Chapter 4 - The Person Behind The Door
A man grabbed my shoulder and whispered: "Sarah, don't turn around."
Ethan Blackwood pulled me away from the stranger behind me.
But the security camera footage showed something impossible.
The person standing behind me had entered the hotel twenty minutes before I arrived.
I felt Ethan's hand tighten around my arm.
For a second, nobody moved.
Not me.
Not Ethan.
Not Daniel.
Not even Victoria inside the elevator.
Because we all understood the same thing.
Someone had been watching us.
The entire time.
I slowly turned my head.
But the hallway behind me was empty.
No man.
No stranger.
No one.
Only the reflection from the hotel mirrors showing the people standing around us.
I looked at Ethan.
"Who was behind me?"
He didn't answer.
And that scared me more than anything.
Because Ethan always had an answer.
Even when the answer was wrong.
Even when it hurt.
He always spoke with confidence.
But now...
He looked lost.
Daniel walked toward the security desk near the lobby.
"Show us the cameras."
The hotel employee looked confused.
"I'm sorry, sir?"
"The cameras."
Daniel's voice was serious.
"Now."
The employee glanced at Ethan's expensive suit and immediately understood this wasn't a normal request.
A few minutes later, we were standing in a small security office.
Leo was asleep against my shoulder.
The world around him was collapsing, but he didn't know.
He didn't know that his father had just discovered him.
He didn't know that people had spent years keeping him hidden.
He only knew that he was tired.
I looked at his peaceful face.
And I wondered how many more secrets he would have to carry because of adults.
The security footage appeared on the screen.
The hotel lobby.
The entrance.
The elevator.
Everything.
Daniel pointed.
"There."
The employee rewound the footage.
A man in a dark coat appeared.
Walking through the entrance.
Twenty minutes before I arrived.
My heart stopped.
Because I recognized him.
Not his face.
Not his clothes.
But his movement.
The way he looked around.
The way he waited.
Like he already knew exactly what was going to happen.
Ethan stepped closer.
"Can you zoom in?"
The employee enlarged the image.
The man's face became clearer.
Ethan went completely silent.
I looked at him.
"Ethan?"
He didn't respond.
His eyes stayed on the screen.
Because he knew him.
I could see it.
"You know that person."
It wasn't a question.
Ethan swallowed.
"I thought he was gone."
Daniel turned.
"Who?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately.
Then he whispered:
"My father's driver."
The room became quiet.
I felt confused.
"Your father's driver?"
Ethan nodded slowly.
"His name was Marcus."
Daniel's expression changed.
"Marcus Hale?"
Ethan looked at him.
"You know him?"
Daniel looked away.
"Everyone in your family knew him."
That sentence made my stomach tighten.
Everyone in your family.
Again.
Another person connected to Ethan's family.
Another secret.
Another missing piece.
Ethan stared at the screen.
"Marcus disappeared after my father died."
I looked at him.
"Your father died?"
Ethan nodded.
"Three years ago."
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"But Marcus didn't disappear."
Ethan turned.
"What are you talking about?"
Daniel took a deep breath.
"He was fired."
"Why?"
Daniel looked at the security footage.
"Because he knew too much."
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Victoria.
She had returned from the elevator.
She was standing near the door.
And when she heard Marcus' name...
Her face changed.
Not surprise.
Fear.
"Ethan..."
She whispered.
"He found us."
Ethan looked at his sister.
"What do you mean?"
Victoria looked at me.
Then at Leo.
Then back at Ethan.
"Marcus wasn't working for your father."
Ethan frowned.
"Then who was he working for?"
Victoria didn't answer.
She looked terrified.
And suddenly I understood something.
She wasn't afraid of Marcus.
She was afraid of the person Marcus represented.
The person who had been controlling everything.
The person who had separated Ethan and me.
The person who had hidden Leo from his father.
Daniel moved closer to Victoria.
"Tell him."
Victoria shook her head.
"I can't."
"You have to."
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"If I tell him, he won't just lose trust."
She looked at Ethan.
"He'll lose his entire family."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"I already lost two and a half years with my son."
His eyes moved to Leo.
"I'm done protecting secrets."
Victoria closed her eyes.
Then she walked toward us.
"I need to show you something."
She reached into her bag.
She pulled out a small key.
Old.
Metal.
Worn.
She placed it in Ethan's hand.
"This was your father's."
Ethan stared at it.
"My father?"
Victoria nodded.
"He gave it to me before he died."
I looked at Ethan.
"Why would your father give you a key?"
Victoria looked down.
"Because he knew someone was trying to destroy this family."
Ethan held the key tightly.
"What's it for?"
Victoria looked toward the elevator.
"A storage room."
Daniel immediately reacted.
"Where?"
Victoria hesitated.
Then said:
"Under the old Blackwood building."
Ethan's face changed.
"The building that was sold?"
Victoria nodded.
"Everyone thinks it was empty."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Wasn't it?"
Victoria looked at me.
"No."
Silence.
"Someone has been using it."
Ethan looked at the key.
"What is inside?"
Victoria's eyes filled with fear.
"The proof."
"Proof of what?"
She looked at Leo.
Then at me.
"The reason you were separated."
My heart started racing.
For two and a half years, I believed Ethan left because he stopped loving me.
Because I wasn't enough.
Because our relationship wasn't strong enough.
But what if that wasn't true?
What if someone had stolen those years from us?
Ethan looked at Victoria.
"We're going there."
Victoria immediately shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because Marcus knows about it."
Daniel looked toward the security monitor.
The footage was still frozen on Marcus' face.
"He was here."
Victoria nodded.
"And he wasn't here to talk."
A notification suddenly appeared on the security computer.
The employee looked confused.
"What is that?"
Everyone turned.
A new video file had appeared.
Uploaded moments ago.
The title was simple.
"FOR ETHAN."
Nobody touched the mouse.
Nobody spoke.
Ethan slowly stepped forward.
"Open it."
The employee hesitated.
Then clicked.
The screen went black.
For three seconds.
Then a video appeared.
A man was sitting in a dark room.
Older.
Tired.
Looking directly into the camera.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Because he knew that face.
It was impossible.
It couldn't be real.
The man looked straight at him.
And said:
"Ethan, if you are watching this..."
He paused.
May you like
Then whispered:
"Your father never died."
