Chapter 4
691words
Ethan didn't follow. He'd accomplished his goal—crushing my dignity completely.
With that money stained by humiliation, I went straight to the detention center to retrieve my father's belongings.
There wasn't much—a few changes of clothes and a worn notebook.
I opened the notebook to find my father's bold, decisive handwriting.
The first pages contained work notes, but in the final pages, I spotted Ethan Lane's name.
"This Ethan Lane is calculating and inscrutable. I fear he's not what he seems. His connection to the Howard family—I don't know if it's blessing or curse."
"Uncovered a case from 25 years ago. Lane Corporation, our former competitor, collapsed overnight. Chairman Walter Lane jumped with his wife and children, but apparently a young son went missing… Connection to Ethan Lane?"
"Played chess with Ethan today. He casually mentioned 'a son pays for his father's debts' with a strange look in his eyes. Perhaps I've been blind all along."
"Asked an old friend to investigate Ethan's background. Pray I'm wrong about this. Nina loves him so deeply…"
On the final page, the handwriting deteriorated into frantic scrawls.
"It's my fault! My father's fault! This blood debt will be paid by the Howards! I must find that child before it's too late, make amends somehow…"
The diary ended abruptly.
The date was exactly one day before my father's arrest.
Father had suspected something all along—he was close to the truth!
He wasn't blind to Ethan's ambitions; he was trying to atone for his father's sins in his final days!
But Ethan never gave him that chance.
Clutching the notebook, I collapsed at the detention center entrance, sobbing uncontrollably.
I finally understood what Ethan meant by "a monster created by your Howard family."
This wasn't a simple corporate takeover—this was meticulously planned revenge spanning twenty-five years.
I couldn't wait any longer.
I rushed to a payphone and dialed my mother's new residence with trembling fingers.
I had to warn her about the truth and get her away from Ethan's control!
The phone rang endlessly before someone answered—a maid.
I demanded to speak with my mother. The maid hesitated, then I heard Ethan's voice in the background.
"Let her hear it."
Soon, my mother's weary voice came on the line.
"Nina? What is it now?"
"Mom! You need to get out of there now! Ethan is Walter Lane's son—he came back for revenge! Dad knew it all along—it's in his diary! You have to leave immediately!"
"What are you talking about?" Mother's voice was bewildered.
Then Ethan took the phone.
He chuckled softly—a sound that chilled me to the bone.
"Nina, my dear fiancée, you continue to surprise me."
"So you've discovered that too. I've clearly underestimated you."
"What have you done to my mother?!" I demanded.
"Don't worry, your mother is perfectly fine," Ethan's voice was sickeningly gentle. "Though she hasn't been in the best mental state lately—talking nonsense. I've brought in top psychiatrists to evaluate her."
"The doctors recommend she recover somewhere quiet, isolated from outside stressors. For her own good, of course."
A psychiatric facility!
He was planning to lock away my only remaining family!
"Ethan, you wouldn't dare!"
"Watch me." His words dripped with sadistic pleasure. "Your father's dead, your brother's dead, and now your mother's losing her mind. Nina Howard, what do you have left?"
"You can't beat me."
"Sign over your shares like a good girl, and I might ensure your mother's stay at the facility is comfortable. Otherwise…"
He didn't finish, but the threat hung in the air.
I clutched the receiver, my body ice-cold, as if I'd fallen into a bottomless abyss.
I was utterly defeated.
All my struggles against his wealth and power seemed like a pathetic joke.
In my desperation, something clicked.
That encrypted message I'd nearly forgotten.
My last—and only—trump card.
I rushed to an internet café and used a temporary email to contact the person codenamed "K."
My fingers trembled over the keyboard, each keystroke requiring immense effort.
"I need the complete report. NOW! IMMEDIATELY!"
"Tell me exactly who Ethan Lane's father is!"
