Chapter 6: The Empty Chair
I ran into the rain without thinking.
“Ashley!””
My shoes slipped on the wet stone outside the service entrance.
Nothing.
No footsteps.
No car pulling away.
No voice answering me.
Only rain hammering against the pavement and the distant chaos from inside the reception hall.
Then my phone vibrated.
One message.
Unknown number.
*Stop looking for her.*
I stared at the screen.
Another message appeared.
*If you want your wife alive, go to the old house alone.*
My hands went cold.
I immediately called the number.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then someone answered.
I heard breathing.
“Who is this?””
No answer.
“Where is Ashley?””
A man's voice finally came through.
“You have thirty minutes.””
“Let me speak to her.””
“You'll see her when you get there.””
“Put her on the phone.””
The line went dead.
I called again.
Disconnected.
I stood in the rain, staring at the blank screen.
My mother ran out of the building.
“Ethan!””
She grabbed my shoulder.
“Where is Ashley?””
“She was taken.””
Mom froze.
“What?””
I turned the phone toward her.
She read the message.
Then looked at me.
“We're calling the police.””
“No.””
Her expression hardened.
“Excuse me?””
“They said they'll kill her if I don't go alone.””
“You don't know if that's true.””
“I don't care.””
“You can't go by yourself.””
“They specifically told me to.””
“And you're going to obey a kidnapper?””
“They have Ashley.””
Mom stepped in front of me.
“Then we do this intelligently.””
I shook my head.
“They know about the trust. They knew about my grandfather's private number. They knew Ashley was pregnant. They shut down this building in front of a hundred people and somehow got past security.””
I pointed toward the dark entrance.
“They're watching us.””
Mom's eyes narrowed.
“You think they're still here?””
“Yes.””
“And you think going to the old house alone will make you safer?””
“No.””
I swallowed.
“I think going there may be the only chance I have to get her back.””
Mom stared at me.
“You're willing to walk into a trap.””
“Yes.””
“Ethan.””
“I married her today.””
My voice broke.
“Whatever she did, whatever she lied about, whatever this family is hiding… she is still my wife.””
Mom looked away.
For a moment, she seemed exhausted.
Then she said quietly, “That's exactly what they want you to believe.””
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?””
Before she could answer, a police siren sounded in the distance.
Mom looked toward the road.
“Too late.””
“What?””
She stepped closer.
“Ethan, your grandfather's estate wasn't just a house.””
“What was it?””
“A fortress.””
I frowned.
“He had private security?””
“More than that.””
“What aren't you telling me?””
Mom's lips pressed together.
“He built underground rooms.””
“Why?””
“Because he believed someone would come for the trust.””
“And did someone?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Mom looked at me.
“Your grandfather believed it was Ashley's mother.””
I shook my head.
“That's impossible.””
“Why?””
“Because she's the woman who supposedly disappeared.””
Mom didn't answer.
I looked at her.
“Did Grandpa ever find her?””
“Yes.””
My heart thudded.
“When?””
“Three months before he died.””
“And he didn't tell anyone?””
“He told me.””
“What happened?””
Mom glanced back at the building.
“Your grandfather said she wasn't working alone.””
The rain soaked through my shirt.
“Who was helping her?””
Mom hesitated.
Then said,
“Someone inside our family.””
I stared at her.
“Who?””
She didn't answer.
“Mom.””
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
“No.””
“You're protecting someone.””
She looked at me.
“I am protecting you.””
“By keeping me ignorant?””
“By keeping you alive.””
Another vibration.
I looked down.
A photo message.
My stomach dropped.
Ashley was sitting in a dark chair.
Her wrists were tied behind her.
A strip of cloth covered her mouth.
She was alive.
Barely.
Her eyes were wide with terror.
Under the picture was a single line.
*Twenty-five minutes.*
Mom saw the image.
She closed her eyes.
“Okay.””
“What?””
“I'll take you.””
I stared at her.
“Alone?””
“No.””
“You just said—”
“I said I won't stop you.””
She took out her keys.
“I'll follow you from a distance.””
“They'll see you.””
“Then let them.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
Mom's expression hardened.
“I'm your mother.””
“You're also the person Ashley told me not to trust.””
That hurt her.
I saw it.
But she didn't argue.
Instead, she asked, “Do you believe her?””
“I don't know what I believe.””
“Good.””
She handed me a key.
“Then take this.””
I looked down.
It was old brass.
A tiny number was engraved on it.
17.
“What is it?””
“My father's safe.””
“Grandpa's safe?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“The old house.””
I looked at her.
“Why give me this now?””
“Because if they're taking you there, they'll expect you to look for the trust records.””
“And I shouldn't?””
“No.””
“What should I open?””
Mom's voice dropped.
“Room seventeen.””
I stared at the key.
“There are seventeen rooms?””
“Sixteen above ground.””
She looked at me.
“The seventeenth is underground.””
My pulse jumped.
“What’s inside?””
“I've never opened it.””
“You're telling me my grandfather had a secret underground room you never opened?””
“He gave me the key once.””
“Why didn't you use it?””
“He told me never to.””
“Why?””
Mom's eyes filled with something close to fear.
“He said if I ever opened that door, it meant the family had already lost.””
I looked toward the road.
The police cars were getting closer.
“I have to go.””
Mom grabbed my wrist.
“One thing.””
“What?””
“If you see Caleb, don't trust him.””
“He's part of this.””
“Yes.””
“Then who can I trust?””
Mom didn't answer immediately.
Finally she said,
“Only yourself.””
I got into my car.
As I pulled away, I watched her standing in the rain.
She didn't wave.
She only stared after me.
The drive to the estate took thirty-two minutes under normal conditions.
I did it in twenty-one.
The rain got heavier as I left the city.
Trees crowded both sides of the road.
By the time I reached the private gate, the windshield wipers couldn't keep up.
The gate was open.
That scared me more than a locked gate would have.
I drove through.
The old house appeared at the end of the lane.
Three stories of gray stone.
Dark windows.
No lights.
I parked.
The front door was already open.
I stepped out.
“Ashley?””
No answer.
I entered.
The smell hit me immediately.
Old wood.
Dust.
And something metallic.
Blood.
I froze.
“Ashley?””
A light flickered in the corridor.
Then another.
One by one, lamps came alive.
At the far end stood a man.
Caleb.
He was holding the same gun.
“You came.””
I didn't move.
“Where is she?””
“Upstairs.””
“You hurt her?””
“No.””
“Let me see her.””
“Not yet.””
I stepped forward.
He raised the gun.
“Slowly.””
I stopped.
“Why me?””
“Because your grandfather would have wanted you to know.””
“Know what?””
Caleb looked toward the staircase.
“What your family did.””
“You keep saying that.””
“Because nobody has told you.””
“Then tell me.””
He smiled.
“Your grandfather didn't steal the Morgan fortune.””
I frowned.
“You said he did.””
“I said he took something.””
“What?””
“A company.””
“From Ashley's mother.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Caleb's expression darkened.
“Because she tried to destroy him first.””
“How?””
“She had proof.””
“Proof of what?””
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward a portrait hanging above the fireplace.
My grandfather.
Standing beside him was my grandmother.
And a woman I had never seen before.
Ashley’s mother.
I stepped closer.
There were three people in the photograph.
But the woman beside my grandfather was holding a baby.
I stared.
The baby's face was partly visible.
Caleb watched me.
“You've seen this photograph before.””
“No.””
“Your mother removed every copy.””
I looked closer.
The baby had dark hair.
The same narrow chin I saw every morning when I looked in the mirror.
My throat tightened.
“Who is that baby?””
Caleb said nothing.
I turned toward him.
“Who?””
He looked at me with something almost like pity.
“You.””
The room went silent.
My breathing stopped.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“It does.””
“Ashley’s mother knew my grandfather before I was born.””
“Yes.””
“She was involved with his company.””
“Yes.””
“Then why am I in a photograph with her?””
Caleb's eyes shifted toward the staircase.
“Because your grandfather wasn't your biological grandfather.””
I stared at him.
“No.””
“He raised your father.””
“No.””
“He erased the truth.””
I stepped backward.
“Where is my father?””
Caleb didn't answer.
“My father died when I was twelve.””
“I know.””
“He was my father's father.””
“No.””
My head spun.
“What are you saying?””
Caleb pointed toward the basement door.
“Ask your mother.””
A sound came from upstairs.
A muffled cry.
Ashley.
I ran toward the staircase.
Caleb didn't stop me.
I reached the landing.
“Ashley!””
A door at the end of the hallway opened slightly.
I rushed toward it.
Then stopped.
Inside was a chair.
Empty.
The ropes still hung from the armrests.
A strip of cloth lay on the floor.
And next to it was Ashley's wedding veil.
I turned around.
“Where is she?””
Caleb was standing behind me.
He looked almost amused.
“She was never here.””
My blood went cold.
“What?””
“She was taken somewhere else.””
“By who?””
Before he could answer, footsteps sounded downstairs.
Several sets.
My mother's voice rose from the foyer.
“Ethan!””
Caleb's expression changed.
He whispered,
“Too late.””
I looked over the railing.
My mother stood below.
Beside her were two armed men.
And between them was a woman with silver hair.
Ashley.
No.
Not Ashley.
She looked older.
But I knew that face.
I had seen it in the photograph.
May you like
Ashley’s mother.
And she was smiling at me.
