Chapter 9 - THE MAN BEHIND MARCUS
Ethan asked Valerie Hayes to repeat herself.
She did.
“The tracker wasn’t ordered by Marcus.”
“Who ordered it?”
Valerie hesitated.
“I want immunity before I say anything else.”
Ethan’s frustration spiked.
“Immunity from what?”
“I worked for a private investigation firm.”
“We did jobs that weren’t always legal.”
“You tracked my wife.”
“Yes.”
“Who paid you?”
“I won’t say over the phone.”
Ethan handed the phone to Noah.
Noah arranged a meeting with federal investigators present.
Three hours later, Ethan sat in a conference room across from Valerie Hayes.
She was in her early forties.
Nervous.
Plainly dressed.
Nothing about her suggested someone tied to a five-year-old conspiracy.
Agent Ward sat beside her.
Valerie placed a folder on the table.
“I kept records because I was afraid.”
“Afraid of who?”
Ethan asked.
Valerie opened the folder.
“In 2019, I worked for Griffin Strategic Services.”
“Our clients hired us for corporate intelligence.”
“Who hired you regarding Laura?”
Valerie looked at Ethan.
“Charles Cole.”
Ethan felt numb.
“My father.”
“Yes.”
Noah leaned forward.
“Why?”
Valerie swallowed.
“He said his daughter-in-law was involved in sensitive company matters.”
“He wanted to know who she met.”
“Where she went.”
“What she was collecting.”
Ethan stared.
“My father had my wife followed.”
“Yes.”
“Did Marcus know?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you personally install the tracker?”
“No.”
“My colleague did.”
“What happened?”
“Laura found it.”
“When?”
“The day before she died.”
“How?”
“She had her car detailed.”
“The technician found the device.”
“Then she contacted you?”
Valerie nodded.
“She traced the serial number through a friend.”
“I panicked.”
“I agreed to meet her.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That Charles ordered surveillance.”
“Did you mention Marcus?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Charles asked us to report any contact between Laura and Marcus.”
Ethan frowned.
“Why would my father track both of them?”
Valerie looked uncomfortable.
“Because he didn’t trust Marcus either.”
The room went silent.
That complicated everything again.
Charles had protected Marcus financially.
Yet he had also been watching him.
Valerie continued.
“Your father believed Marcus might try to leave the country with company money.”
“He wanted evidence before confronting him.”
“Then why track Laura?”
“Because Laura was investigating independently.”
“Charles was worried she would expose everything before he could recover the funds.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“So he was protecting the company.”
“Yes.”
“Even from my wife.”
“Yes.”
Ethan leaned back.
“What happened after your meeting with Laura?”
“I told her I thought Marcus knew about the investigation.”
“She said she was going to authorities the next day.”
“Did you tell Charles?”
Valerie looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“That night.”
“What did he say?”
“He was furious.”
“At Laura?”
“At me.”
“He told me to stop surveillance immediately.”
“Then he said he would handle his family himself.”
Ethan rubbed his face.
“Did Charles order anyone to hurt Laura?”
“No.”
“Not that I ever heard.”
“Did Marcus contact your firm?”
“No.”
Agent Ward slid another document across the table.
“Valerie provided billing records.”
“They confirm Charles was the client.”
Ethan looked at the invoices.
His father’s private holding company.
No doubt.
Then Valerie said.
“There’s something else.”
Ethan looked up.
“The tracker was removed from Laura’s car.”
“Yes.”
“But another tracker appeared the next morning.”
Ethan’s pulse changed.
“Another one?”
“A different model.”
“Who installed it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Could Marcus have?”
“Possibly.”
“Anyone could have.”
Noah asked.
“Was that second tracker recovered?”
Valerie shook her head.
“Not by us.”
After the meeting, Ethan sat in the car without starting the engine.
Noah waited.
Finally Ethan said.
“My father watched my wife.”
“He concealed theft.”
“He knew Marcus was dangerous.”
“But that doesn’t prove he wanted Laura dead.”
“No.”
Ethan stared through the windshield.
“For five years, I wished I had been there.”
“Now I’m wondering whether everyone except me was there.”
Noah had no answer.
That evening, the brake assembly report came back.
There was evidence of intentional damage.
A brake-line fitting had been loosened.
Not enough to fail immediately.
Enough to leak gradually under pressure.
Laura had likely lost braking ability near the curve.
The official accident investigation had never noted it.
Ethan read the report twice.
Murder.
The word sat in his mind even before investigators used it.
Laura did not simply lose control.
Someone sabotaged her car.
Agent Ward warned him.
“We still need chain-of-custody verification.”
“But yes.”
“This is serious.”
Ethan called Vanessa.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
He drove to Hart House.
Evelyn opened the door.
Vanessa was not there.
“Where is she?”
Evelyn looked exhausted.
“I don’t know.”
“When did she leave?”
“This morning.”
“Did she say where?”
“No.”
“Did Marcus contact her?”
“I don’t know.”
Ethan looked at Evelyn carefully.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I don’t know everything.”
“You knew enough to help destroy my daughter’s trust.”
Evelyn flinched.
Ethan continued.
“Did Charles ever talk to you about Laura?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“That Laura was reckless.”
“Anything else?”
“He wanted time.”
“To recover the money?”
“Yes.”
“Did he know about the tracker?”
Evelyn looked surprised.
“What tracker?”
Ethan believed her reaction.
Maybe.
He showed her the brake report.
Evelyn sat down.
“Oh my God.”
“Marcus was at the crash.”
“Yes.”
“He followed Laura.”
“Yes.”
“Did he have access to her car beforehand?”
Evelyn thought.
“He was at your house two nights before.”
Ethan’s blood chilled.
“Why?”
“Dinner.”
Ethan remembered.
A company dinner.
Laura had gone upstairs early.
Marcus stayed late.
The garage connected to the rear hall.
He could have entered easily.
“Did Charles come?”
“No.”
Ethan stared at the floor.
Marcus had means.
Motive.
Opportunity.
And he was at the crash.
Then Evelyn said.
“There was someone else at dinner.”
Ethan looked up.
“Who?”
“Rebecca.”
“No.”
“She dropped off documents.”
“How long was she there?”
“Maybe twenty minutes.”
Ethan called Agent Ward immediately.
Rebecca’s interrogation resumed.
At first she denied touching Laura’s car.
Then investigators mentioned forensic testing.
Rebecca broke.
She admitted opening Laura’s garage.
But she claimed she did not sabotage anything.
“Marcus told me to place something in the car.”
“What?”
“A small envelope under the passenger seat.”
“What was inside?”
“I didn’t know.”
“Did you see Marcus near the car?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“After dinner.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
“What was he doing?”
“I thought he was searching for documents.”
Marcus became the primary suspect in Laura’s death.
A warrant was prepared.
Police went to his apartment.
He was gone.
His passport remained.
His car remained.
His phone was found beside the Hudson River.
No body.
No obvious destination.
Just disappearance.
Then Ethan received an email from Marcus.
Scheduled delivery.
Subject line.
YOU NEVER KNEW YOUR FATHER.
The message contained one sentence.
Ask Evelyn who paid the mechanic.
Attached was a scanned bank transfer.
The transfer was from Hart Accounting.
Recipient.
Peter Lawson.
An automotive technician.
Date.
Two days before Laura died.
Amount.
$30,000.
Ethan drove back to Evelyn’s house.
He placed the printout in front of her.
Her face changed instantly.
“What is this?”
“You tell me.”
She stared.
“I didn’t authorize this.”
“It came from your firm.”
“Many people had access.”
“Who?”
Evelyn’s hands began trembling.
“My partner.”
“What partner?”
She looked at Ethan.
“Charles.”
Ethan stared.
“My father was your business partner?”
“Silent partner.”
“For how long?”
“Almost ten years.”
Ethan felt the world tilt.
Evelyn whispered.
“Your father secretly owned forty percent of Hart Accounting.”
Ethan’s mind raced.
His father.
Marcus.
Evelyn.
Rebecca.
Every path circled back to money.
Then Evelyn said.
“There is one person who can tell you why that payment happened.”
“Who?”
“Peter Lawson.”
“Where is he?”
Evelyn looked terrified.
“He disappeared the week after Laura died.”
Ethan stared.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
Evelyn answered on speaker.
A man’s voice said.
“You should have left the past buried.”
Ethan recognized the voice.
Marcus.
Evelyn went pale.
Marcus continued.
“Ethan, if you’re listening, you have twenty-four hours.”
“Twenty-four hours for what?”
Ethan asked.
“To stop.”
“Or?”
A soft laugh came through the phone.
“Ask Rachel where Chloe is.”
Ethan’s blood turned to ice.
He called his sister immediately.
Rachel answered breathlessly.
“Ethan.”
“Where’s Chloe?”
Silence.
May you like
Then Rachel said the words he never wanted to hear.
“She’s gone.”
