Chapter 3: Trust No One
The words on the crumpled note echoed inside Harrison Black's mind.
Trust no one.
Below them was a signature he would recognize even if he were blind.
Nathan Black.
His younger brother.
His business partner.
The only man he had trusted for more than thirty years.
Harrison's fingers tightened around the paper until it nearly tore in half.
"No..."
he whispered.
"This isn't possible."
Across the lobby, the three men in black suits watched him carefully.
The oldest of them smiled.
"So... she finally told you the truth."
Harrison's icy stare snapped toward him.
"What do you know about Elena?"
The man chuckled.
"More than you do."
Before Harrison could respond, Ethan grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't listen to him."
The little boy's voice trembled.
"That's exactly what Mom warned me about."
Harrison looked down.
"When did she tell you that?"
"The night before she disappeared."
A chill ran through Harrison's spine.
"Disappeared?"
Ethan nodded slowly.
"She kissed me goodnight..."
"...and said if strangers ever found our house, I had to take the money, the photo, and come find you."
His eyes filled with tears.
"When I woke up..."
"...she was gone."
The billionaire closed his eyes.
For eight years he had believed Elena was dead.
But if Ethan was telling the truth...
Someone had hidden her.
Or worse...
Someone had been hunting her.
The oldest man in black took one slow step forward.
"This reunion is touching."
"But we're running out of time."
"Give us the boy."
"No."
"Then give us the money."
"No."
The man sighed.
"I was hoping you'd make this easy."
Suddenly—
The lobby lights flickered.
One.
Two.
Three times.
Every security monitor went black.
The emergency doors unlocked by themselves.
The guards stared in disbelief.
"Our system's been hacked!"
A loud alarm echoed through the building.
SECURITY BREACH.
SECURITY BREACH.
Chaos erupted.
Employees screamed.
People rushed toward the exits.
In the confusion, one of the men lunged toward Ethan.
But Harrison reacted instantly.
He shoved Ethan behind him and threw a powerful punch that sent the attacker crashing across the marble floor.
Nobody in the lobby expected a sixty-year-old billionaire to fight like that.
The second man pulled out a small knife.
Security rushed forward.
A violent struggle broke out.
Tables overturned.
Glass shattered.
The receptionist crawled under her desk in terror.
Harrison grabbed Ethan's hand.
"Run!"
They sprinted toward the private elevator.
Behind them came shouting.
"Don't let them escape!"
The elevator doors closed just in time.
As they rose toward the penthouse, Harrison looked at Ethan.
"I need you to tell me everything."
The boy nodded.
"My mom kept a secret room."
"What room?"
"Under our cabin."
"What was inside?"
"Boxes."
"What kind of boxes?"
"Files..."
"...photographs..."
"...and videos."
Harrison's heartbeat quickened.
"What videos?"
Ethan swallowed.
"Videos of meetings."
"Whose meetings?"
The boy hesitated.
Then quietly answered,
"Yours."
Harrison frowned.
"I've never met your mother in secret."
"You weren't meeting her."
"You were meeting someone else."
The elevator reached the top floor.
The doors slid open.
Harrison hurried Ethan into his private office and locked the steel door behind them.
"Where are those videos now?"
Ethan slowly reached into the lining of his jacket.
He pulled out a tiny silver flash drive.
"My mom said..."
"...if you ever watched these..."
"...you'd find out who really stole your company."
Harrison stared at the drive.
Blackstone Global was worth over $90 billion.
There had never been any theft.
At least...
That's what he had always believed.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
One message.
No number.
No caller ID.
Only a single sentence.
"Don't plug in the flash drive unless you're ready to discover who murdered your father."
Harrison's blood turned to ice.
Because his father had officially died of a heart attack...
Twenty-five years ago.
And only four people had been in that room.
One of them...
May you like
...was Nathan Black.
End of Chapter 3...
