She Fired the Single Dad—Then He Smiled and Said, “Check Who Owns This Building.” Everyone Froze!
Chapter 5
Ethan spent the night searching for his mother.
The trail led to a small coastal town.
Her name was now Margaret Collins.
She ran a bookstore.
Ethan arrived without warning.
She looked up from the counter.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then she whispered:
“Ethan.”
He couldn’t speak.
She walked toward him.
“You’ve grown.”
He laughed bitterly.
“That’s what you say?”
She stopped.
“I know I don’t deserve forgiveness.”
“You died.”
Her face changed.
“I didn’t.”
“That’s what everyone told me.”
“I know.”
“Dad told me.”
She looked away.
“Your father believed it was safer.”
Ethan’s voice cracked.
“Was it?”
“For a while.”
“Then why come back now?”
“Because Victor knows.”
Ethan froze.
“Knows what?”
“That I’m alive.”
Margaret explained.
Victor had discovered the old family trust.
He had been searching for the original records.
Margaret still had them.
“They’re not in the building,” she said.
“Where?”
“With me.”
She gave Ethan a small box.
Inside was a key.
“A storage unit.”
“What is it?”
“Your father’s real records.”
Ethan opened it.
Inside were documents showing years of transactions.
Victor had siphoned money.
But he wasn’t acting alone.
Another name appeared.
Melissa Grant.
Ethan stared.
“She helped him?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
“She was forced.”
“Why?”
“Her brother.”
Ethan frowned.
“What about him?”
“Victor threatened to expose him for something he didn’t do.”
Ethan closed the file.
He remembered Melissa’s face.
The hesitation.
The guilt.
The fear.
She hadn’t simply been cruel.
She had been trapped.
But there was still more.
Margaret pointed at another document.
“Your father knew the company would eventually be attacked.”
“By Victor?”
“By everyone who wanted the building.”
“Why?”
“Because the building is worth more than the company.”
Ethan looked confused.
Margaret smiled.
“Look beneath it.”
“What?”
“The building sits on land your family acquired before the city expanded.”
She explained.
Beneath Grantstone Tower was a huge underground transit and utility corridor.
The city was planning a massive redevelopment project.
Whoever owned the tower controlled a crucial access point.
The land value would explode.
Victor wanted to sell to a development consortium.
The consortium would make billions.
Ethan realized why his father had protected the property.
The building wasn’t merely valuable because of forty-two floors.
It controlled the land beneath them.
His mother handed him another document.
A development agreement.
His father’s signature.
The agreement had one condition:
The land could never be sold without Ethan’s approval.
Ethan looked at her.
“Why did he trust me?”
Margaret smiled.
“Because you worked with your hands.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does to him.”
She paused.
“He believed people who fixed broken things were less likely to destroy them.”
Ethan laughed.
Then he cried.
His mother reached for him.
This time, he didn’t step away.
They stood together.
Fourteen years of anger collapsed in seconds.
Margaret whispered:
“I am sorry.”
Ethan nodded.
“I know.”
Then his phone rang.
Charles.
“Mr. Brooks.”
“What happened?”
“Victor just called an emergency board meeting.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s announcing the sale of Grantstone Tower.”
Ethan looked at his mother.
Then at the box.
“Can he do it?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because he believes you won’t show up.”
Ethan smiled.
“Then let’s disappoint him.”
