I Thought My Fiancée Was Choosing Her Male Best Friend — Then I Discovered She Was Protecting Him From a Deadly Secret
Chapter 5
The flash drive contained thousands of files.
Marcus helped Ethan examine them.
They discovered offshore accounts.
Fake companies.
Illegal property transfers.
Political donations.
And one recurring name.
Victor Hale.
But there was something else.
Victor had been trying to acquire several small businesses in the city.
Some were architecture firms.
One was Ethan’s company.
Ethan stared at the spreadsheet.
“That’s my company.”
Marcus frowned.
“What?”
“Victor tried to buy us last year.”
“Through a shell company?”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked at the records.
“Then this isn’t about Daniel.”
“It never was.”
Victor had been buying companies that refused to cooperate with him.
Daniel discovered the scheme.
Ethan’s company had accidentally become part of the same network.
The reason someone stole Ethan’s photograph became clear.
They were identifying people connected to Daniel.
And Ethan had become one of them because of Sophia.
They needed a safer location.
Marcus suggested moving the evidence.
Before they could, the office alarm sounded.
Security footage showed a stranger entering through the side entrance.
No weapons were visible.
But he had gone directly toward Ethan’s office.
The police arrived.
The man escaped.
He had left behind one thing.
A white envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Ethan and Sophia leaving the courthouse after applying for their marriage license.
On the back:
Congratulations.
Ethan felt cold.
Victor knew about their wedding.
And someone had been watching them closely.
Sophia stared at the photograph.
“We need to cancel the wedding.”
“No.”
“Ethan.”
“I’m not running.”
“This isn’t a game.”
“I know.”
“Someone could hurt you.”
He looked at her.
“Someone could hurt you.”
She became silent.
He took her hand.
“That’s exactly why I’m not leaving.”
Daniel arrived that evening.
He looked at the photograph.
“He’s escalating.”
“Then we escalate faster.”
Daniel nodded.
The three of them began building a case.
They contacted a federal prosecutor.
They transferred the evidence to secure servers.
And for the first time, Ethan and Sophia stopped acting like people waiting for danger.
They started acting like people preparing for war.
