CHAPTER 4 – The Son Everyone Believed Was Dead
The boardroom felt colder than ever.
Richard Cole's words echoed through every corner.
"Ask Samuel what happened to your son!"
Arthur Whitmore stood frozen.
For thirty years, he had carried the weight of losing his only child.
Official reports had claimed that young Ethan Whitmore drowned during a family boating accident when he was just seven years old.
His body was never found.
Arthur blamed himself every single day.
Slowly, he turned toward Samuel.
"Tell me..."
His voice trembled.
"...is Richard lying?"
Samuel couldn't answer immediately.
Tears streamed down his weathered face.
"I promised I would never tell anyone unless the truth came out on its own."
Arthur's heartbeat pounded in his ears.
"What truth?"
Samuel reached into the inside pocket of his old janitor's jacket.
From it, he carefully removed a faded photograph wrapped in clear plastic.
Arthur's hands shook as he took it.
The picture showed a smiling little boy standing beside Samuel in front of a small countryside house.
On the back, written in childish handwriting, were four words.
"Happy Birthday, Dad. — Ethan."
Arthur nearly collapsed.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
Samuel nodded slowly.
"The boy who disappeared that night never drowned."
"The boat accident was staged."
The executives stared in disbelief.
Daniel whispered,
"Who would do something like that?"
Samuel looked toward the police officers.
"Richard wasn't working alone."
"He was following orders."
Everyone turned.
"Orders from whom?"
Samuel took a deep breath.
"Arthur's younger brother..."
"...William Whitmore."
The room exploded into chaos.
William had inherited half of the Whitmore family fortune after Ethan's disappearance.
For three decades, he had been respected as a generous philanthropist, appearing on magazine covers and donating millions to charity.
Arthur felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath him.
"My own brother..."
Samuel nodded.
"William believed that if Ethan vanished, he would eventually control the Whitmore empire."
"But he couldn't kill a child."
"So he paid fishermen to secretly take Ethan away and hide him under a new identity."
Daniel stared at Samuel.
"If Ethan survived..."
"...where is he now?"
Samuel smiled sadly.
"I raised him."
Silence.
"I couldn't return him."
"William had powerful people watching us."
"If I had tried..."
"They would have killed the boy."
Arthur struggled to breathe.
"So..."
"My son is alive?"
Samuel nodded.
"Yes."
"But there's something you need to know."
Arthur looked up with desperate hope.
"Ethan doesn't know he's your son."
"He believes I am his father."
Before anyone could speak again, Arthur's phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a single name.
ETHAN REED.
Arthur answered with trembling hands.
Before he could say a word...
A frightened male voice whispered through the speaker.
"Dad..."
"I think someone is trying to kill me."
The line went dead.
Arthur's face turned white.
Samuel rushed toward him.
Both men looked at each other with the same terrifying realization.
William had just discovered that the truth was finally coming out.
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And Ethan's life was in danger once again.
TO BE CONTINUED...
