Chapter 5 - The Snake in the House
Ethan’s eyes narrowed into slits of ice. "Mr. Bennett?"
"No," Marco replied, shaking his head. "Bennett’s assistant, Julian. We found him trying to clear out his locker ten minutes ago. He had twenty thousand dollars in cash in his bag—stacked in bills marked by the Caruso syndicate."
Ethan instructed the medical team to remain with Hannah while he and Marco dragged Julian into the soundproof basement beneath the garage.
Julian, a man who had worked in the estate for two years, was trembling violently, bound to a chair beneath a harsh overhead bulb.
"Who paid you?" Ethan asked, his voice low and deadly.
"It was Miss Vanessa!" Julian whimpered, blood trickling from his lip. "She saw the way you looked at the maid weeks ago! She hired me to keep an eye on her, to search her belongings! When I found the locket and the marriage certificate to Marcus Reed, I gave them to Mr. Caruso!"
"And the explosion that killed my brother eight months ago?" Ethan demanded, stepping into the light. "Did Vincent Caruso order that?"
Julian swallowed hard, his eyes wide with terror. "It... it wasn't just Vincent, Mr. Moretti! Caruso didn't act alone! There was a second man... someone inside your own council! They wanted Owen dead because Owen discovered they were skimming millions from the lakefront ports and using the money to build a private mercenary force!"
Ethan stared at Julian. A traitor within the Moretti inner circle. Someone who had helped Vincent Caruso orchestrate the murder of his brother and was now aiding in the elimination of Owen's surviving heir.
"Keep him locked up," Ethan ordered Marco. "Tell no one. We play along with the Carusos until the formal dinner on Friday night. Let them think their plan is working."
May you like
Ethan returned upstairs to Hannah’s room. He found her sitting up in bed, sipping broth. Despite her swollen eyes, there was a quiet strength in her demeanor that reminded him fiercely of his brother.
"We are going to give your baby the life Owen wanted for them," Ethan told her, standing by her side. "But to do that, we must cut the snakes out of our garden once and for all."
