Chapter 4 - The Blonde Maid Found the Dead Mafia Queen’s Hidden Notebook—But the Man Sent to Kill Her Revealed a Secret About Ethan’s MotherEmily Bennett stood frozen beside the grand piano.
Marco blocked the doorway.
His black suit was wrinkled.
There was a small cut near his eyebrow.
And the pistol in his hand was pointed directly at her chest.
"Put the notebook down," he said.
Emily's fingers tightened around the leather cover.
"Marco, please."
"Don't make this difficult."
She looked toward the window.
Three floors above the courtyard.
No balcony.
No easy escape.
"Why are you doing this?"
Marco laughed softly.
"Because I made a promise a long time ago."
"To whom?"
"Victor Carter."
Emily's stomach twisted.
"Ethan's father?"
Marco nodded.
"Your employer's father is a very persuasive man."
Emily swallowed.
"He's alive."
"Of course he's alive."
Marco stepped into the room.
"Now give me the notebook."
Emily slowly placed it on the piano.
Marco approached.
But before he could reach it, she spoke.
"Did you kill my father?"
Marco stopped.
For a moment, his expression changed.
Then he smiled.
"Samuel Bennett was a stubborn man."
Emily felt tears rise.
"Answer me."
Marco tilted his head.
"He knew too much."
"Did you kill him?"
Marco said nothing.
And that silence was answer enough.
Emily stepped backward.
"You murdered him."
Marco's expression hardened.
"Your father made a choice."
"He tried to stop you."
"He tried to destroy people who were more powerful than he was."
Emily stared at him.
"You're a monster."
Marco raised the gun slightly.
"Maybe."
Then he looked toward the notebook.
"But monsters survive."
Across Manhattan, Ethan Carter was leaving Vanessa Sinclair's penthouse when his phone vibrated.
A message from Emily.
I found something in your mother's music room. Please come quickly.
Ethan stopped.
He called her.
No answer.
He called again.
Still nothing.
A cold feeling spread through his chest.
Daniel approached.
"Boss?"
"Emily's at the mansion."
"Yes."
"Something's wrong."
Ethan hurried toward the elevator.
Daniel followed.
"What's happening?"
Ethan showed him the message.
Daniel frowned.
"Your mother's music room?"
Ethan nodded.
"She found something."
His phone vibrated again.
Another message.
This time from an unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Emily stood beside the piano.
Marco held a gun to her head.
Beneath the image were six words.
COME ALONE OR THE MAID DIES.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Then he looked at Daniel.
"Get the car."
Marco tied Emily's wrists with a length of cord.
She sat on a chair beside the piano.
The notebook lay open on the desk.
Marco flipped through the pages.
His expression changed as he read.
"Interesting."
Emily watched him.
"What?"
He ignored her.
Then turned another page.
His face darkened.
"Victor isn't going to like this."
Emily's heart pounded.
"What does it say?"
Marco looked at her.
"You really don't know?"
She shook her head.
He smiled.
"Then let me tell you something about the Carter family."
He pulled up a chair.
"Thirty years ago, Isabella Carter inherited one of the largest private shipping fortunes in New York."
Emily listened.
"Victor Moretti was a small-time criminal with big ambitions. He married Isabella, took her surname, and began using her companies to build his empire."
Emily remembered the documents Daniel had found.
"Then he stole everything."
Marco nodded.
"Almost everything."
"What do you mean?"
Marco leaned forward.
"Isabella was smarter than Victor realized. She created a separate trust for her children."
"Ethan and Noah."
"Yes."
Emily frowned.
"Then why does Victor need Noah?"
Marco smiled.
"Because Isabella changed the trust before she died."
Emily stared.
"Changed it how?"
Marco looked toward the notebook.
"She discovered Victor was using the family businesses for criminal operations. She planned to remove him."
Emily's heart raced.
"And?"
"Victor found out."
A terrible silence followed.
Emily whispered, "He killed her."
Marco did not answer.
He didn't need to.
Emily closed her eyes.
Ethan had spent seventeen years believing his mother died from a sudden illness.
Now she understood why.
Victor had not merely stolen the Carter fortune.
He had destroyed his own family to keep it.
Marco continued.
"Isabella left a final instruction. If either son was involved in Victor's crimes, his share would be frozen. Noah discovered the scheme and refused to cooperate."
"So Victor framed Ethan."
Marco nodded.
"Exactly."
Emily stared.
"He forged Ethan's signature."
"Yes."
"And made Noah believe Ethan wanted him dead."
Marco smiled.
"Very effective, wasn't it?"
Emily felt sick.
"Why are you telling me this?"
Marco leaned closer.
"Because you're going to die anyway."
At 8:42 p.m., Ethan's black SUV stopped outside the mansion.
The enormous gates opened.
Warm golden lights illuminated the marble entrance.
But the house felt different.
Empty.
Threatening.
Daniel remained in the vehicle.
"Boss, we have men covering the rear entrances."
Ethan nodded.
"No one moves until I know where Emily is."
Daniel frowned.
"You're going inside alone?"
"Marco wants me."
"That's exactly why you shouldn't."
Ethan looked at him.
"He's holding her because of me."
Daniel's expression softened.
"Then don't give him two victims."
Ethan considered the warning.
Then nodded.
"Keep the team ready."
He stepped out.
Inside, the mansion was silent.
The engagement decorations were still in place.
White roses.
Golden ribbons.
Crystal vases.
The ballroom floor had been cleaned after the shooting, but the broken chandelier had not yet been replaced.
Ethan crossed the room.
Then climbed the grand staircase.
At the third floor, he stopped outside his mother's music room.
"Marco."
His voice echoed down the corridor.
"Open the door."
A laugh came from inside.
"Still giving orders, boss?"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"Let Emily go."
"Come in."
Ethan opened the door.
And froze.
Emily sat beside the piano.
Her wrists were tied.
Her face was pale.
Marco stood behind her with a gun.
"Hello, Ethan."
Ethan's gray eyes moved toward Emily.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"No."
Marco laughed.
"How touching."
Ethan looked at him.
"What do you want?"
Marco gestured toward the notebook.
"Your mother's secrets."
Ethan glanced at it.
"What is that?"
Emily spoke quickly.
"Your mother left a notebook. It explains what happened to Noah."
Marco pressed the gun closer to her head.
"Quiet."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"Don't touch her."
Marco smiled.
"Then do exactly what I say."
Ethan raised his hands.
"All right."
Marco pointed toward the desk.
"Sign the document."
Ethan looked down.
A legal transfer agreement lay beside the notebook.
It authorized the sale of several Carter Maritime subsidiaries to companies controlled by Richard Sinclair.
Ethan stared.
"This is what all of this is about?"
Marco laughed.
"Money is what everything is about."
Ethan looked at him.
"My brother was kidnapped. My mother was murdered. Samuel Bennett disappeared. And you think this is just money?"
Marco's smile faded.
"Sign it."
Ethan picked up the pen.
Emily shook her head.
"Don't."
Marco tightened his grip on the gun.
Ethan looked at her.
"Emily."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Please."
He held her gaze.
Then looked back at Marco.
"Let her go first."
Marco laughed.
"You don't negotiate with me."
Ethan placed the pen down.
"Then you don't get my signature."
Marco's face darkened.
"You're testing my patience."
Ethan took one step forward.
"No. I'm giving you a choice."
Marco raised the gun.
"Stay back!"
Ethan stopped.
"Kill me if you want. But Emily walks out."
Emily stared at him.
"Ethan, no!"
He looked at her.
"You're not dying because of my family."
For a moment, Marco seemed uncertain.
Then he smiled.
"You're just like your mother."
Ethan froze.
"What?"
Marco leaned closer.
"Isabella tried to save everyone too."
Ethan's voice dropped.
"What did you do to her?"
Marco laughed.
"Ask your father."
Ethan's fists clenched.
"Did you kill my mother?"
Marco's expression changed.
He looked toward the notebook.
Then back at Ethan.
"No."
Ethan stared.
"Then who did?"
Marco smiled.
"Your father."
The words struck Ethan like a physical blow.
Victor Carter.
His father.
The man who had raised him.
The man who taught him how to fight.
How to lead.
How to survive.
The man Ethan had spent his entire adult life trying to impress.
Had murdered his mother.
Ethan stood motionless.
Emily watched his face.
"Ethan..."
He barely heard her.
Marco continued.
"Isabella found out Victor was using the family businesses for trafficking, extortion, and illegal financial operations. She threatened to expose him."
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
"Victor arranged for her medication to be replaced. The doctors called it a heart condition."
Ethan's vision blurred.
He remembered his mother's final weeks.
How weak she had become.
How Victor refused to let anyone question the doctors.
How Ethan had believed every word his father said.
Marco smiled.
"Your father was very good at making death look natural."
Ethan slowly raised his eyes.
"And you helped him."
Marco shrugged.
"I followed orders."
Ethan's expression became terrifyingly calm.
"Then you can answer for them."
Marco laughed.
"To whom?"
A voice came from the doorway.
"To me."
Everyone turned.
Daniel Russo stood in the corridor.
Behind him were two armed security officers.
Marco spun.
Ethan moved instantly.
He grabbed the chair and shoved it sideways.
Emily fell away from the gun.
A shot exploded.
The bullet struck the piano.
Daniel shouted.
"DROP IT!"
Marco stumbled backward.
Ethan tackled him.
They crashed against the desk.
The notebook fell.
The gun skidded across the floor.
Marco punched Ethan in the jaw.
Ethan struck back.
The two men slammed into the wall.
Marco reached for a knife hidden beneath his jacket.
Emily screamed.
"Ethan!"
Daniel rushed forward.
"Knife!"
Ethan caught Marco's wrist.
They struggled.
The blade flashed beneath the chandelier light.
Then Ethan twisted Marco's arm.
The knife fell.
Daniel and the officers restrained him.
Marco cursed violently.
Ethan stood over him, breathing hard.
For a moment, he looked capable of killing the man with his bare hands.
Then Emily spoke.
"Ethan."
He turned.
She sat on the floor beside the piano.
Her wrists were still tied.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
Ethan crossed the room immediately.
He knelt beside her.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
He carefully cut the cord from her wrists.
Then pulled her into his arms.
Emily clung to him.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Finally, she whispered, "You came back."
Ethan closed his eyes.
"Of course I did."
An hour later, Marco was being held under guard while independent investigators were contacted.
Ethan stood in his mother's music room.
The notebook lay open before him.
Emily sat beside him.
Daniel stood near the window.
Ethan turned the pages slowly.
His mother's handwriting filled the book.
Accounts.
Names.
Dates.
Warnings.
Then he found a letter.
My dearest Ethan,
If you're reading this, I may no longer be here to explain what happened.
Your father is not the man you believe him to be.
I have tried to protect you and Noah from his world, but I fear I have failed.
There is something you must know.
Noah discovered the truth before you did.
And if Victor cannot control him, he will destroy him.
Ethan stopped reading.
His hands trembled.
Emily gently touched his arm.
"Keep going."
He swallowed.
Then continued.
But the greatest secret is not what Victor has done.
It is what he has hidden from both of you.
Ethan frowned.
He turned the page.
And froze.
There was a birth certificate.
Not Noah's.
Not his own.
A third child.
A baby girl.
Born twenty-four years earlier.
Mother:
ISABELLA CARTER.
Father:
VICTOR MORETTI.
Ethan stared.
"A daughter?"
Emily leaned closer.
The child's name was printed beneath the parents' names.
ELIZABETH CARTER.
Ethan looked at Daniel.
"I have a sister?"
Daniel stared at the document.
"I've never heard of her."
Emily's heart pounded.
"Twenty-four years ago..."
She stopped.
Ethan looked at her.
"What?"
Emily's face had gone completely white.
"That's the year I was born."
Ethan stared.
Then looked back at the certificate.
The birth date.
The hospital.
The name.
A terrible possibility formed.
Emily slowly reached into her pocket.
She removed a small silver necklace.
A crescent moon.
Her mother had given it to her when she was a child.
Ethan stared at the pendant.
He remembered it.
His mother had owned two matching necklaces.
One for herself.
And one for a baby girl.
A baby girl he had been told died shortly after birth.
Ethan's voice became barely audible.
"Emily..."
She looked at him.
He swallowed.
"Where did you get that necklace?"
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"My mother."
Ethan stared at the pendant.
Then at the birth certificate.
And suddenly, the room seemed to collapse around him.
Because the woman he had been falling in love with—
The blonde maid he had risked his life to save—
Might not simply be connected to his family.
May you like
She might be his little sister.
End of Chapter 4.
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