A Deal That Suddenly Disappeared
Ethan could not stop staring at the photograph.
His mother stood beside Michael.
She looked young.
Happy.
Alive.
But another detail disturbed him.
Behind them stood Victor Hale.
The three people were smiling.
The photograph had clearly been taken before Ethan was born.
Why had Michael never shown it to him?
Ethan called his father again.
No answer.
He called five times.
Nothing.
At nine in the morning, the financial crisis began.
Harrison Holdings officially suspended Ethan's $200 million investment.
Within hours, three other investors followed.
His company's stock valuation collapsed.
Employees began calling.
Board members demanded explanations.
Ethan walked into the emergency meeting room.
Everyone was waiting.
The chairman spoke first.
“Your father is the controlling investor.”
Ethan said nothing.
“Why did he freeze the funding?”
“I don't know.”
The chairman looked at him.
“You should find out quickly.”
Ethan left the meeting.
He felt humiliated.
But beneath the humiliation was anger.
He drove to the one place where he believed he might find answers.
His mother's old apartment.
She had died when Ethan was twelve.
Michael had always told him that she had suffered a sudden illness.
Nothing more.
Inside the apartment, almost everything had been removed years ago.
But Ethan remembered one thing.
A wooden cabinet.
He searched through it.
Nothing.
Then he noticed a loose panel behind the bottom drawer.
He pulled it open.
A small envelope fell out.
His mother's handwriting was on the front.
“For Ethan.”
His hands trembled.
He opened it.
Inside was a letter.
“My son,
If you are reading this, something has happened that your father spent years trying to prevent.
Do not trust anyone who tells you that Victor Hale is dead.
And never believe that your father became wealthy by accident.
There is a reason he kept you away from Harrison Holdings.
There is a reason he wanted you to hate his silence.
And there is a reason someone may try to destroy our family.”
Ethan stopped reading.
At the bottom was one final sentence.
“Your father made a promise to me.”
The letter ended there.
Ethan stared at it.
Then his phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
“You found her letter.”
Ethan looked around.
Another message arrived.
“Now they know you know.”
A third message appeared.
“Run.”
Ethan's face went pale.
He immediately locked the apartment door.
Someone had been watching.
May you like
And whoever it was...
knew exactly what he had found.
