She Was Forced to Marry a Poor Stranger — Unaware He Was a Billionaire Hiding His Identity
Chapter 5
Ethan and Clara returned to Bennett Industries together.
This time, nobody questioned why they were there.
Ethan walked through the executive floor.
Employees moved aside.
Clara finally understood.
He had power.
Not just money.
Authority.
His name meant something.
She watched him speak with the CFO.
“Find every transaction involving Richard Bennett.”
The CFO nodded.
“And Anna Reed.”
The man’s face changed.
Clara noticed.
“So you knew.”
The CFO looked down.
“I didn’t know the details.”
“You knew the name.”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why?”
The CFO hesitated.
“Your uncle told me to forget it.”
Clara felt sick.
“My uncle knew Anna.”
“Yes.”
“Where did they meet?”
“An internal audit.”
“Why was she investigating?”
“Because she found a missing account.”
“What account?”
He handed Ethan a file.
The account belonged to the Bennett family.
It held twenty million dollars.
The money had been moved from employee retirement funds.
Clara’s face went white.
“That’s impossible.”
The CFO nodded.
“It happened twenty years ago.”
“And Anna found it.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She disappeared.”
Ethan looked down.
Clara watched him.
He looked devastated.
Twenty years of grief had suddenly become a possibility.
Maybe his sister had not been killed.
Maybe she had disappeared to survive.
They searched for more information.
Then a name appeared.
Laura Reed.
Clara recognized it.
Her mother’s sister.
She stared.
“My aunt Laura.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Your family knew my sister.”
“Yes.”
The trail led to an old rural property.
They drove there the next morning.
The house was abandoned.
Inside, they found boxes.
Photos.
Letters.
A journal.
One entry was written by Anna.
I don’t trust Richard.
I don’t trust anyone at Bennett Industries.
Laura says she can help me disappear.
Clara’s heart pounded.
“She helped Anna.”
Ethan continued reading.
If I leave, I will contact my brother one day.
But not yet.
I need him safe.
Ethan sat down.
Tears filled his eyes.
“She was alive.”
Clara knelt beside him.
“You found her.”
“No.”
“But this means…”
“It means she survived at least long enough to write this.”
They found another letter.
I am leaving the country.
Tell Ethan I love him.
Clara couldn’t stop her own tears.
Ethan pressed the letter against his chest.
Then they found the final page.
If Richard learns where I am, he’ll come after me.
The name underneath was missing.
Someone had torn the page away.
Clara stood.
“We need to find Laura.”
Her aunt had disappeared too.
But a search of financial records revealed she had received one payment twenty years earlier.
From Richard Bennett.
Five million dollars.
Clara felt sick.
“He paid her.”
“For what?”
“To hide Anna.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“Or to betray her.”
They returned to the city.
Richard was still missing.
Then Clara received a message.
Stop searching.
She showed Ethan.
Another arrived.
Your husband doesn’t know what happened to his sister.
A third.
But I do.
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“Who sent this?”
Clara shook her head.
Then the location appeared.
An abandoned train station.
Tomorrow.
Midnight.
One final message followed.
Come alone.
Clara looked at Ethan.
“We’re going.”
He nodded.
Together.
