Chapter 4 - The Dark Secret of the Vances

Twenty-four hours later, Ethan sat in a freezing interrogation room at the Cook County Jail. His luxury silk robe had been replaced by an oversized orange jumpsuit. His hair was messy, and his hands were cuffed to the metal table.

Across from him sat Marcus Vance and myself.

“Emily...” Ethan croaked, his voice raw from crying and yelling all night. “You came. I knew you’d come. You still love me, don't you? Please, drop the charges. Tell the press it was a domestic accident. I’ll sign whatever prenup you want!”

I placed a thick, yellowed paper file onto the table between us.

“Do you know what this is, Ethan?” I asked.

Ethan blinked, staring at the faded stamp on the cover: CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT - CLOSED INVESTIGATION (1998).

“What is that?” Ethan whispered, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“Twenty-eight years ago, a young woman named Sarah Jenkins was found drowned in Lake Michigan,” I said, opening the folder to reveal forensic photos. “She was pregnant. She was also the mistress of your father, Charles Vance.”

Ethan’s breathing hitched. “My... my father died of a heart attack! Everyone knows that!”

“Your father died of a heart attack after he realized the police were about to arrest him,” Marcus Vance interjected, leaning forward. “Because the person who pushed Sarah Jenkins into the lake wasn’t Charles Vance. It was an eighteen-year-old boy trying to protect his father’s reputation and his family’s bloodline.”

Ethan’s jaw trembled uncontrollably. “No... no, that’s impossible... I don't know what you’re talking about...”

“We found the DNA, Ethan,” I said softly. “My father didn’t just pay off your family’s debts out of pity. He bought the original police evidence to keep it buried—because he wanted to see if you would turn out like your father, or if you could be saved.”

Ethan slammed his cuffed hands against the steel table, the metal rattling violently. “He held that over my head?! You knew this whole time?!”

“I didn’t know,” I said, leaning in close so he could see the total lack of mercy in my eyes. “Father only gave me this file last night. He gave you thirty years to prove you were a good man, Ethan. He gave you wealth, a beautiful home, and a loving wife. And what did you do with it? You hit me. You belittled me. You became the exact monster your father was.”

Ethan sank back into his chair, his eyes hollow, realizing that his entire life was a constructed trap built on a foundation of hidden crimes.

“If this file goes to the press...” Ethan whispered, his voice dying in his throat, “I won’t just go to jail for assault. I’ll get life without parole.”

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“It’s already at the District Attorney’s office,” I said calmly, standing up and smoothing down my blazer. “Your trial starts in three weeks.”

CHAPTER 4 HOOK: As I walked toward the door, Ethan let out a manic, terrifying laugh. “You think you’ve won, Emily?! You think your father is a saint?! Go check his vault in Zurich! Ask him what happened to your mother!”