The Phone Call
Ethan spent the entire night searching his father's house.
He found no bank statements.
No luxury assets.
No secret vault.
Nothing that explained the $200 million.
Instead, he found boxes.
Dozens of old boxes stacked inside a locked study.
Most contained ordinary things.
Tax records.
Receipts.
Photographs.
Letters.
But one black metal box caught his attention.
It had no keyhole.
Only a small electronic lock.
Ethan tried several combinations.
His father's birthday.
His mother's birthday.
His own birthday.
Nothing worked.
Then he remembered the antique watch.
He took it from his pocket.
There was a tiny engraving on the back.
14-10-98.
The same date as the photograph.
Ethan entered the numbers.
Click.
The box opened.
Inside was a single folder.
On the cover were three words:
HARRISON PROJECT.
Ethan opened it.
The first page contained a list of names.
Investors.
Lawyers.
Executives.
Government officials.
At the bottom of the page was one handwritten note.
“Ethan must never know.”
His hands began to shake.
Why was his name there?
He turned the page.
There was a contract dated twenty-eight years earlier.
Michael Harrison was listed as the principal investor.
But another name appeared beside his.
Victor Hale.
Ethan recognized the name.
Victor Hale had been one of the most powerful businessmen in California during the 1990s.
He had supposedly died in a private plane crash.
Ethan continued reading.
The contract described a technology company that eventually became one of the largest private investment firms in the country.
Harrison Holdings.
Ethan stared at the document.
His father hadn't inherited money.
He had built the fortune.
And apparently, he had built it with someone else.
Then Ethan noticed something disturbing.
A section of the contract had been removed.
Someone had physically torn out several pages.
Why?
Before he could investigate further, his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Ethan answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice spoke.
“Stop looking through your father's files.”
Ethan froze.
“Who is this?”
“You don't need to know.”
“What do you want?”
Silence.
Then the man said,
“Your father protected you for twenty-eight years.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
“You should have stayed away from the past.”
The call ended.
Ethan immediately called the number back.
It was disconnected.
He looked around the dark study.
For the first time, he realized something.
He might not be alone.
A floorboard creaked somewhere downstairs.
Ethan turned.
Nothing.
He grabbed the folder.
Then he heard another sound.
The front door closing.
Someone had entered the house.
Ethan switched off the light.
He stood silently in the darkness.
Footsteps moved slowly through the hallway.
May you like
Whoever had entered...
They knew exactly what Ethan had found.
