Chapter 5 - THE NIGHT EVERETT KANE DISAPPEARED
Marcus Reed had protected Everett Kane for twelve years.
He had stood beside him during business wars.
He had taken bullets meant for him.
He had watched men betray Everett.
But he had never seen him broken.
Until that night.
Eight months earlier…
Everett Kane was not supposed to be at the warehouse.
The meeting was supposed to be private.
Only three people knew about it.
Everett.
Marcus.
And Sterling.
Everett had discovered millions of dollars missing from Kane Transportation.
Money that disappeared through fake companies.
Fake employees.
Fake contracts.
Someone had been stealing from him for years.
And the person behind it…
Was someone inside his own family.
Marcus looked at Willa.
“You need to understand something.”
“Everett trusted Sterling.”
Willa nodded slowly.
“And Sterling betrayed him.”
Marcus looked down.
“That’s what we believed.”
Willa noticed his words.
“We?”
Marcus stayed silent.
“Marcus.”
He finally looked at her.
“Everett was awake after the accident.”
Willa froze.
“What?”
“He wasn’t unconscious immediately.”
The hallway suddenly felt colder.
“He called me.”
Marcus swallowed.
“He told me one thing.”
“What?”
Marcus whispered:
“Don’t trust anyone.”
Willa stared at him.
“Why didn’t you tell the police?”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Because people like the Kanes don’t survive by calling the police.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No.”
Marcus looked toward Everett’s room.
“It’s a confession.”
He stepped closer.
“The night Everett fell, someone tried to finish him.”
“But someone else stopped them.”
Willa’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Marcus hesitated.
Then answered:
“Dr. Alan Whitfield.”
Willa felt her stomach drop.
“What?”
“He was there.”
“But why would he save him?”
Marcus shook his head.
“He didn’t.”
Silence.
“He stopped Everett from dying.”
A pause.
“Then he made sure Everett never woke up.”
Willa walked back to Everett’s room slowly.
Her mind was racing.
Everything connected.
The fake medication.
The hidden injections.
The doctor.
Sterling.
But one question remained.
Why?
Why keep Everett alive?
Why not simply kill him?
She entered the room.
Everett lay motionless.
She sat beside him.
“I know you can hear me.”
Inside the darkness…
Everett listened.
“I know someone did this to you.”
Her voice softened.
“But I need you to fight.”
A tear appeared in her eyes.
Not because she was weak.
Because she was exhausted.
Because for the first time in years…
Someone’s life depended on her.
“I don’t know why I was brought here.”
She touched his hand.
“But maybe…”
She paused.
“Maybe this wasn’t an accident.”
Everett felt her fingers.
Warm.
Human.
Real.
Then suddenly…
His finger moved.
Again.
This time stronger.
Willa froze.
“Everett?”
His finger moved once more.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But clearly.
He was responding.
She stood up.
Her heart racing.
“Clara!”
The door opened.
Clara rushed inside.
“What happened?”
Willa looked at Everett.
“He heard me.”
Clara covered her mouth.
“Oh my God.”
Then the monitor changed.
Everett’s heart rate increased.
His eyelids moved.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Willa leaned closer.
“Everett?”
For eight months…
The world believed Everett Kane was gone.
But now…
The most dangerous man in Chicago was trying to return.
And somewhere else inside the mansion…
Sterling Kane watched the same monitor.
His face turned pale.
“He’s waking up.”
Dr. Whitfield stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Sterling’s hand tightened.
“No.”
His voice became cold.
“It’s not impossible.”
May you like
A pause.
“It means we have less time.”
