Chapter 2 - The Second Person
“Ethan?”
He froze.
For four years, Ethan Brooks had eaten breakfast with Sophie.
He had taught her how to ride a bike.
He had helped build her science-fair volcano.
Sophie called him when she had bad dreams.
Two weeks earlier, she had asked me whether she could call him Dad after our wedding.
Now Ethan was trying to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re walking toward the door.”
“Evelyn, Sophie needs you.”
“So why are you running?”
Two security guards stepped in front of him.
Ethan’s face drained of color.
“Don’t do this here.”
I stared at him.
“Do what?”
Marcus held up his tablet.
“Police are going to want to see this.”
I wanted to grab the screen.
I wanted answers immediately.
But Sophie cried out from the hallway.
“Mommy!”
Nothing mattered more than that voice.
I ran.
At Northwestern Memorial Hospital, doctors treated the cut near Sophie’s temple and ordered scans.
I sat beside her bed holding both of her hands.
“Am I in trouble?” she whispered.
“No.”
“Uncle Preston said police arrest thieves.”
“You didn’t steal anything.”
“But everyone thinks I did.”
I swallowed the anger burning in my throat.
“Not for long.”
A woman in a dark blazer appeared at the doorway.
“Evelyn Whitmore?”
“Yes.”
“Detective Naomi Reyes.”
She glanced at Sophie.
“We can speak outside.”
I kissed Sophie’s forehead and stepped into the hall.
Marcus was waiting there.
So was Ethan.
Two officers stood beside him.
My stomach dropped.
Detective Reyes opened a video on Marcus’s tablet.
The timestamp read 7:18 p.m.
Preston entered the frame.
He looked around.
Then he reached into Sophie’s jacket and pushed something into the pocket.
His missing phone.
There was no question.
No misunderstanding.
He had framed her.
My knees almost gave out.
“He planned it.”
“Yes,” Reyes said.
The footage continued.
Seven minutes later, Ethan appeared.
He walked toward Sophie’s chair.
He pretended to pick something up from the floor.
Then his hand disappeared into the other pocket of her jacket.
My mouth went dry.
“What did he put in there?”
Marcus placed a clear evidence bag on the table.
Inside it was a diamond bracelet.
Vanessa’s bracelet.
The one she had loudly claimed was missing shortly after the phone was found.
I turned toward Ethan.
“You planted that?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Evelyn—”
“You planted jewelry on an eight-year-old?”
“It wasn’t supposed to go this far.”
I slapped my palm against the wall.
“She’s in a hospital bed!”
“I didn’t know Preston would hit her!”
“So framing her was okay?”
“No!”
“Then explain it!”
Ethan lowered his voice.
“I owed him money.”
Everything went still.
“How much?”
He looked away.
“Ethan.”
“Two hundred and fifty thousand.”
I almost laughed because the number was so absurd.
“For what?”
“Business losses. Loans. I made bad investments.”
“And Preston bought you?”
“He said nobody would get hurt.”
I stared through the glass at Sophie lying in a hospital bed.
“Nobody?”
Ethan covered his face.
Detective Reyes stepped closer.
“What exactly did Preston tell you?”
Ethan hesitated.
“He said we needed Evelyn scared.”
My blood turned cold.
“Scared of what?”
“He wanted you to believe Sophie could be charged.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked at me.
“Because tomorrow morning, you were supposed to sign something.”
I shook my head.
“I’m not signing anything tomorrow.”
“You were going to after tonight.”
He reached slowly into his coat.
One officer immediately grabbed his arm.
“Easy.”
“It’s paperwork,” Ethan said.
They removed a folded document from his pocket.
Detective Reyes opened it.
I recognized the Whitmore Holdings logo.
Then I saw the title.
IRREVOCABLE VOTING RIGHTS TRANSFER.
My name was printed at the bottom.
Beside a blank signature line.
And directly underneath it were four words that finally explained why Preston had targeted my child.
May you like
Thirty-four percent controlling interest.
---
