Chapter 4 - Madeline Was Already a Cole
Ethan did not hang up.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
Then the caller answered.
“Nathan.”
Ethan’s knees nearly weakened.
His brother was alive.
“Where are you?”
“Not somewhere Richard’s people can reach me.”
“Richard is dead.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“Then you still don’t understand.”
Ethan looked at Madeline.
“She’s listening.”
“Good.”
Nathan’s voice hardened.
“Ask her who she married.”
Ethan stared at Madeline.
Her face drained.
He lowered the phone.
“Who did you marry?”
Madeline did not answer.
Lily looked between them.
Ethan’s voice sharpened.
“Madeline.”
She whispered, “Nathan.”
The room went silent.
Ethan stared.
“You were married to my brother?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Sixteen years ago.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
Ethan’s mind raced.
Nathan had disappeared thirteen years earlier.
Madeline had entered Ethan’s life only two years ago.
She had changed her name after divorce.
That explained the hidden history.
But not why.
Nathan spoke through the phone.
“She told you I was dead, didn’t she?”
Madeline shook her head.
“I never said that.”
“No. You just let him assume.”
Ethan pressed the phone to his ear.
“Why are you calling now?”
“Because Lily found the envelope.”
Ethan stared.
“How do you know?”
Nathan paused.
That pause mattered.
“How do you know?” Ethan repeated.
“Because someone has been watching the house.”
Madeline stepped forward.
“Who?”
Nathan ignored her.
“Ethan, check the smoke detector above the hallway.”
Ethan looked up.
He grabbed a chair.
Inside the detector was a tiny camera.
Lily gasped.
Madeline covered her mouth.
Nathan’s voice continued.
“Your father built surveillance into every property he controlled.”
“He’s dead.”
“His network isn’t.”
Ethan removed the device.
“Who runs it?”
Nathan’s voice dropped.
“Claire Holden.”
Ethan frowned.
Claire was his father’s former attorney.
She had handled Richard’s estate.
She had also helped Ethan finalize Sarah’s probate.
Madeline whispered, “Oh my God.”
Nathan heard.
“You knew she was still involved?”
“No.”
Nathan laughed.
“Then you’ve been sleeping.”
Madeline’s anger flashed.
“I was trying to protect Lily.”
“By marrying Ethan?”
The accusation landed heavily.
Ethan looked at her.
Madeline did not deny it.
His chest tightened.
“Did you marry me to get close to Lily?”
Madeline’s eyes filled.
“At first, I came back because of Lily.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
She looked at him.
“No.”
Ethan waited.
“I married you because I loved you.”
He wanted to believe her.
That made it worse.
Nathan interrupted.
“Love doesn’t erase the deal she made with Richard.”
Ethan turned back to the phone.
“What deal?”
Madeline whispered, “Nathan, don’t.”
He ignored her.
“She agreed never to reveal what really happened to Sarah.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
Madeline closed her eyes.
And Ethan finally understood why she had been terrified of the envelope.
May you like
It was not only about stolen money.
It was about his wife’s death.
