Chapter 6: The Lawyer’s Secret
For ten seconds, I couldn’t move.
The name on the screen stayed there.
Rebecca Hale.
My lawyer.
My protector.
The person who had helped me create Blue Lantern.
The person who had told me not to trust Ethan.
The person who now appeared inside a fraud investigation.
My mind rejected it.
“No.””
The word left my mouth before I could stop it.
Ethan watched me carefully.
And then something terrifying happened.
He smiled.
Not because he was happy.
Because he thought he finally had an advantage.
“Now you understand.””
I looked at him.
“Understand what?””
“That everyone has been using you.””
I stared.
“Don’t pretend you care.””
“I’m telling you the truth.””
“You’re telling me the truth because you’re trapped.””
His smile disappeared.
The truth hurt him because it was accurate.
Susan stepped forward.
“Claire, listen to us.””
“No.””
My voice was calm.
“Not anymore.””
The security officer asked me to sit.
I did.
Because suddenly I needed to think.
Rebecca called again.
I answered immediately.
“Why is your name on the report?””
Silence.
Then:
“Because I knew this moment would happen.””
My stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?””
“It means you need to stop listening to what the system says and listen to me.””
A bitter laugh escaped.
“That’s convenient.””
“Claire.””
“No. Explain.””
“I can’t over an unsecured line.””
“Then come here.””
Another silence.
“I’m already on my way.””
The call ended.
Ethan stared at me.
“She’s coming?””
“Yes.””
His expression changed.
“Why?””
“Because apparently I’m about to find out who everyone really is.””
For the next hour, nobody spoke.
Ethan sat across from me.
Susan sat beside him.
Neither looked like family anymore.
They looked like two people waiting for a verdict.
When Rebecca finally entered the hotel, she looked exhausted.
Not guilty.
Not nervous.
Exhausted.
She walked directly toward me.
“Claire.””
I stood.
“Tell me.””
She stopped.
Then slowly nodded.
“Okay.””
Ethan leaned forward.
“You should tell her everything.””
Rebecca ignored him.
“Two years ago, when you signed the company guarantee, I noticed something.””
“What?””
“The documents were unusual.””
“How?””
“The guarantee protected the company. But it also protected someone else.””
“Who?””
Rebecca looked at Ethan.
“Him.””
Ethan stood.
“That’s a lie.””
Rebecca finally looked at him.
“No, Ethan. The lie was thinking Claire would never discover it.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
“What are you saying?””
Rebecca opened her briefcase.
She removed a folder.
“The company wasn’t failing because of bad luck.””
She placed documents on the table.
“It was failing because money was being moved.””
My hands went cold.
“Where?””
Rebecca pointed.
“Offshore accounts.””
Singapore.
The word appeared again.
Ethan looked away.
Susan whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
“No,” Rebecca said.
“It’s exactly what happened.””
I looked at Ethan.
“You stole from your own company?””
His face turned red.
“You don’t understand business.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I understand betrayal.””
Rebecca continued.
“I found irregularities after the guarantee was signed. But I needed proof.””
“And Blue Lantern?””
“Yes.””
I stared at her.
“So you used me?””
Her expression broke slightly.
“No.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because if you knew, Ethan would know.””
The room went silent.
Rebecca took a breath.
“I created Blue Lantern as a protection system. Not just for your money.””
“For what?””
“For evidence.””
I looked at the folder.
“What evidence?””
“Everything.””
She opened it.
Emails.
Transfers.
Contracts.
Records.
“My goal was to collect enough proof to stop him legally.””
I looked at Ethan.
“You knew?””
His face was unreadable.
Then he said something I would never forget.
“I knew Rebecca was watching.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Ethan smiled sadly.
“You really thought you were the only person keeping secrets?””
Rebecca’s expression changed.
“What are you saying?””
Ethan looked at me.
“Ask her why she chose you.””
I turned.
“Rebecca?””
She didn’t answer.
That was the first time I saw fear in her eyes.
Not guilt.
Fear.
“Why did you choose me?””
Rebecca looked down.
Then slowly said:
“Because I knew your family before I knew you.””
My blood went cold.
“What family?””
She looked at Ethan.
Then Susan.
Then back at me.
“Your father.””
The room froze.
I swallowed.
“My father died when I was young.””
“Yes.””
“Rebecca…”
She whispered:
“He didn’t die because of an accident.””
I couldn’t breathe.
“What are you saying?””
She opened the final document.
A name.
A company.
A date from twenty years earlier.
And at the bottom, a signature I recognized.
Not mine.
Not Ethan’s.
My father’s.
Rebecca looked at me.
“Claire, the company Ethan destroyed…”
She pushed the document toward me.
“…was originally your father’s.””
I stared at the paper.
The entire world shifted.
Because suddenly this was not about a stolen passport.
Not about a failed marriage.
Not about money.
It was about a history I never knew existed.
And Rebecca’s next sentence changed everything.
“Your husband didn’t choose you because he loved you.””
She looked at Ethan.
“He chose you because he knew exactly whose daughter you were.””
I looked at Ethan.
And for the first time since waking up alone in Bangkok…
I saw fear in his eyes.
Real fear.
Then my tablet received one final message.
From Sterling.
*Additional subject identified.*
I opened it.
The name appeared.
And I realized Ethan’s betrayal was only the beginning.
May you like
Because the person who started everything…
was someone I had spent my entire life believing was dead.
