Chapter 3: The Empty Apartment
I didn't go home.
Instead, I drove to a hotel and checked into a room under a different name.
My father's security team arrived twenty minutes later.
I hated that they had been right.
I hated even more that I needed them.
A man named Marcus waited outside my door.
He had worked for my father for years.
“Is Ryan alive?”” I asked.
“We don't know.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
“We found his car.””
“Where?””
“Two blocks from his apartment.””
“Was he inside?””
“No.””
I sat on the edge of the bed.
My hands were shaking.
Marcus placed a phone on the table.
“We recovered this from the vehicle.””
I looked at it.
Ryan's phone.
“Can I see it?””
Marcus hesitated.
“There's something you should know.””
“What?””
“Someone wiped most of the data.””
“Someone?””
“Yes.””
“Ryan?””
“We don't know.””
I picked up the phone.
The screen was cracked.
There was one notification.
An unread message.
From an unknown number.
*You should have left Maya alone.*
My heart sank.
“That's not from Ryan.””
“No.””
“Then someone is threatening him.””
Marcus nodded.
“Or warning him.””
I stared at the message.
“Can you trace it?””
“We're trying.””
My phone rang.
Ryan.
I answered immediately.
“Where are you?””
His breathing was heavy.
“Don't say my name.””
“What?””
“Just listen.””
“Ryan, are you hurt?””
“No.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Then tell me why you lied to me.””
A pause.
“I was investigating my father.””
“Why?””
“Because money started disappearing from his company.””
“You thought he was stealing from Bennett Holdings?””
“I thought he was laundering money.””
I sat down.
“Through your company?””
“Yes.””
“And me?””
“I didn't know you were connected until I saw your name.””
“When?””
“Six months ago.””
“Not three.””
“No.””
I closed my eyes.
“Keep talking.””
“I found your name in a file.””
“What file?””
“A private client list.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did it say?””
“Bennett Holdings had a silent ownership stake in several companies.””
I stared at the wall.
“That shouldn't have been accessible.””
“It wasn't.””
“Then how did you get it?””
“I didn't.””
“Who did?””
Ryan exhaled.
“Daniel Mercer.””
My father's former CFO.
“Daniel gave you the file?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“He wanted me to investigate your father.””
“My father?””
“He said Alexander Bennett was stealing from his own investors.””
I laughed without humor.
“And you believed him?””
“At first.””
“What changed?””
“You.””
My throat tightened.
“Don't.””
“I mean it.””
“You lied to me.””
“I was afraid.””
“You used me.””
“I fell in love with you.””
“Those things can both be true.””
Silence.
Then he said:
“I know.””
I heard a door close somewhere behind him.
“Ryan?””
“I'm here.””
“Where?””
“I told you I can't.””
“Then answer one question.””
“What?””
“Who is really behind the missing eighteen million?””
Ryan's breathing stopped.
“Ryan?””
“I don't know.””
“You're lying.””
“I swear I'm not.””
“Then why are you scared?””
“Because I found something yesterday.””
“What?””
“I found a second account.””
“Whose?””
“Yours.””
I froze.
“My account?””
“Someone created a company using your identity.””
My heart hammered.
“What company?””
“Bennett Strategic Partners.””
I stared at Marcus.
He was listening.
“That's impossible.””
“It's real.””
“Who owns it?””
“Your name.””
I stood.
“My name is not on any company called that.””
“I know.””
“Where is it registered?””
“Delaware.””
I looked at Marcus.
He immediately stepped closer.
“Send me the details,” I told Ryan.
“I can't.””
“Why?””
“Because someone is listening.””
“Who?””
A long silence.
Then Ryan whispered:
“Your father.””
I stopped.
“No.””
“I don't know if it's him.””
“You just said—”
“I said someone is listening.””
“Ryan, where are you?””
“I have to go.””
“Wait.””
“I love you.””
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Marcus reached for it.
“Give me that.””
I handed it over.
He looked at the screen.
“There's something else.””
“What?””
He turned it around.
A new message had appeared.
*You should have asked why your father kept the Whitmore investigation secret.*
My stomach twisted.
“Marcus.””
“Yes?””
“Find that company.””
He nodded.
“And find out who owns it.””
He hesitated.
“What if it's exactly what Ryan said?””
“Then I want the truth.””
An hour later, Marcus returned.
He didn't knock.
He simply walked into the room.
That was how I knew something was wrong.
He put a printed document on the bed.
I picked it up.
The company was real.
Bennett Strategic Partners LLC.
Registered eight months earlier.
The owner was listed as:
*Maya Bennett.*
I stared at my own name.
“I didn't create this.””
Marcus said nothing.
I turned the page.
There was a bank account number.
Then a transaction history.
Money had moved through the company for months.
Millions of dollars.
And the final transaction was dated three days ago.
$18,000,000.
I looked at Marcus.
“Where did it go?””
He pointed to the destination account.
I read the name.
Then I felt the room tilt.
The account belonged to—
I never got to finish.
My father's security alarm went off on the phone.
Marcus's face changed.
“What?””
He answered.
“What's happening?””
A voice screamed through the speaker.
“Mr. Bennett's office has been breached.””
Marcus grabbed his weapon and moved toward the door.
I stood.
“My father?””
“He's inside.””
Then the voice on the phone shouted:
“They left a message for Maya.””
Marcus stopped.
“What message?””
The voice trembled.
“It says, ‘Ask your mother why she died.’”
I couldn't breathe.
May you like
My mother had been dead for seven years.
And suddenly, for the first time, I wondered whether her death had ever been what my family told me it was.
