CHAPTER 9 — Ethan's Final Mistake
The headlights remained fixed on the front door.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Sophia whispered,
"He's here."
I carefully pulled back the curtain.
The SUV's engine was still running.
A tall man stepped out.
Not Ethan.
Another man wearing a dark suit.
He walked calmly to the porch and knocked three times.
Agent Ross's voice suddenly echoed from my phone.
"Mrs. Carter."
"Don't open the door."
My heart raced.
"We've been tracking that vehicle."
"What vehicle?"
"It belongs to a private security contractor hired by one of the companies under federal investigation."
I looked back at Sophia.
Her face turned white.
"They found me."
The knocking became louder.
Then a voice called from outside.
"Miss Bennett."
"We know you're in there."
"We only want to talk."
Nobody believed that.
Within seconds, flashing blue and red lights flooded the street.
Unmarked FBI vehicles surrounded the neighborhood.
Armed agents rushed from every direction.
"Federal agents!"
"Step away from the house!"
The man in the suit ran.
He never made it to the corner.
Agents tackled him onto the pavement.
As they searched his pockets, one officer held up a sealed envelope.
It was addressed to Ethan Carter.
Agent Ross opened it immediately.
Inside was a handwritten note.
Only one sentence.
"No witnesses. Finish it tonight."
Sophia covered her mouth in horror.
I couldn't breathe.
Ross looked at me with grim eyes.
"Mrs. Carter..."
"We can now charge your husband with conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation."
My phone vibrated again.
This time, it was Ethan.
Calling for the first time since the gala.
I answered on speaker.
His voice was shaking.
"Madison... please."
"You have to believe me."
"I never wanted any of this."
Before I could reply, another voice interrupted him from the background.
"Dr. Carter, this is the FBI."
"Put the phone down."
"You are under arrest."
The line went dead.
I stood frozen in my own living room.
Twenty-four hours earlier, I thought I had lost my husband to another woman.
Now I was watching the man I had loved for fifteen years become the center of a federal criminal case.
But I still didn't know the biggest secret of all.
Because hidden inside the flash drive Sophia had given me...
May you like
Was a folder named:
"Madison."
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