Chapter 16 - The Sister in the Shadows
The revelation struck Ethan like a physical blow, though his boot never wavered from Marcus’s shattered knee.
Caroline had never spoken of a sister except once, in a hushed, sorrowful whisper during their honeymoon in Venice. She had claimed Evelyn had drowned in Lake Michigan when they were teenagers—a family tragedy that had broken their parents and scattered the Vance family fortune.
"Evelyn died twenty years ago," Ethan snarled, his voice dropping an octave, pressing his boot harder until the cartilage crunched.
"She faked it, you arrogant bastard!" Marcus screamed in agony, clutching his bloody pant leg. "She went into deep cover inside the European banking cartel! She was the one who funded the Ouroboros account! She didn't want Caroline dead—she wanted *you* dead! She thought Caroline was your prisoner! When Caroline died, Evelyn swore to exterminate every single Hawthorne on earth!"
Ethan looked down at the pathetic, groveling traitor at his feet. A decade of camaraderie, hundreds of millions of dollars shared, battles fought side-by-side—all reduced to ashes by greed and ancient grudges.
"Ethan..." Marcus begged, his eyes wide with animal panic as Ethan raised the SIG Sauer, aligning the sights with Marcus’s forehead. "We were brothers. Don't... please..."
"Brothers don't send wolves after children," Ethan said coldly.
*Crack.*
The suppressed gunshot was muffled by the thick rugs. Marcus slumped backward against the antique baseboard, his scheming eyes staring lifelessly at the high ceiling.
Ethan didn't spare the corpse a second glance. He holstered his weapon, picked up his satellite phone, and called his private mercenary extraction team. "Code Black at the residence. Clear the grounds, sanitize the study, and bring the armored transport. We’re moving."
Ten minutes later, Ethan returned to the third-floor library vault.
"Maria. It's me," he called out.
The heavy steel wheel clicked, and the door swung open. Maria stepped out, her eyes assessing Ethan’s blood-spattered clothes. She didn't flinch. She simply looked into his eyes to see if her man was still in there, or if the monster had taken over.
"He's gone," Ethan said gently. "All of them are gone."
Sophie stepped out behind Maria. She walked over to Ethan and wrapped her small arms around his waist. Ethan dropped to his knees, burying his face in his daughter’s hair, trembling with the visceral relief that only a parent who had almost lost everything could know.
"Daddy?" Sophie whispered against his shoulder.
"Yes, my brave girl?"
"A lady called my tablet while you were downstairs," Sophie said innocently.
Ethan went completely rigid. Maria’s breath caught in her throat.
"What lady, Sophie?" Ethan asked, his voice dead calm.
Sophie reached into her pocket and pulled out her small, pink-cased educational tablet. On the screen was a saved voicemail from an unlisted European number.
Ethan tapped the playback icon.
May you like
A woman’s voice—hauntingly similar to Caroline’s, but colder, sharper, stripped of all warmth—flowed through the small speakers:
*"Hello, Ethan. I see Marcus failed to finish his assignment. Pity. But then again, I always preferred doing my own butchering. Keep Sophie close. Because by sunrise tomorrow, she’ll finally come home to her mother's bloodline."*
