Chapter 40 - The Third Name|
The document was a series of email exchanges. The sender was encrypted, but the tone was undeniably authoritative.
Target is stable, Ethan had written eight years ago. She believes the abuse is normal. The mother is playing her part perfectly. The girl relies on me entirely for emotional support.
The reply from the encrypted sender chilled the marrow in her bones.
Keep her dependent, Ethan. Victor Thorne cannot be allowed to claim her, but we also cannot let her realize her own potential. If she discovers the master key before we are ready to seize the estate, you know what to do.
Natalie read the words over and over, the screen blurring with unshed tears of absolute horror. Ethan wasn't hired by her father to protect her. He was a plant from a rival faction entirely. He had orchestrated their meeting, manipulated her emotions, and positioned himself as her savior to control the Thorne empire by marrying her.
She scrolled to the final email in the chain, dated the exact same day her adoptive father, Arthur, had been murdered.
Arthur Vance has become a liability, Ethan’s email read. He is trying to tell Natalie the truth. I am executing the protocol.
Ethan killed her father.
The front door unlocked downstairs. The cheerful sound of grocery bags rustling echoed up the hallway.
“Nat! I got the good wine for tonight!” Ethan called out, his footsteps bounding up the stairs.
May you like
Natalie slowly closed the laptop, sliding the hard drive into her blazer pocket. She stood up, her face draining of all emotion, transforming back into the cold, ruthless queen she was born to be. She opened the top drawer of the desk, taking out the loaded pistol Ethan kept there, and chambered a round.
“I’m in the office, honey,” she called back, a deadly smile forming on her lips as the door handle turned.
