CHAPTER 6 – THE TRUTH ABOUT ETHAN
CHAPTER 6 – THE TRUTH ABOUT ETHAN
Everything inside Tess stopped.
"No..."
She grabbed Dominic's phone.
"No!"
"My son is still at school!"
Dean answered quietly,
"He isn't anymore."
The phone slipped from her trembling hands.
Her knees gave way.
Dominic caught her before she hit the floor.
"Dean."
"I'm on my way."
"Lock down every bridge."
"Every train station."
"Every airport."
"I want every camera in Philadelphia."
Dean didn't hesitate.
"It'll be done."
Within twenty minutes, Dominic's organization was moving faster than the police.
Traffic cameras.
Union drivers.
Dock workers.
Taxi companies.
Street vendors.
Everyone received the same photograph.
A smiling six-year-old boy wearing red sneakers.
Find him.
Now.
Meanwhile...
A black SUV crossed the Walt Whitman Bridge.
Inside, Ethan sat quietly beside a large man with a shaved head.
The child wasn't crying.
The kidnapper looked surprised.
"You're pretty brave."
"My mom says panic makes it harder to think."
The man laughed.
"Smart woman."
Ethan looked out the window.
"You aren't taking me home."
"No."
"My mom will come."
"No."
A pause.
Then Ethan asked,
"Does your boss know how to make grilled cheese?"
The man blinked.
"What?"
"My mom says people who don't know how to make grilled cheese shouldn't be trusted."
Despite himself, the kidnapper laughed.
Kids were strange.
He never noticed the tiny smartwatch hidden beneath Ethan's sleeve.
Every thirty seconds...
It silently transmitted their location.
Back at Dominic's headquarters, a young technician suddenly shouted,
"I've got him!"
Everyone rushed toward the monitor.
A blinking signal.
Moving south.
Near the abandoned shipyards.
Dean smiled.
"The kid's watch."
Dominic looked stunned.
"Tess bought him a GPS watch?"
She nodded.
"I found it on clearance."
"I couldn't afford the expensive one."
"But... after he got lost at the zoo last year..."
Her voice broke.
"I promised myself I'd always know where he was."
Dominic looked at her with new admiration.
She had prepared for disasters long before meeting him.
An hour later...
Dominic's convoy surrounded an abandoned warehouse near the river.
Twenty armed men quietly took positions.
Dean handed Dominic a rifle.
"Ready?"
Dominic shook his head.
"No shooting unless Ethan's safe."
"What if Salazar fires first?"
"He won't."
"You sound confident."
Dominic smiled coldly.
"He wants leverage."
"Dead children don't negotiate."
Inside the warehouse, Victor Salazar watched Ethan draw dinosaurs on a cardboard box.
The old crime boss frowned.
"You're not scared?"
"A little."
"Then why are you drawing?"
"My mom says my brain works better when my hands are busy."
Victor chuckled.
"Your mother sounds wise."
"She is."
The old gangster stared at the boy.
Then quietly asked,
"Where's your father?"
Ethan shrugged.
"He died before I was born."
Victor's smile disappeared.
"What was his name?"
"Michael Harper."
The room became silent.
Victor slowly stood.
"What... did you say?"
"Michael Harper."
Victor staggered backward.
One of his men caught his arm.
"Boss?"
Victor whispered,
"Impossible..."
He walked closer to Ethan.
"You said... Michael Harper?"
"Yes."
"My mommy keeps his picture."
Victor's face turned pale.
Twenty-seven years ago...
Victor Salazar had a younger brother.
Michael.
The only honest man in the family.
The brother Victor believed had died childless.
His hands began to shake.
He looked at Ethan.
Then at the boy's eyes.
The same gray eyes his brother had.
The same smile.
The same chin.
Victor whispered,
"...He's family."
Outside...
Dominic's men prepared to storm the building.
Inside...
The entire reason for the kidnapping had just changed.
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Because Victor Salazar had realized the little boy he'd ordered abducted...
...was his own nephew's son.
