Chapter 3 - THE LETTER RACHEL NEVER SENT
Ethan read the letter three times.
Each time, the words became harder to breathe through.
Please don't trust the person who tells you the accident was random.
There were only six pages.
Six pages that changed everything he thought he knew about the worst night of his life.
Rachel wrote that she had become increasingly suspicious of someone connected to Cole Freight Technologies.
She did not name the person.
Instead, she referred to him as “the man with the silver watch.”
Ethan remembered exactly one executive who wore a silver watch every day.
His chief financial officer.
Gregory Sloan.
Ethan looked up.
“Did Rachel ever mention Gregory?”
Maria shook her head.
“I don't know his name.”
“She knew him.”
“Maybe.”
“She wrote about someone from my company.”
Maria looked frightened.
“Then you should find out who.”
Ethan folded the letter carefully.
“Why did you keep this for three years?”
Maria's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
“Everyone.”
Ethan walked toward the window.
Outside, rain had begun falling.
Three years ago, rain had been falling too.
He looked at his reflection.
He barely recognized himself.
“I want the truth.”
Maria nodded.
“I know.”
“Whatever it is.”
“I know.”
“Even if it hurts.”
Maria's voice broke.
“Rachel wanted you to know.”
Ethan turned.
“What else did she tell you?”
Maria hesitated.
“She said if anything happened to her, you should protect the baby.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“The baby was already gone.”
“I know.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You don't understand.”
Maria looked at him.
“Rachel didn't know the baby was gone.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“She thought she was going to survive.”
Ethan stared.
“She told me the baby was still alive.”
His knees nearly gave way.
Maria continued.
“She was afraid, but she kept saying she needed to survive.”
Ethan looked at Sofia.
The little girl was sitting quietly at the table.
Her eyes were fixed on him.
For some reason, Ethan felt an unfamiliar ache in his chest.
He walked toward her.
“Sofia.”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Did your mother tell you about my wife?”
“Yes.”
“What did she tell you?”
“That she was kind.”
“Anything else?”
Sofia nodded.
“She said Rachel loved chocolate.”
Ethan almost smiled.
“That sounds like her.”
Sofia looked at him.
“Rachel liked you.”
Ethan's smile disappeared.
“How do you know?”
“Mommy said.”
“Did your mother meet Rachel before the accident?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
Sofia frowned.
“I don't know.”
Ethan didn't press further.
Children remembered things differently.
But the letter was real.
And Maria had no reason to invent it.
Ethan spent the rest of the afternoon investigating Rachel's final weeks.
He called the hospital.
He requested the complete medical records.
He called the police department.
He asked for the original accident report.
Then he called Gregory Sloan.
“Ethan.”
Gregory sounded surprised.
“What's going on?”
“I need you at the house.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Is this about the board?”
“No.”
A pause.
“Then what?”
“Rachel.”
Silence.
Gregory finally said,
“I don't think this is a good time.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“I have meetings.”
“You'll cancel them.”
“I can't.”
“You'll be here in thirty minutes.”
Gregory hesitated.
Then agreed.
Ethan ended the call.
Maria watched him.
“You think he knows something.”
“I don't know.”
“You should be careful.”
“I will.”
Maria looked toward Sofia.
“She should not be involved.”
“She won't be.”
But Ethan couldn't ignore the strange connection between the little girl and his wife.
He had barely known Sofia.
Yet somehow, she had known Rachel's birthday.
She had known Rachel liked chocolate.
She had known Ethan's heart was broken.
And now she had said something that kept repeating in his mind.
Rachel liked you.
Not loved you.
Liked you.
It was a child's strange phrasing.
Or perhaps something Maria had told her.
At six thirty, Gregory arrived.
He entered the mansion carrying a leather briefcase.
He looked nervous.
Too nervous.
Ethan noticed immediately.
They sat in the study.
Gregory loosened his tie.
“You said this was about Rachel.”
“It is.”
“What happened?”
Ethan placed the letter on the desk.
Gregory looked at it.
His face changed.
“You have that?”
Ethan stared.
“You know it?”
Gregory swallowed.
“No.”
“You recognized it.”
“No.”
“Gregory.”
The older man looked away.
Ethan pushed the letter toward him.
“Rachel wrote about someone from the company.”
Gregory's expression hardened.
“She was under stress.”
“Don't.”
Ethan's voice was cold.
“Don't tell me she was imagining things.”
Gregory looked at him.
“I didn't say that.”
“You implied it.”
Gregory remained silent.
“Did Rachel talk to you?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“About a month before the accident.”
“What did she want?”
“She was asking questions.”
“About what?”
“Company finances.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
Gregory sighed.
“She suspected someone was moving money.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Gregory stood.
“Ethan.”
“Sit down.”
Gregory slowly sat.
Ethan leaned forward.
“Did Rachel discover fraud?”
Gregory looked at the floor.
“Yes.”
Ethan felt his heart pounding.
“How much?”
“Almost forty million dollars.”
Silence.
“Where?”
“Several subsidiaries.”
“Who?”
Gregory hesitated.
“I never found out.”
“You were CFO.”
“I found irregularities.”
“And?”
“Someone erased the records.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“Who had access?”
Gregory didn't answer.
Ethan knew.
“Who?”
Gregory whispered,
“Your brother.”
Ethan froze.
He had no brother.
At least not one who was alive.
He had grown up an only child.
“What are you talking about?”
Gregory looked terrified.
“Rachel knew.”
“Rachel knew what?”
“That the man using your company's accounts wasn't using his real name.”
Ethan stood.
“Who was he?”
Gregory opened his briefcase.
He pulled out a photograph.
Ethan stared.
The man in the photograph was unfamiliar.
But something about his face felt strangely familiar.
Gregory said,
“He was seen with Rachel two days before the accident.”
“Who is he?”
“We don't know.”
Ethan turned the photograph over.
There was a handwritten note.
Ask Maria.
Ethan looked up.
Gregory's face had gone pale.
“You knew Maria was involved?”
“I didn't.”
“Then why does this say her name?”
Gregory shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Ethan walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To ask her.”
But when he reached the kitchen, Maria was gone.
Sofia was standing alone beside the island.
“Where's your mother?”
Sofia pointed toward the back door.
“She left.”
“Why?”
“She said she had to help someone.”
“Who?”
Sofia looked at him.
“A man.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
May you like
“What man?”
“The man from the picture.”
