Chapter 5 - The Man Behind the MaskThe darkness lasted exactly eleven seconds.
But in those eleven seconds, Marcus's entire world changed.
When the emergency lights came back on, Ethan was gone.
So was Mia.
The newborn.
Both of them.
Marcus stood frozen inside the hidden passage.
Then instinct took over.
"THORNE!"
The mansion exploded into motion.
Security personnel poured into the corridor.
Doors slammed.
Radios screamed.
Marcus ran toward the east wing.
"Lock down every road!"
Thorne shouted orders into his headset.
"No vehicles leave the property!"
Marcus reached the rear courtyard.
A black helicopter was already rising above the trees.
He stopped.
Mia was inside.
His daughter.
His son.
His brother.
All disappearing into the morning sky.
Marcus stared upward.
"Bring it down."
Thorne looked at him.
"Sir?"
"Bring. It. Down."
"We don't have the equipment."
Marcus pulled out his phone.
"Then call someone who does."
Within minutes, three helicopters were launched from a private aviation facility owned by Marcus's company.
But Ethan had planned ahead.
The helicopter carrying the children vanished from radar over the coastline.
Marcus stood in the command room watching the screen.
Daniel entered.
"We lost them."
Marcus didn't turn.
"Find them."
"I'm trying."
"Try harder."
Daniel approached slowly.
"Marcus."
"What?"
"You need to hear this."
Marcus turned.
Daniel placed a folder on the table.
"I recovered Ethan's medical records."
Marcus opened it.
There was a photograph.
A man lying on a hospital bed.
Severely injured.
Bandages covering half his face.
The date was six years ago.
Three days after the boating accident.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
"This is him."
Daniel nodded.
"Ethan survived."
"Then why fake his death?"
"I don't know."
Marcus flipped through the documents.
Then stopped.
A signature appeared.
His father's.
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
"What is this?"
Daniel pointed to the document.
"Authorization for Ethan to enter a witness protection program."
Marcus stared.
"My father was dead when Ethan disappeared."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
Marcus slowly sat down.
Someone had forged the document.
Someone with access to his father's private records.
Someone powerful enough to erase Ethan's identity.
Someone who had kept him hidden for six years.
Marcus's phone rang.
This time, the caller ID showed a name.
Ethan Blackwell.
Marcus answered.
"Where are my children?"
"You'll see them soon."
"If you hurt them—"
"I won't."
"Then why take them?"
"Because they're the only leverage you have left."
Marcus's voice became cold.
"Against whom?"
A pause.
"Against the people who own your empire."
Marcus frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
"You still believe those companies belong to you."
"They do."
"No."
Ethan's voice became bitter.
"They belong to our father."
Marcus felt a chill.
"My father left the companies to me."
"That's what the lawyers told you."
"Then who owns them?"
Ethan answered with four words.
"The Blackwell Foundation."
Marcus went silent.
He had never heard of it.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Ethan's voice lowered.
"What's impossible is that you became one of the richest men in America without ever asking why your father built the entire empire in your name."
Marcus looked at Daniel.
Daniel was listening.
Ethan continued.
"Your father didn't create an empire for you."
"Then why?"
"To hide something."
Marcus's blood ran cold.
"What?"
"Something worth killing for."
Marcus gripped the phone.
"Tell me."
"Not over the phone."
"Where are you?"
"You'll receive coordinates."
Marcus waited.
"One more thing."
"What?"
Ethan's voice changed.
For the first time, Marcus heard something beneath the anger.
Fear.
"Do not trust Daniel."
Marcus slowly looked at the investigator standing across from him.
Daniel's face had gone pale.
Marcus lowered the phone.
"Why?"
The call had already ended.
Silence filled the room.
Marcus stared at Daniel.
Daniel stared back.
Neither man moved.
Then Marcus noticed something.
A tiny red light reflected from Daniel's cufflink.
A recording device.
Marcus's eyes narrowed.
"Take off your jacket."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
"Take it off."
"Marcus—"
"NOW."
Thorne stepped forward.
Daniel slowly removed his jacket.
Marcus searched it.
Nothing.
Then he noticed the cufflink.
He ripped it free.
A tiny electronic device fell onto the table.
The room became silent.
Daniel's face collapsed.
"Marcus, I can explain."
Marcus looked at him.
"How long?"
Daniel said nothing.
"How long have you been recording me?"
Daniel's eyes filled with regret.
"Six years."
Marcus stared.
Six years.
The exact length of time Ethan had supposedly been dead.
Marcus took one step backward.
"Who do you work for?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
Then whispered:
"Your father."
Marcus's world seemed to tilt.
"My father is dead."
Daniel opened his eyes.
"Yes."
A pause.
"But he left instructions."
Marcus's heart pounded.
"What instructions?"
Daniel looked toward the photograph of Ethan.
"To protect the family."
Marcus shook his head.
"You're lying."
Daniel didn't answer.
Then every screen in the command room suddenly switched on.
A live video appeared.
Mia was sitting on a chair.
The newborn slept beside her.
Ethan stood behind them.
Marcus moved toward the screen.
"Mia!"
She looked up.
"Daddy!"
Marcus's heart broke.
Ethan stepped into frame.
"Marcus."
Marcus stared at him.
"Let them go."
"I will."
"When?"
"When you find the vault."
Marcus froze.
"What vault?"
Ethan smiled.
"The one our father spent his entire life hiding."
The screen went black.
Then a final message appeared.
MIDNIGHT. BLACKWELL CEMETERY. COME ALONE.
Marcus stared at the words.
Thorne stepped beside him.
"We're going with you."
Marcus shook his head.
"No."
"Sir—"
"If Ethan wants me alone, I'll go alone."
Thorne looked furious.
"That's a trap."
Marcus stared at the black screen.
"I know."
He picked up the tiny recording device.
Then looked at Daniel.
"And before midnight..."
Marcus's voice became ice.
"I'm going to find out exactly who has been lying to me for six years."
Outside, thunder rolled across the city.
And somewhere beyond the glass walls of the mansion, a hidden figure watched Marcus through a long-range lens.
The figure lowered the rifle.
Then smiled.
May you like
"He's finally awake."
The countdown had begun.
