Chapter 7: The File With My Name On It
For three years, I had lived with the same question.
What if I had done more?
What if I had arrived sooner?
What if I had noticed the danger before Marcus did?
But I had never allowed myself to ask the question that terrified me the most.
What if Marcus knew something about me?
The terrace felt colder than before.
Ethan stared at me.
Not with suspicion.
Not yet.
But with confusion.
And that somehow hurt more.
“Lena.””
I looked at Andrew.
His expression had changed completely.
He was no longer trying to convince Ethan that I was guilty.
He was waiting.
Waiting for me to break.
“You knew,” I whispered.
Andrew smiled.
“I know many things.””
“About the file.””
“Yes.””
My heart raced.
“What was in it?””
Andrew stepped closer.
“Ask her.””
Ethan turned toward me.
“Lena.””
I looked away.
Because I couldn’t escape anymore.
Not from Ethan.
Not from Marcus.
Not from the truth.
“I don’t know everything.””
Andrew laughed.
“Of course you don’t.””
I looked at him.
“Stop pretending you know everything.””
His smile faded.
For a moment, the old Andrew returned.
The man who grabbed my arm when nobody was watching.
The man who whispered threats instead of shouting.
The man who knew exactly how much fear a person could carry before they broke.
“You should be careful.””
Ethan moved immediately.
Not aggressively.
Just enough.
A warning.
Andrew noticed.
“You really think standing beside her changes anything?””
Ethan didn’t answer.
He didn’t need to.
His presence was the answer.
Andrew looked at me one last time.
“You’ll tell him eventually.””
Then he walked back toward the ballroom.
Leaving me alone with the truth.
And Ethan.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Finally, Ethan said:
“What file?””
I stared at the floor.
“Marcus kept records.””
“About Andrew?””
“Yes.””
“Only Andrew?””
I didn’t answer.
Ethan understood.
“Lena.””
I closed my eyes.
“Marcus thought something was wrong with the hospital’s financial system.””
“Because of Andrew?””
“At first.””
I took a breath.
“But then he found something else.””
“What?””
I looked at him.
“Me.””
The word felt impossible to say.
Ethan’s expression changed.
“What does that mean?””
I sat down on the nearby chair because suddenly my legs couldn’t support me.
“Three years ago, before I worked for you, I was a financial analyst.””
Ethan nodded.
“I know.””
I looked at him.
“You know?””
“I read your employment history when you applied.””
I gave a small, sad smile.
“Of course you did.””
He ignored the comment.
“What happened?””
I looked toward the city.
“Marcus asked me to review some numbers.””
“Why you?””
“Because I was good at finding mistakes.””
A pause.
“And because I trusted him.””
The memories returned.
Marcus sitting across from me at a small coffee shop.
His laptop open.
His face serious.
“This doesn’t make sense, Lena.””
I remembered those words.
“What doesn’t?””
“He’s moving money through companies that don’t exist.””
I remembered laughing nervously.
“Are you sure?””
Marcus had looked at me.
“I’m sure enough to be scared.””
I looked back at Ethan.
“He showed me documents.””
“Did you copy them?””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Why not?””
“Because I thought he was wrong.””
That was the hardest part.
“I thought Marcus was seeing something that wasn’t there.””
Ethan listened silently.
“Then the night he died…”
I swallowed.
“He called me.””
“What did he say?””
I closed my eyes.
“‘Lena, I was wrong about one thing.’”
My voice became quieter.
“He said he thought Andrew was the problem.””
“But?””
“He said Andrew was only one piece.””
Ethan leaned forward.
“What did he mean?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
“Lena.””
“I don’t know!””
The words came out louder than I intended.
The hallway went silent.
I lowered my voice.
“Marcus never told me.””
Ethan softened.
“Then why did Andrew say he was investigating you?””
I looked down.
“Because Marcus found my name in the records.””
“Doing what?””
I hesitated.
Then I answered.
“Approving transfers.””
Ethan went still.
“What?””
“I was working for a consulting company at the time.””
I wiped my eyes.
“They had a contract with the hospital.””
“And?””
“And my signature appeared on documents authorizing payments.””
Ethan stared.
“But you didn’t approve them?””
“No.””
My voice broke.
“I didn’t.””
“Then why was your name there?””
“I don’t know.””
And that was the truth.
The most terrifying truth.
I didn’t know.
For years, I had been afraid because I thought Andrew had evidence that I was guilty.
But maybe he had something worse.
Evidence that made me look guilty.
Ethan stood up.
“Where is the file now?””
“I don’t know.””
“Marcus had a copy?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
I shook my head.
“He told me he had hidden it.””
“Where?””
“He never said.””
Ethan paced once.
Thinking.
Then his phone rang.
He answered immediately.
“Tell me.””
I watched his expression change.
“What?””
A pause.
“No, don’t open anything else.””
My heart started racing.
“What happened?””
Ethan ended the call.
Then looked at me.
“My security team found something.””
“What?””
“The file.””
I froze.
“What?””
“They recovered a hidden archive from one of Marcus’s old storage accounts.””
My breathing stopped.
“Ethan…”
He looked at his phone.
“There’s one problem.””
“What?””
“It’s encrypted.””
I almost laughed.
Of course it was.
Marcus had been careful.
“Can you open it?””
Ethan hesitated.
“Probably.””
“Probably?””
“It was designed to prevent people from accessing it.””
A strange feeling moved through me.
Because Marcus had known.
He had known someone might try.
“He was protecting it,” I whispered.
“Yes.””
Ethan looked at me.
“And maybe protecting you.””
Before I could respond, Ethan’s phone buzzed again.
A new message.
He opened it.
His face changed.
“What?””
He turned the screen toward me.
It was a photo.
A document.
A scanned page from the encrypted file.
At the top was Marcus’s handwriting.
My heart stopped when I saw the title.
*PROJECT CARTER*
I looked at Ethan.
“Carter?””
He nodded slowly.
“Why would Marcus have a file with my family name?””
I couldn’t answer.
Because I had no idea.
Then Ethan scrolled down.
And we both saw the first line.
*Subject: Ethan Carter.*
The room went silent.
My stomach dropped.
“This isn’t about Andrew.””
Ethan stared at the screen.
“No.””
His voice was barely audible.
“It never was.””
A new message appeared.
From the same unknown number that had sent the earlier threats.
But this time, it wasn’t from Andrew.
It was a message with no name attached.
May you like
Only one sentence.
*“If you want to know why Marcus died, ask Ethan why his father paid to bury the truth.””*
