Chapter 10: Phase Two Begins
The message remained on the screen.
*PHASE TWO HAS BEGUN.*
Nobody moved.
Nobody even whispered.
The confidence that had filled the ballroom earlier was gone.
These people had come expecting a glamorous evening.
They came expecting champagne, speeches, and photographs.
Instead, they were watching a family betrayal unfold in real time.
I stared at the black screen.
My brother’s face was gone.
But his words remained in my head.
You should have stayed in that wheelchair.
Those words hurt more than I expected.
Not because they insulted me.
Because they confirmed something I never wanted to believe.
Adrian didn’t just know about my struggles.
He wanted them.
The stranger beside me stepped closer.
“Mr. Carter, we need to leave.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because if Phase Two has started, this location is no longer secure.””
I looked around the ballroom.
“My own brother threatened me in front of hundreds of witnesses.””
My voice was quiet.
“Where exactly am I supposed to go?””
Nobody answered.
Then Brooke spoke.
“Ethan.””
I turned.
She looked different.
Not like the confident woman who pushed me away earlier.
Not like the person who believed she could control the situation.
She looked scared.
“What?””
She swallowed.
“I know I don’t deserve your trust.””
I said nothing.
“But I know Adrian.””
That caught my attention.
“You knew him?””
She nodded slowly.
“Before Chad.””
The room became silent.
I watched her carefully.
“Explain.””
Brooke looked down.
“When you introduced us, Adrian was always around. He asked questions about your company. About your father’s trust. About your future.””
My expression hardened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I thought he was just curious.””
She looked at the floor.
“And because I was already making mistakes.””
That honesty surprised me.
But it didn’t erase anything.
The man with the files interrupted.
“Mr. Carter, there’s something you need to see.””
He opened his laptop.
A security camera feed appeared.
It showed my office.
From earlier that night.
Someone had entered.
The person wore a dark jacket.
Their face wasn’t visible.
But their movements were familiar.
They walked directly to my private cabinet.
The one that held my father’s documents.
I leaned closer.
“Can you zoom in?””
The image sharpened.
A hand appeared.
A ring.
A very specific ring.
Brooke covered her mouth.
“No.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She stared at the screen.
“That ring…”
She looked terrified.
“That belongs to Adrian.””
The room exploded with whispers.
I felt something inside me break.
My own brother.
The person who told me he was protecting my legacy.
The person who stood beside my hospital bed.
He had been searching through my father’s secrets.
The man with the laptop looked at me.
“There’s more.””
He opened another file.
A list of payments.
Names.
Dates.
My eyes moved down the page.
Then stopped.
Because one payment was different.
It wasn’t from Chad.
It wasn’t from Brooke.
It was from an account connected to someone much more powerful.
Someone who had been watching everything.
“Who is this?””
The man hesitated.
“Someone your father knew.””
I looked at him.
“Who?””
He turned the screen.
A name appeared.
A name I recognized immediately.
My father’s former business partner.
A man everyone believed disappeared years ago.
“How is he involved?””
The stranger answered quietly.
“He may have created the entire plan.””
The room felt smaller.
I thought this was about Chad.
Then Brooke.
Then Adrian.
But maybe they were only pieces.
Maybe someone else had been moving everything from the beginning.
Suddenly, my phone rang.
Everyone looked at me.
The number was hidden.
I answered.
“Hello?””
A voice came through.
Older.
Calm.
“Ethan.””
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I hadn’t heard it in years.
“Who is this?””
A pause.
Then:
“The person who knows why your father really died.””
My grip tightened.
“What did you say?””
The voice continued.
“If you want the truth, come alone.””
I looked around the ballroom.
The stranger immediately shook his head.
“Don’t.””
The voice on the phone laughed softly.
“You still trust strangers more than family?””
My blood ran cold.
Because the caller knew exactly what was happening.
Then the voice said one final thing.
“Ask yourself this, Ethan…”
A pause.
“Who pushed you toward that accident?””
The call ended.
And everyone looked at me.
Because for the first time that night, I had a terrifying thought.
May you like
Maybe I wasn’t the victim of someone’s plan.
Maybe I had walked into it willingly.
