CHAPTER 6 — THE WOMAN BEHIND EVERYTHING
The chase ended where the road disappeared.
High in the Swiss Alps, the black SUV screeched into an abandoned military tunnel before Ethan could catch it.
By the time he reached the entrance...
The kidnappers were gone.
Only Lucas's school backpack remained on the ground.
Inside was a folded note.
"If you want your son alive, come alone."
Below it was an address in northern Italy.
No police.
No bodyguards.
No FBI.
Just Ethan.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in New York...
Olivia finally managed to free one hand from the ropes binding her wrists.
The warehouse was silent.
Except for a television mounted on the wall.
It suddenly turned on.
Victor Langford appeared.
But this time...
He wasn't smiling.
"I didn't take your son."
Olivia stared in disbelief.
"What?"
Victor sighed.
"There was someone above me."
He lowered his eyes for the first time.
"I worked for her."
Olivia's blood ran cold.
"There is a woman..."
"The real owner of everything."
Victor whispered her name like he was terrified to even say it.
Isabella Sinclair.
"The richest woman you've never heard of."
Ethan arrived alone at the abandoned castle in Italy just before midnight.
The enormous iron gates slowly opened by themselves.
Inside, dozens of armed guards stood perfectly still.
None of them pointed their weapons.
They simply watched.
As if Ethan had already lost.
At the center of the grand hall sat an elegant woman in her sixties.
Silver hair.
Black dress.
Diamond necklace.
Her calm smile was more frightening than any weapon.
"You finally made it," she said.
"I've been waiting for you."
Ethan clenched his fists.
"Where is my son?"
She ignored the question.
Instead, she placed an old photograph on the table.
It showed Ethan's late father standing beside her nearly thirty years earlier.
They weren't enemies.
They were partners.
Business partners.
"My father knew you?"
Isabella smiled.
"He owed me everything."
She slowly stood.
"When he died..."
"The debt became yours."
Ethan's voice shook.
"What debt?"
Isabella walked toward the fireplace.
Without looking back, she answered,
"Your father signed an agreement before you were born."
"If he ever betrayed me..."
"His first grandson would belong to my family."
Ethan felt the room spinning.
"That's impossible."
She calmly opened a leather folder.
Inside was a contract.
Signed.
Stamped.
Dated.
With his father's unmistakable signature.
Lucas hadn't been kidnapped at random.
He had been claimed.
As Isabella turned toward Ethan, she delivered the most chilling sentence of all.
"You came here to rescue your son."
"I'm afraid you're twelve years too late."
She snapped her fingers.
A hidden door slowly opened.
A teenage boy stepped into the room.
Wearing a tailored black suit.
Cold eyes.
Perfect posture.
He looked directly at Ethan...
Without the slightest emotion.
Then he spoke.
"My name isn't Lucas Carter."
"My name is Alexander Sinclair."
"And I have no father."
Ethan's heart shattered.
May you like
He had finally found his son...
Only to discover that someone else had already stolen his entire life.
