PART 3 — THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED
The gunshot changed everything.
Within seconds, the church entrance became chaos.
Guests screamed and ran in every direction. Security guards pushed people behind cars while others dropped to the ground.
But I didn't move.
I kept Lily pressed against my chest.
She was shaking.
Mave was beside me, crying silently as she tried to protect her daughter.
I looked at my head of security.
“Find the shooter.”
He nodded.
“Alive or dead?”
I stared at him.
“Alive.”
I needed answers.
Not revenge.
Not yet.
The shooter had fired at Lily.
That meant someone was desperate enough to kill my daughter before the truth could come out.
And I intended to find out who.
“Ethan!”
My mother's voice came from behind me.
I turned.
She was walking toward us.
Calm.
Perfectly composed.
As if nothing had happened.
“Get away from them,” she said.
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because that woman has manipulated you once already.”
Mave flinched.
I stepped between them.
“You knew about Lily.”
My mother's expression didn't change.
“I knew Mave was pregnant.”
My blood ran cold.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“For three years?”
She said nothing.
I took another step forward.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you had a future to protect.”
I laughed bitterly.
“A future?”
I pointed toward the church.
“You mean my marriage to Isabella?”
“Yes.”
“You destroyed my marriage before I even knew what you had done.”
My mother lowered her voice.
“I protected this family.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You protected an alliance.”
Her eyes hardened.
“Sometimes those are the same thing.”
Behind me, Mave whispered,
“She's lying.”
My mother turned toward her.
“You should be grateful I let you live.”
Lily suddenly started crying.
I looked at my mother.
And something inside me snapped.
“Don't you ever threaten my daughter again.”
For the first time, my mother looked afraid.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Then my security chief returned.
He leaned toward me.
“Sir, we found the shooter.”
My mother immediately turned pale.
“Where?”
“Three blocks away.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
“Take me to him.”
My mother grabbed my arm.
“No.”
I looked down at her hand.
Then at her face.
“Why not?”
“He'll tell you what you don't want to hear.”
I slowly removed her hand from my arm.
“That is exactly why I'm going.”
I turned to Mave.
“Stay here.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Mave—”
“If someone is trying to kill Lily because of what happened three years ago, I need to know the truth too.”
I looked into her eyes.
For three years, I had imagined a thousand reasons why she had abandoned me.
Now I finally had the chance to hear her side.
“Fine.”
We followed the security team.
The shooter had been found inside an abandoned warehouse.
He was lying against a wall, bleeding from his shoulder.
Two guards held him down.
When he saw me, he smiled.
Not with fear.
With satisfaction.
“You're Ethan Hail.”
I stepped closer.
“Who sent you?”
He laughed.
“You really don't know, do you?”
“Who sent you?”
He looked past me.
His eyes landed on Mave.
Then Lily.
“Your family.”
Mave covered Lily's ears.
I grabbed the man's collar.
“Which member?”
He smiled.
“Your mother.”
My fist tightened.
But before I could hit him, he whispered something that froze me.
“She didn't order me to kill the girl.”
I stopped.
“What?”
“She ordered me to scare you.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew you'd come running.”
I stared at him.
“Running where?”
“To the old Hail estate.”
My heart skipped.
The old estate had been abandoned for years.
No one went there.
Not since my father died.
The shooter coughed.
“She wanted you to find something.”
“What?”
He reached into his jacket.
There was a small brass key inside.
He threw it at my feet.
“The truth about the night your wife disappeared.”
Mave gasped.
I picked up the key.
My fingers were trembling.
I turned toward her.
“You knew about this?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
The shooter laughed again.
“You both have no idea how deep this goes.”
I crouched beside him.
“Tell me everything.”
He looked at me.
“Three years ago, your wife didn't leave you.”
My chest tightened.
“She was taken.”
Silence.
Mave covered her mouth.
I couldn't speak.
“Who took her?”
The shooter smiled.
“Your mother.”
I looked at Mave.
She was crying.
“But that's not the worst part.”
My stomach dropped.
“What is?”
The man's smile disappeared.
“Your mother wasn't working alone.”
“Who was with her?”
He looked directly at me.
“Isabella's father.”
The world seemed to tilt.
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It does if you understand the deal.”
“What deal?”
The shooter closed his eyes.
“The marriage between you and Isabella was supposed to happen three years ago.”
I stared at him.
“But Mave was my wife.”
“Exactly.”
He opened his eyes again.
“They needed her gone first.”
My entire body went numb.
Mave whispered,
“Why?”
The man looked at her.
“Because you were pregnant.”
I felt Lily's tiny hand grab mine.
The shooter continued.
“Your child wasn't supposed to exist.”
I looked down at Lily.
Her innocent face had no idea that powerful people had spent three years trying to erase her existence.
I turned back to the man.
“Why was my child a threat?”
He smiled weakly.
“Because your father left something behind.”
“What?”
“The Hail inheritance.”
I frowned.
“My father left me the company.”
“Not the company.”
He shook his head.
“A hidden account.”
I felt a chill.
“How much?”
The shooter whispered:
“Four hundred million dollars.”
Mave's eyes widened.
But I barely reacted.
Money didn't explain why they wanted my daughter dead.
“There was a condition,” he continued.
“What condition?”
“The money could only be accessed by your first biological heir.”
I froze.
The man smiled.
“And your family knew the heir was Lily.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
My mother's fear.
The marriage.
The threats.
Mave's disappearance.
The assassination attempt.
They weren't trying to protect the family.
They were trying to control the inheritance.
I looked at Mave.
She was staring at me with tears in her eyes.
“You see now why I had to disappear?”
I couldn't answer.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“Ethan Hail.”
“Who is this?”
“You have one hour.”
“One hour for what?”
“To bring Lily to the old Hail estate.”
My heart stopped.
“What happens if I don't?”
A long silence.
Then the voice whispered:
“Ask your mother what happened to your father.”
The call ended.
I slowly lowered the phone.
Mave looked at me.
“What did they say?”
I looked toward the dark road leading to the old Hail estate.
“They want Lily.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
I nodded.
“And they know something about my father's death.”
Then I looked at the brass key in my hand.
For three years, I had believed my father died of a heart attack.
But suddenly...
I wasn't sure I believed that anymore.
I turned toward the car.
“Get everyone ready.”
Mave stared at me.
“Where are we going?”
I opened the door.
“To the place where my family buried its biggest secret.”
I looked down at Lily.
“And this time, we're bringing the truth home.”
