Chapter 9: The Truth About the Man Everyone Was Searching For
Marcus felt like the ground beneath him had disappeared.
For days, every answer had created another question.
Every person had a secret.
Every story had another side.
But this was different.
Because now the person everyone had been searching for…
The person everyone thought was a victim…
Was being accused of being the reason everything started.
“Ethan?”” Marcus repeated.
The woman nodded.
“Yes.””
Daniel looked at her.
“You can’t be serious.””
Her eyes moved toward him.
“You knew.””
Daniel’s face tightened.
“No.””
“Yes, you did.””
Marcus looked between them.
“What are you talking about?””
The woman stepped closer.
“My name is Claire.””
She looked at the folder on the desk.
“My brother Ryan disappeared five years ago.””
Marcus waited.
“And Ethan knew exactly why.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Stop.””
Claire looked at him.
“You still want to protect him?””
“I’m trying to understand.””
“No.””
Her voice sharpened.
“You’re trying to avoid admitting you were wrong.””
The words hit Daniel.
Because they were true.
Marcus noticed.
“You two know each other.””
Claire looked at Daniel.
“We met after Ryan disappeared.””
Daniel nodded slowly.
“She was looking for answers.””
“And he was looking for someone to blame,” Claire added.
Marcus looked at Daniel.
“Is that true?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Claire continued.
“After Ryan vanished, everyone focused on Naomi.””
“Why?””
“Because she was the last person seen with him.””
Marcus frowned.
“But Daniel said—”
“Daniel believed what he wanted to believe.””
Daniel looked angry.
“That’s not fair.””
Claire turned toward him.
“Fair?””
She laughed bitterly.
“My brother disappeared. His life was destroyed. And you spent years chasing the wrong person.””
Daniel looked away.
Marcus felt the weight of the room.
Everyone had lost something.
Everyone was hurt.
But someone had caused it.
“Tell me what happened to Ryan.””
Claire looked at him.
“Ryan discovered something about Ethan.””
Marcus froze.
“What?””
“Before Ethan became successful, before the company, before everyone thought he was perfect… he had a different life.””
“What kind of life?””
Claire reached into her bag.
She pulled out a photograph.
She placed it beside the others.
Marcus looked.
It showed Ethan.
Younger.
Standing with Ryan.
And another person.
Naomi.
But they weren’t smiling.
They looked serious.
“Where was this taken?”” Marcus asked.
“Three years before Ryan disappeared.””
Marcus looked at Naomi’s name.
“What does this mean?””
Claire answered:
“Naomi knew Ryan before Ethan.””
Marcus felt confused.
“Then why didn’t she tell me?””
“Because she was trying to protect him.””
“Ethan?””
Claire nodded.
Marcus shook his head.
“I don’t understand.””
Claire sat down.
“Ryan and Ethan were connected before Naomi entered their lives.””
“How?””
“They worked together.””
Daniel interrupted.
“No.””
Claire looked at him.
“You didn’t know everything.””
Marcus turned.
“Daniel, what is she talking about?””
Daniel was silent.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You said Ethan and you started the company.””
“We did.””
“But?””
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“But Ryan helped in the beginning.””
Marcus looked at Claire.
“And Ethan betrayed him?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Claire took a deep breath.
“He stole his work.””
The room became quiet.
“He took Ryan’s ideas, his research, his plans.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I never knew.””
“You never wanted to know.””
“That’s not true.””
Claire looked at him.
“Then why did you believe Ethan was innocent?””
Daniel had no answer.
Marcus looked back at the folder.
Everything was changing.
Again.
“So Ryan disappeared because of Ethan?””
Claire nodded.
“Yes.””
“What about Naomi?””
Claire’s expression softened.
“She tried to expose him.””
Marcus froze.
“Naomi?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did everyone think she was guilty?””
“Because Ethan made sure they did.””
Marcus remembered the message.
“I’m sorry, Ethan. You left me no choice.””
Suddenly, it made more sense.
Naomi wasn’t apologizing because she hurt him.
She was apologizing because she had done something she didn’t want to do.
“What did Naomi do?””
Claire looked at him.
“She reported him.””
Marcus stared.
“Reported Ethan?””
“Yes.””
“To the police?””
“Yes.””
“Then why wasn’t he arrested?””
“Because Ethan was careful.””
Claire’s voice became colder.
“He always stayed one step ahead.””
Daniel looked at Marcus.
“The night Ethan disappeared, he wasn’t running from Naomi.””
Marcus looked at him.
“He was running because Naomi finally found proof.””
“What proof?””
Claire answered.
“Everything.””
She opened another folder.
Inside were documents.
Financial records.
Emails.
Photos.
Marcus scanned the pages.
The more he read, the worse it became.
Ethan had been moving money.
Using fake accounts.
Manipulating people.
Including Naomi.
Marcus looked up.
“So Ethan was the one controlling everything.””
Claire nodded.
“Yes.””
“Then why did he call me?””
Nobody answered.
That question bothered Marcus.
Because Ethan had contacted him.
Ethan had warned him about Naomi.
Why?
If Ethan was guilty, why tell him anything?
Daniel looked thoughtful.
“Maybe he wanted to control the story.””
Marcus looked at him.
“Meaning?””
“Meaning Ethan always knew how to make people see what he wanted them to see.””
Claire nodded.
“That was his gift.””
The lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone looked toward the hallway.
A sound.
A door opening.
Marcus stood.
“Someone else is here.””
Daniel moved quickly.
“Everyone stay quiet.””
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Calm.
Not rushed.
Whoever it was wasn’t afraid.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“Interesting.””
Marcus froze.
Because he knew that voice.
Ethan.
The man they had been searching for.
The man who supposedly disappeared.
He stepped into the room.
Alive.
Calm.
Different from the tired person in the video.
He looked healthy.
Confident.
Like he had never been missing at all.
Naomi’s name was the first thing Marcus thought of.
Because if Ethan was here…
Where was she?
Ethan looked around the room.
His eyes landed on Marcus.
“You really should have stayed away from her.””
Marcus stared.
“You.””
Ethan smiled.
“Yes.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“You’ve been alive this whole time?””
Ethan looked at him.
“You disappoint me, Daniel.””
Daniel’s face changed.
“Why?””
“Because after all these years, you still don’t understand.””
Claire stood.
“You killed my brother.””
Ethan looked at her.
“No.””
The calm answer was terrifying.
“I saved myself.””
Marcus felt sick.
“You’re admitting it?””
Ethan laughed softly.
“You still think this is about guilt.””
He walked closer.
“It’s about survival.””
Marcus stared.
“Where is Naomi?””
Ethan smiled.
There it was.
The same confidence.
The same certainty.
“She’s coming.””
Marcus felt his stomach tighten.
“What does that mean?””
Ethan looked at the door.
Then back at Marcus.
“It means you finally get to hear her tell the truth.””
A car door slammed outside.
Everyone turned.
Marcus moved toward the window.
And froze.
Naomi was getting out of a car.
But she wasn’t alone.
Someone was holding her arm.
Someone Marcus had never seen before.
Ethan smiled.
“Now you’ll understand.””
Marcus watched Naomi being brought inside.
And then Ethan whispered:
“The woman you think you’re protecting…”
The door opened.
Naomi looked at Marcus.
Her eyes filled with fear.
May you like
Ethan finished:
“She’s the reason Ryan and I both disappeared.””
