My Childhood Crush Knocked on My Door After 15 Years… She Was Holding a Letter With My Name On It.
Chapter 9
The attack changed everything.
Police surrounded the building.
Thomas was taken into protective custody.
Rebecca immediately contacted federal investigators.
For the first time, Ethan understood that the story was much bigger than his family.
Northstar wasn’t just about one corrupt businessman.
It was an organization.
A network built over decades.
People who had benefited from Robert’s crimes.
People who had helped hide evidence.
People who had remained silent.
And someone was still protecting it.
But there was one problem.
Claire was the legal beneficiary of Northstar.
That meant whoever controlled the organization might come after her.
Ethan refused to leave her alone.
They stayed at a secure hotel that night.
Around midnight, Claire knocked on Ethan’s door.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Neither can I.”
She entered.
For a moment, they simply stood there.
Then Claire said,
“Do you ever wonder what would’ve happened if I had given you that letter?”
“All the time.”
“Me too.”
She looked down.
“Maybe we would’ve dated.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe we would’ve gotten married.”
Ethan smiled faintly.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe we’d have three kids.”
“Two.”
“Why two?”
“I always wanted two.”
Claire laughed.
It was the first time Ethan had heard that laugh in fifteen years.
Then she became serious.
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize for something your father did.”
“I still lost you.”
“So did I.”
She stepped closer.
“I never stopped loving you.”
Ethan’s breath caught.
Neither moved.
Then the hotel phone rang.
They separated.
Rebecca was calling.
“There was a breakthrough,” she said.
“What?”
“We found a financial transfer from Northstar yesterday.”
“Where?”
“To an account belonging to a company called Parker Structural Analytics.”
Ethan froze.
“That was my father’s company.”
“It was supposed to be dissolved fifteen years ago.”
“Who owns it now?”
Rebecca paused.
“You.”
Ethan stared at Claire.
“I never owned it.”
“Legally, you inherited it.”
“From whom?”
“Your father.”
Ethan suddenly understood.
His father had hidden something from everyone.
The company had survived.
Northstar had been using Parker Structural Analytics as the legal shell for its operations.
And Ethan had unknowingly been the owner all along.
Rebecca sent them documents.
Ethan read through them.
Then he found a clause.
If the owner of Parker Structural Analytics died or became incapacitated, ownership would transfer to the next named beneficiary.
Claire Bennett.
Ethan looked at her.
She stared back.
“Our families connected everything.”
Rebecca continued.
“There is more.”
“What?”
“The company has a live project.”
Ethan’s stomach tightened.
“Where?”
“Chicago.”
“What’s the project?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“A residential tower.”
Ethan looked at the file.
The project was scheduled for a major structural inspection in forty-eight hours.
He opened the engineering documents.
His blood ran cold.
The building’s support system had been altered.
Not legally.
Not safely.
Someone had introduced weaknesses into the structure.
If the building failed, dozens could die.
Ethan looked at Claire.
“Northstar is still operating.”
Rebecca said,
“And someone wants that building to collapse.”
Ethan immediately called the city.
Officials dismissed the concern.
They needed evidence.
Ethan knew they were running out of time.
He contacted an old engineering colleague.
Within hours, they confirmed something terrifying.
The tower was unstable.
But there was more.
The altered designs had been approved using Ethan’s digital signature.
Someone had forged his identity.
If the building collapsed, Ethan would take the blame.
Claire looked at him.
“They’re setting you up.”
Ethan nodded.
“For the crime they committed.”
Rebecca said,
“There’s only one way to stop them.”
“What?”
“Expose Northstar publicly before the collapse.”
Ethan looked at the documents.
“We need proof.”
Claire picked up the old letter.
“No.”
Ethan turned.
“We don’t need proof.”
She held up the letter.
“We need the person who wrote it.”
Ethan stared at her.
“Your father?”
Claire shook her head.
“Someone else.”
She pointed to the signature.
The letter wasn’t actually signed by Claire.
It had been written in her handwriting.
But at the bottom was a tiny mark.
A symbol.
Ethan remembered seeing it before.
On Daniel’s notebook.
On the Northstar files.
And on the documents in the hidden room.
It was the symbol of someone they had completely overlooked.
Michael.
