CHAPTER 7 – THE TRUTH INSIDE PROJECT ORION
CHAPTER 7 – THE TRUTH INSIDE PROJECT ORION
The gold signet ring haunted Ethan for the rest of the night.
Only members of the Cole Industries Executive Board wore that ring.
There had originally been twelve.
After fifteen years, only six still worked for the company.
One of them had betrayed Lily.
One of them had helped Richard Hale disappear.
And one of them had spent years hunting Ethan's children.
By sunrise, the top floor of Cole Industries had become a war room.
Former FBI investigators, cybersecurity experts, forensic accountants, and corporate attorneys filled the conference room.
Ethan stood at the head of the table.
"No one leaves this building until we know who destroyed Lily Brooks."
Every executive surrendered their laptops, phones, and company access cards.
Nobody protested.
Nobody except one man.
Victor Sloan.
The company's Chief Legal Officer.
"This is ridiculous," Victor snapped.
"You can't investigate your own board without probable cause."
Ethan looked at him calmly.
"I don't need probable cause."
"I own fifty-eight percent of this company."
"You work for me."
Victor's face hardened.
For the first time in years...
someone had challenged him.
Meanwhile, the cybersecurity team finally cracked the encrypted files hidden inside Lily's flash drive.
A single folder appeared.
PROJECT ORION
It contained thousands of confidential documents.
Secret bank transfers.
Bribery payments.
Offshore accounts.
Government contracts awarded through corruption.
But one file froze everyone in the room.
A spreadsheet labeled:
AUTHORIZED APPROVALS
Every illegal payment required two signatures.
The first belonged to Richard Hale.
The second...
belonged to Victor Sloan.
Silence swallowed the conference room.
Victor lunged for the laptop.
"Delete that!"
Security tackled him before he reached the desk.
"You're making a mistake!" he shouted.
"You don't understand!"
"I was protecting the company!"
Ethan stepped forward.
"No."
"You were protecting yourself."
At that exact moment, Ethan's phone rang.
Unknown Number.
He answered.
Richard Hale laughed softly.
"Congratulations."
"You found Victor."
"But you've already lost."
Ethan's voice remained steady.
"What have you done?"
"You should call the hospital."
The line went dead.
Ethan's heart stopped.
He immediately called Mara.
She answered on the first ring.
"Ethan..."
"They're gone."
Cold fear shot through him.
"What do you mean gone?"
"I took Sadie to the hospital garden for ten minutes."
"When we came back..."
"Emma's room was empty."
The oxygen monitor still blinked beside the bed.
The IV line had been ripped away.
The window overlooking the ambulance entrance stood open.
Someone had kidnapped Emma.
Sadie was sitting on the floor outside the room, crying uncontrollably.
"It's my fault..."
"I looked away..."
Ethan dropped to his knees.
"No."
He wrapped both arms around her.
"This isn't your fault."
"I promised Mommy..."
"I promised I'd never lose Emma."
Ethan gently lifted her chin.
"Listen to me."
"You carried your sister through a storm."
"You saved her life."
"You've done enough."
"It's my turn now."
"I promise you..."
"I'm bringing your sister home."
One of the detectives suddenly shouted from inside the room.
"We found something!"
A tiny stuffed rabbit lay beneath Emma's blanket.
The same rabbit Sadie had carried into the emergency room.
Denise picked it up.
"It wasn't here before."
Inside the rabbit's torn seam...
someone had hidden a folded note.
May you like
It contained only one sentence.
Bring ORION. Come alone.
