My Childhood Crush Knocked on My Door After 15 Years… She Was Holding a Letter With My Name On It.
Chapter 8
They returned to Chicago that night.
The news reported the fire as an electrical accident.
Ethan knew better.
Too many coincidences had become impossible to ignore.
Someone was destroying Robert Bennett’s records.
Someone had followed them.
Someone had accessed Daniel’s hidden files.
And someone knew they had found Northstar.
They contacted a lawyer recommended by Michael.
Her name was Rebecca Collins.
She listened to everything without interrupting.
When Ethan finished, she looked at the documents.
“This is enough to reopen several investigations.”
“But?”
“But you’re missing one thing.”
“What?”
“Proof that the current Northstar operation still exists.”
Ethan frowned.
“We have fifteen-year-old evidence.”
“Exactly.”
Rebecca explained that Robert was dead.
Victor Shaw had supposedly retired.
Thomas was now the CEO of a major development firm.
Without evidence of current criminal activity, they could argue that the documents described an old dispute.
Claire suddenly remembered something.
“Thomas still has my father’s private archives.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because after my father died, Thomas offered to help me sort through everything.”
“And did he?”
“No.”
Claire’s expression hardened.
“He kept telling me there was nothing important.”
Ethan stood.
“Then that’s where we go.”
Rebecca warned them not to confront Thomas alone.
But they didn’t have a choice.
Thomas Shaw’s office occupied the top floors of a downtown skyscraper.
He greeted Claire warmly.
“Claire.”
He hugged her.
Then he looked at Ethan.
His smile disappeared.
“So you’re Ethan Parker.”
Ethan nodded.
Thomas studied him.
“I remember you.”
“I don’t remember you.”
Thomas laughed softly.
“You were a boy.”
“Now I’m not.”
Thomas gestured toward the chairs.
“Why are you here?”
Claire placed the old letter on his desk.
Thomas stared at it.
For the first time, fear crossed his face.
“You found that?”
Claire noticed.
“So you knew.”
Thomas sat down.
“I knew your father kept something.”
“You knew he intercepted my letter.”
“I knew he was protecting you.”
“From what?”
“From your obsession with a boy who couldn’t understand the danger around him.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“You destroyed my family.”
Thomas looked at him.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Thomas didn’t answer.
Claire leaned over the desk.
“My father didn’t act alone.”
Thomas’s eyes hardened.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
“Then tell us.”
Silence.
Finally Thomas said,
“Your brother was warned.”
Ethan’s fists tightened.
“By you?”
“No.”
“Victor?”
Thomas looked away.
That was enough.
Ethan understood.
Thomas had been involved.
But perhaps not in the way they assumed.
Then Thomas whispered,
“Victor is dead.”
Claire frowned.
“What?”
“He died two years ago.”
Ethan stared.
“Then who’s running Northstar?”
Thomas looked directly at Claire.
“Your father left something behind.”
“What?”
“A company.”
Thomas opened a drawer.
He removed a document.
Northstar Holdings.
The registered owner was listed as an offshore trust.
Beneficiary:
Claire Bennett.
Claire’s face drained of color.
“No.”
Thomas nodded.
“Your father transferred control before he died.”
“I never agreed to that.”
“You didn’t need to.”
Ethan looked at the document.
“Why would Robert leave it to her?”
Thomas answered quietly.
“Because he knew you would come back.”
Claire stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas looked at Ethan.
“Your brother discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
Thomas took a breath.
“Northstar was never just a technology project.”
He pointed toward the document.
“It was an insurance policy.”
“For what?”
“For the Bennett family.”
Thomas explained that Robert had created Northstar to protect his fortune if his illegal activities were ever exposed.
The company held evidence.
Money.
Property.
And leverage over powerful people.
But there was another beneficiary.
Ethan.
His name appeared on the next page.
Ethan stared at it.
“I don’t understand.”
Thomas leaned back.
“Your father and Daniel were trying to protect you.”
“From Robert?”
“No.”
Thomas’s voice dropped.
“From the people Robert was afraid of.”
Then every light in the office went out.
A second later, the building alarm screamed.
Thomas stood.
“Get down!”
The windows shattered.
Glass exploded across the room.
Claire screamed.
Ethan pulled her to the floor.
Outside, sirens erupted.
Someone had just fired at the building.
Thomas looked at Ethan.
“They know you found it.”
“Who?”
Thomas whispered,
“The real owners of Northstar.”
