CHAPTER 5 – The Hunt for the Ghost
The explosion left the courthouse in ruins.
Sirens echoed from every direction as smoke swallowed the streets. Reporters ran for cover while armed federal agents rushed through the debris, desperately searching for the escaped billionaire.
But he was already gone.
The black helicopter disappeared beyond the city skyline.
For the world, it looked like a perfect escape.
For Ethan...
It was exactly what he had expected.
The twelve-year-old quietly stared at the sky before turning to the lead FBI agent.
"He's not running away."
The agent frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Ethan reached into his backpack and pulled out another envelope.
"My dad told me this would happen."
Inside was a handwritten map marked with a single red circle deep inside an abandoned industrial district.
At the bottom were seven chilling words:
"This is where the real monster lives."
The room fell silent.
Grace immediately recognized the location.
"Oh my God..."
"It isn't his hideout."
Everyone looked at her.
"It's the headquarters."
"The businessman wasn't the leader."
"He worked for someone else."
The FBI director's face turned pale.
"If that's true..."
"...we've been chasing the wrong man for years."
Within an hour, armored vehicles surrounded the abandoned factory.
Drones filled the sky.
SWAT teams quietly moved into position.
Everything suggested the building had been abandoned for decades.
Broken windows.
Rusted gates.
Collapsed walls.
But Ethan noticed one thing no one else did.
A security camera hidden inside a cracked brick.
Someone was still watching.
He whispered to the commander.
"It's a trap."
Before the commander could react...
The massive steel doors slowly opened by themselves.
Inside...
The lights suddenly turned on.
Hundreds of computer screens flickered to life.
Every screen displayed the same message.
"WELCOME, ETHAN."
A cold voice echoed through the empty warehouse.
"I've waited twelve years to finally meet the son of the only man who ever came close to destroying me."
The agents raised their weapons.
But there was no one in sight.
Only one final screen remained dark.
Then it suddenly lit up.
A shadowy figure wearing a black mask leaned toward the camera.
He smiled.
"You think you've won?"
He slowly removed one glove.
The courtroom gasped days earlier because one man escaped.
But this...
This revealed something far worse.
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On the stranger's hand was the exact same family ring...
...that Ethan's supposedly dead father had worn the night he disappeared.
