Chapter 6: The Letter They Couldn't Find
visitor.
Detective Ross.
After brief introductions, Ross placed the torn photograph on Ethan's desk.
"I believe your father should see this."
Ethan picked it up.
His expression changed instantly.
"I've seen this building."
Ross nodded.
"The old Prescott Foundation."
Ethan looked again.
The elegant woman beside Madison's mother looked vaguely familiar.
But the name written on the back...
Henry.
His stomach tightened.
He left his office immediately.
Henry was reading in the library when Ethan entered.
"Dad."
Henry smiled.
"You look terrible."
"I need you to look at something."
He handed over the photograph.
Henry's smile disappeared.
His hands began trembling.
For nearly a full minute, he said nothing.
Finally...
"Where did you get this?"
"It belonged to Madison's mother."
Henry closed his eyes.
"I prayed I'd never see this again."
Ethan stared at him.
"You know her."
Henry slowly nodded.
"I knew both of them."
"The woman beside Madison's mother?"
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
Henry looked toward the window.
His voice had become almost a whisper.
"My sister."
Ethan felt the room spin.
"You never had a sister."
"I did."
"You told me she died before I was born."
Henry's eyes filled with pain.
"That's what everyone believed."
Silence.
Then Henry spoke the words that changed everything.
"Madison's mother once saved our family."
Ethan couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"What are you talking about?"
Henry looked down at the photograph.
"Forty years ago..."
He paused.
"...someone tried to destroy the Prescott family."
"And?"
"A young woman named Eleanor Hayes risked everything to stop them."
Madison's mother.
Ethan slowly sat down.
"Dad..."
Henry nodded.
"I owe Madison far more than bread."
Before Ethan could ask another question, Henry's longtime attorney burst into the library without knocking.
He was pale.
"Mr. Prescott..."
"What is it?"
The attorney struggled to catch his breath.
"The Prescott Family Trust..."
Henry stood.
"What about it?"
"It's gone."
Silence.
"What do you mean, gone?"
The attorney looked at both men.
"Someone emptied nearly two hundred million dollars overnight."
The room fell deathly silent.
Then the attorney added one final sentence.
"And whoever did it..."
May you like
He looked directly at the torn photograph.
"...used documents signed by Eleanor Hayes twenty-eight years ago."
