understood Ethan was trying to protect her.
The door slowly moved.
A figure appeared in the darkness.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The person stopped.
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then a familiar voice answered.
“You really should have listened the first time.”
Ethan froze.
He knew that voice.
It was someone he had trusted.
Someone who had been close enough to influence every decision.
The figure stepped into the light.
Clara's face changed when she recognized the person.
Because the truth was finally standing in front of them.
And it was someone neither of them expected.
The figure stepped fully into the light, and Ethan felt the air leave his lungs.
It was Marcus Vale.
The man who had worked beside him for almost a decade.
May you like
The man who had handled private security for the Whitaker family.
The man who had stood beside Ethan after his greatest loss and promised he would help protect the people who remained.
