Ethan's phone had been vibrating since 6 AM.He ignored the first dozen calls, assuming they were reporters following up on yesterday's interview with Tyler Morrison. But when Isabelle texted, You need to see this, now. He opened his laptop.The New York Times homepage loaded. There, above the fold:"The Ghost Architect: How Ethan Cole Built an Empire Under Someone Else's Name”By Tyler Morrison.Ethan's coffee went cold as he read. Morrison had done more than transcribe their interview. He'd conducted a forensic investigation: side-by-side comparisons of Ethan's original sketches and Victoria's filed plans, structural analysis from independent engineers, and most damning—enlarged images of the hidden geometric signatures embedded in eight major buildings.The E.C. pattern wasn't obvious to casual observers, but Morrison had highlighted it in red: Sterling Tower, Meridian Complex, Riverside Development, Sterling Plaza. In each, the load-bearing columns formed Ethan's initials when vie

Derek arrived at the Harrington Estate twenty minutes later, laptop bag slung over his shoulder and coffee in hand."Show me what you have," he said, dropping into the chair beside Ethan.They worked in controlled chaos. Derek pulled backup sketches from cloud storage, early drafts Ethan had uploaded weeks ago. Ethan reconstructed calculations from memory, his father's techniques so deeply ingrained he could recreate them without references.The proposal wouldn't be polished. No time for refined renderings or elegant presentations. But it would be complete.Structural integrity: check.Historic preservation approach: check.Cost projections: rough, but defensible.Timeline: aggressive but achievable.At 11:47 AM, Ethan uploaded the final document to the committee's submission portal. The confirmation email arrived at 11:49.He'd made it, barely.Derek leaned back, exhausted. "That was too close.""Someone sabotaged my truck," Ethan said quietly. "Got past estate security and somehow k

The lawsuit arrived four days after the Vanderbilt decision.Ethan was reviewing foundation plans for the project when Derek knocked on his office door at the Harrington Estate, his face pale."You need to see this," Derek said, handing him a manila envelope.Inside were legal papers, stamped with the New York State Supreme Court seal.MERIDIAN PROPERTIES LLC v. STERLING ARCHITECTURE LLC, VICTORIA STERLING, and ETHAN COLEEthan's stomach dropped as he read the complaint. Meridian was suing for fraud, alleging that Victoria Sterling had misrepresented herself as the architect of the Meridian Complex when evidence proved Ethan Cole had designed it. They were seeking $25 million in damages plus contract rescission."Why am I named?" Ethan asked, scanning the pages.Derek pointed to a section. "You signed project documents during the marriage. They're arguing you were complicit in the misrepresentation—that you knew Victoria was taking credit and said nothing.""That's insane. I was her e

Ethan sat across from Derek in the Harrington Estate library, phone still warm from Sarah Chen's rejection."She hung up on me," Ethan said. "Won't let me near her father."Derek was already typing on his laptop. "Give me a second." He pulled up news reports from Ulster County. "Here. Burglary reported at 47 Maple Street two weeks ago. Suspect unknown. No arrests made." He scrolled through the police blotter. "Investigation status: inactive. Case went cold in forty-eight hours.""That's too fast," Ethan said."Exactly." Derek leaned back. "Professional job. In and out, knew exactly what they wanted. Forty years of building department records, nothing else touched." He paused. "What if James Thornton orchestrated this? He had access to Sterling's client files. He knew Chen was the original inspector on Meridian."Ethan considered it. James was vindictive enough, desperate enough after the Vanderbilt failure, but something didn't fit."James is reckless," Ethan said slowly. "He bribes c

Ethan couldn't stop staring at the photograph.His father's blueprints, pristine and complete, spread across a table he recognized. The Infinity Spiral—Thomas Cole's revolutionary design that would have changed modern architecture forever. The design Julian had burned to ash.But someone had photographed them first.Ethan tried tracing the email. The sender used sophisticated encryption, bouncing through multiple servers, hiding behind layers of anonymity. Even Derek's technical skills couldn't crack it."Whoever sent this knows what they're doing," Derek said over the phone, frustration evident. "Professional-grade security. Government or corporate level."Ethan forwarded the photo to Isabelle. She called within minutes."Where did you get this?" Her voice was tight."Anonymous email, can your security team analyze it?""Already on it."Twenty minutes later, Isabelle appeared at the estate library with two security consultants. They examined the photograph on Ethan's laptop with prof