Chapter 5 - THE BROTHER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Ethan Harrington was twenty-eight years old.
He had spent most of his life being described as the disappointing son.
Daniel was the golden child.
The future CEO.
The polished heir.
The man who appeared on magazine covers beside his father.
Ethan was the one who dropped out of business school, spent a year traveling, and eventually opened a small music studio in Brooklyn.
Margaret called him irresponsible.
Charles called him weak.
Daniel called him useless.
I had always thought Ethan was simply different from the rest of them.
Now I wondered whether that difference had kept him alive.
We sat in a private meeting room off the apartment lobby.
A security officer remained outside.
Rachel joined us by video call.
Ethan placed the envelope on the table.
"My grandfather gave me access to his safe before he died," he said.
"Why you?" I asked.
Ethan gave a humorless laugh.
"Because nobody takes me seriously."
He looked at the envelope.
"He told me there were things my father had done that could destroy the family."
Rachel leaned toward her camera.
"Did he tell you what those things were?"
"No."
"Then why keep the documents?"
"Because he told me I would know when the time came."
I opened the envelope.
Inside were copies of bank transfers, a handwritten note, and a small photograph.
The photograph showed my father entering a private medical clinic.
Beside him stood Charles Harrington.
The date was three days before my father's death.
I stared at it.
"My father wasn't sick."
Ethan nodded.
"That's what I thought."
Rachel asked him where the photograph came from.
"My grandfather hired a private investigator."
"To investigate his own son?"
Ethan looked away.
"He didn't trust my father."
I unfolded the handwritten note.
The handwriting belonged to Edward Harrington, Charles's father.
Jonathan Bennett has discovered the diversion of funds.
Charles believes he can contain the situation.
I fear he has already gone too far.
Beneath those words was a name.
Dr. Malcolm Pierce.
I looked at Ethan.
"Who is he?"
Ethan swallowed.
"He was the doctor who signed your father's death certificate."
The room seemed to tilt.
Rachel immediately asked for the documents to be secured.
Ethan continued.
"There's more."
He took a breath.
"Two nights ago, I overheard Dad and Daniel arguing."
I looked up.
"About what?"
"You."
My stomach tightened.
Ethan stared at the table.
"Dad said the wedding was supposed to solve everything."
I said nothing.
"Daniel told him you hadn't signed the documents."
Rachel's expression hardened.
"What documents?"
"The ones giving Daniel access to Evelyn's assets."
I closed my eyes.
Ethan continued.
"Dad was furious. He said they'd spent three years getting Daniel close to you."
Three years.
Our entire relationship.
My first date.
Our first kiss.
The night Daniel told me he loved me.
All of it.
I felt something inside me break.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
It was more like the quiet snapping of a thread that had been holding together the last piece of my trust.
Ethan looked miserable.
"I didn't know at first."
"At first?" I repeated.
He nodded.
"When Daniel started dating you, I thought he really liked you."
"And then?"
"About a year ago, I heard Dad talking about the Bennett trust."
I stared at him.
"You knew."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I knew something was wrong."
"But you said nothing."
"I was afraid."
I leaned forward.
"So was I, Ethan."
He looked at me.
"The difference is that I was the one they were targeting."
He lowered his head.
"I'm sorry."
I wanted to hate him.
Part of me did.
But another part recognized something in his fear.
The Harrington family had trained its members to obey Charles.
Daniel had embraced that system.
Ethan had tried to escape it.
And now he was sitting in front of me, risking whatever protection his family name still gave him.
"Why come forward now?" I asked.
He wiped his eyes.
"Because this morning, when Daniel hit you, Dad didn't even look surprised."
I felt cold.
Ethan continued.
"It was like he'd expected it."
I thought of Charles returning to his newspaper.
His indifference.
His calm.
Ethan looked directly at me.
"And when you flipped the table, I saw Dad look afraid."
He paused.
"Not because of the mess."
"Because of the trust," Rachel said.
Ethan nodded.
"After you left, Dad called someone."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"What did he say?"
Ethan swallowed.
"He said, 'The Bennett girl found the trigger. We need to handle her before she finds the rest.'"
A long silence followed.
Rachel spoke first.
"Ethan, you need to understand that what you're describing is extremely serious."
"I know."
"Are you willing to provide a sworn statement?"
He looked at me.
Then at Rachel.
"Yes."
I studied his face.
"Even if it means testifying against your father and brother?"
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he looked older.
"Especially then."
That was the moment my phone rang.
Rachel's assistant.
I answered.
"Yes?"
Her voice was urgent.
"Ms. Bennett, the audit team found something in the archived payroll records."
"What?"
"A recurring payment to Dr. Malcolm Pierce."
I looked at Ethan.
"How much?"
"Twenty-five thousand dollars a month."
"For what?"
"We don't know."
"How long?"
The assistant hesitated.
"Since November 2014."
The month my father died.
I gripped the phone.
"Is he still receiving payments?"
"Yes."
I stared at the photograph on the table.
The doctor.
The clinic.
My father.
Charles Harrington.
Everything was beginning to connect.
Then the assistant said something that made my blood run cold.
"Ms. Bennett, there's another name attached to the account."
I closed my eyes.
May you like
"Tell me."
"Daniel Harrington."
