Chapter 2 - The Papers in Brooke’s Purse
Caleb moved first.
The flash drive disappeared into his jacket.
Ethan fell against the pillows.
Dr. Reeves reattached the monitor lead.
By the time Brooke entered, the room looked exactly as it had before.
Almost.
Her gaze moved from Reeves to Caleb.
“What are you doing here?”
“Checking on my boss.”
“You're his driver.”
“I'm his friend.”
Brooke smiled without warmth.
“How touching.”
Caleb left.
Brooke waited until Reeves followed him.
Then she approached Ethan.
Her fingers touched the bandage around his forehead.
“I know you can hear me,” she whispered.
Ethan's blood went cold.
Brooke watched his face.
Nothing moved.
She smiled.
“Maybe you can't.”
She kissed his forehead.
Then she left.
That night, Ethan ended the performance temporarily.
Caleb smuggled him through the service corridor into Ethan's private office.
Hannah had been told Brooke believed Ethan needed absolute quiet. She stayed with the twins in the nursery.
Ethan inserted Claire's flash drive into an offline laptop.
There were seven files.
Six were encrypted.
One wasn't.
CLAIRE—IF SOMETHING HAPPENS.
Ethan clicked.
Claire appeared on-screen.
She was pregnant.
Very pregnant.
Her eyes were red.
“Ethan, if you're watching this, I either finally found the courage to tell you everything, or something happened before I could.”
Ethan leaned closer.
“I didn't avoid you because I wanted to keep the twins from you. Someone made me afraid to contact you.”
Caleb whispered, “Jesus.”
Claire continued.
“I started receiving messages after I discovered I was pregnant. At first they told me you didn't want children. Then they sent photographs of my apartment. My school. My car.”
Ethan's fists tightened.
“They said if I contacted you, they would make sure you believed the babies weren't yours.”
Claire wiped her eyes.
“One message included information only someone close to you could know.”
The recording suddenly ended.
“That's it?” Ethan demanded.
“The other files need a password,” Caleb said.
“What about Brooke's paperwork?”
Caleb opened another folder.
The emergency placement document was real.
But the agency wasn't.
Its listed address belonged to a shell corporation.
That corporation had been created six months earlier.
Its director was Martin Caldwell.
Brooke's father.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“They weren't placing my sons.”
Caleb said nothing.
“They were taking them.”
“We don't know where.”
Ethan stood.
“Then we find out.”
Over the next twenty-four hours, Ethan continued pretending to be unconscious while Caleb quietly investigated.
Brooke became increasingly impatient.
She made six calls from the west balcony.
One was to her father.
Another was to an attorney.
The final four were to an unidentified prepaid phone.
Hannah stayed near the twins.
Ethan began noticing something else about her.
She knew newborn care unusually well.
She recognized Noah's reflux.
She knew Jack settled faster when held upright.
She could tell their cries apart from another room.
That evening, Brooke confronted her.
“You seem remarkably experienced.”
“My sister had children.”
“Where?”
Hannah paused.
“Denver.”
Brooke studied her.
“What was your sister's name?”
Hannah's face tightened.
“Why?”
“Conversation.”
“Claire.”
Ethan nearly opened his eyes.
Brooke froze.
“What did you say?”
“My sister's name was Claire.”
The silence became unbearable.
Brooke stepped toward Hannah.
“Claire what?”
Hannah met her gaze.
“Price.”
Brooke relaxed slightly.
But Ethan didn't.
Claire Bennett had once mentioned a half sister.
He couldn't remember the name.
After Brooke left, Ethan waited until midnight.
Then he quietly entered the nursery.
Hannah spun around.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“Mr. Hale?”
“Don't scream.”
She stared at him.
“You're awake.”
“I was never unconscious.”
Her face changed from shock to understanding.
“You heard her.”
“Yes.”
Hannah looked toward the babies.
“I wondered.”
“Why?”
“Because your monitor changed whenever she talked about them.”
Ethan almost laughed despite everything.
“Hannah, who are you?”
Her expression closed.
“Your housekeeper.”
“Who was your sister?”
“I told Brooke.”
“You didn't tell me.”
She looked down.
Ethan stepped closer.
“Was Claire Bennett your sister?”
Hannah's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Ethan felt the answer like a physical blow.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Claire made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
“That I wouldn't trust anyone around you until I knew who frightened her.”
“Did she know Brooke?”
Hannah didn't answer.
“Hannah.”
“She knew something.”
“What?”
“I don't know all of it.”
Ethan looked toward his sons.
“Those are your nephews.”
“Yes.”
“And you've been here protecting them.”
“I couldn't protect Claire.”
Her voice broke.
“I wasn't going to fail them too.”
Ethan's anger softened.
For the first time since Claire died, someone else in the room loved the boys for no reason connected to money.
Hannah reached beneath Noah's bassinet.
She removed a folded envelope.
“Claire mailed this to me two days before she went into labor.”
Ethan recognized the handwriting.
His name was written across the front.
ETHAN ONLY.
“Why didn't you give it to me?”
“Because the last line on the outside scared me.”
She turned it over.
Written across the back were seven words.
DO NOT OPEN WHILE BROOKE IS IN THE HOUSE.
Ethan broke the seal.
Inside was a letter.
And a key.
The letter contained only an address.
317 Briarwood Lane.
Ethan stared at the number.
The same numbers written beneath his hospital wristband.
He looked at Hannah.
“Who wrote on my wristband?”
“I thought the hospital did.”
“It wasn't there yesterday.”
Neither spoke.
Then Ethan's phone vibrated.
Caleb.
Ethan answered.
“What?”
Caleb's breathing was ragged.
“I found Briarwood Lane.”
“And?”
“You need to come alone.”
“Why?”
A pause.
“Because Claire left something there for you.”
“What?”
Caleb whispered the answer.
May you like
“A nursery.”
Then the call abruptly disconnected.
