Chapter 36
[Chapter 36: The Silent Partner]
Ethan turned to his mother, the phone extended in his shaking hand. “Give him the codes, Mom. Please.”
Patricia took a slow sip of her wine, staring at the screen showing her ex-husband holding a gun to her daughter-in-law. A bizarre, twisted expression of respect crossed her face.
“Richard,” Patricia said into the speakerphone. “You finally grew a backbone. I’m impressed.”
“The codes, Patricia,” Richard snapped. “The flights to Argentina leave in three hours. I’m taking the boy.”
“You can have the money, Richard. But you don’t take the boy,” Patricia said, her voice suddenly turning sharp, authoritative. “Noah is a Miller. He stays in the bloodline. You leave Lauren and Noah at the private hangar at the Cedar Rapids airport. Once the pilot confirms they are safely on the tarmac, Ethan will hand me the ledger, and I will release the final wire transfer.”
Ethan looked between his parents. They were negotiating over his wife and son’s lives like corporate assets. He felt a sickening realization: he had been fighting his mother for a year, but the entire family tree was rotten to the core.
“Fine,” Richard growled. “The hangar at 3:00 AM Central Time. If Ethan isn't there with the ledger open... well, you know what happens.”
May you like
The line went dead.
Ethan looked at his watch. It was 9:00 PM in Zurich, meaning it was 2:00 PM in Iowa. He had exactly thirteen hours to get back across the Atlantic, or his family would die at a private airfield.
