Chapter 31
[Chapter 31: The Choice at O'Hare]
The international terminal at Chicago O’Hare International Airport was a blur of neon signs and rushing travelers. Ethan stood in front of the gate for Swiss International Air Lines Flight 65, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder, his knuckles white against the boarding pass.
Six hours ago, he had been standing in his yard in Cedar Rapids. Now, he was about to cross an ocean.
“Ethan, don’t go,” Lauren’s voice whispered through his phone. She was currently locked inside a secure safehouse provided by his father’s legal team, surrounded by armed guards. “It’s a trap. You know it is. She wants you isolated.”
“If I don’t get on this plane, Lauren, she’s going to target the safehouse,” Ethan said, his voice flat, drained of emotion. “She has our GPS coordinates engraved on a key. She has eyes on us. The only way to stop a sniper is to go after the person holding the rifle. I have to find Melissa.”
“What if Melissa is still lying to you?” Lauren argued, her voice cracking with fear. “What if she’s the bait?”
“Then I’ll handle the bait too,” Ethan replied. 'Final boarding call for Flight 65 to Zurich,' the intercom blared. “I love you, Lauren. Keep Noah inside. Don’t trust anyone except my dad.”
He hung up, scanned his ticket, and stepped into the jet bridge.
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As the Boeing 777 lifted off into the dark Atlantic skies, Ethan opened the manila envelope Melissa had left. Behind the airline ticket was a small piece of paper with a single address printed on it: Niederdorfstrasse 42, Zürich.
Beneath the address, a chilling postscript in his mother’s elegant script read: Welcome to the real family business, Ethan.
