They Humiliated the Poor Cleaner… Until the CEO Walked In
Chapter 5
The darkness lasted only a few seconds.
But it was enough.
Ethan grabbed Clara’s hand.
“Run.”
They moved through a side hallway.
A gunshot cracked behind them.
Clara stumbled.
Ethan pulled her upright.
“Keep going.”
They escaped through a broken back window and ran into the woods.
Branches tore at Clara’s sleeves.
Her breath came in short bursts.
Finally they reached the car.
Ethan opened the door.
“Get in.”
He started the engine and drove.
They didn’t stop until they were twenty miles away.
Clara was shaking.
“They almost killed us.”
Ethan looked at her.
“I know.”
“Because of my father.”
“Because of what your father knew.”
Clara closed her eyes.
She hadn’t considered that finding the truth could become deadly.
Ethan reached over and covered her hand.
“You did nothing wrong.”
She looked at him.
His hand remained there.
Warm.
Steady.
For a moment, the fear softened.
Then his phone rang.
Daniel.
Ethan answered.
“Tell me.”
Daniel’s voice was urgent.
“We have another problem.”
“What?”
“The medical record you found?”
“Yes.”
“It was created by a doctor who supposedly died fifteen years ago.”
Clara frowned.
“What?”
Daniel continued.
“Someone recreated the clinic records.”
Ethan’s face tightened.
“Then how do we know Michael was there?”
“You don’t.”
Silence.
“There’s more,” Daniel said.
“The person who gave us the USB drive accessed it three times before it reached Clara.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who?”
Daniel named an employee.
Ethan knew him.
The company’s internal auditor.
Clara stared.
“He works for your company.”
“Yes.”
“Then we can’t trust anyone.”
Ethan nodded.
“Exactly.”
They returned to the city late that night.
Ethan arranged for Clara to stay in a secured guest apartment.
She protested.
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know.”
“Then why lock me in?”
“Because somebody just tried to kill us.”
Clara sighed.
“Fine.”
He turned to leave.
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
“Thank you.”
He looked back.
“For what?”
“For believing me.”
He smiled faintly.
“I don’t think I’ve ever stopped.”
Clara watched him disappear.
That night, she couldn’t sleep.
At 2:14 a.m., her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
Your father never left the country.
Another followed.
Ethan’s father knew where he was.
Clara’s heart raced.
Then a final message appeared.
Ask Ethan why he was paid to stay silent.
She stared at the screen.
Her hands went cold.
Ethan had told her he was afraid of his father.
What if that wasn’t the whole story?
What if Ethan had been part of the secret too?
