Chapter 38
[Chapter 38: The Hangar at 3:00 AM]
The private airfield on the outskirts of Cedar Rapids was dark, shrouded in a thick Midwest fog. The corporate hangar loomed out of the mist, its massive rolling doors cracked open just enough for a single luxury jet to fit inside.
Ethan stepped out of his rental car, clutching the leather ledger tightly against his chest. The air was freezing, his breath pluming in the headlights.
He walked into the hangar. The space was cavernous, smelling of aviation fuel and cold concrete.
In the center of the hangar stood Richard, his suppressed pistol tucked into his waistband, his hands in his pockets. Next to him, Lauren sat on a luggage cart, holding Noah, who was asleep under a blanket.
Seeing Ethan, Lauren let out a cry of relief. “Ethan!”
“Stay back, Lauren,” Ethan said, his voice completely dead, devoid of the frantic panic he had felt in Zurich. He stopped ten feet from his father.
“Do you have it?” Richard asked, stepping forward, his eyes locked on the ledger.
“I have it,” Ethan said. He looked at Lauren, his eyes boring into hers. “Tell me about the material depreciation account, Lauren.”
Lauren’s face instantly froze. The relief in her eyes vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating stillness that Ethan had never seen on his wife's face before.
Richard let out a short, dark chuckle. “Ah. You figured it out. I told you he was good with spreadsheets, Lauren.”
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Ethan felt the final pieces of the puzzle violently slam into place. Lauren hadn’t been trapped by his mother. She hadn’t been a victim of the family drama. She had been Richard’s partner all along.
The night Noah was sick, the dirty dishes, the exhaustion—it was a setup. Lauren had deliberately provoked Patricia and Melissa, knowing Ethan would react exactly the way he did. She needed Ethan to alienate his mother completely so Patricia wouldn't look into the corporate accounts and discover the millions Lauren and Richard were skimming.
