Ethan stood in the Lawson mansion, staring at the message on his phone. Come to Room 17 alone if you want the box back.Sophia stood beside him. "You can't go alone," she said.Ethan slipped the phone into his pocket. "If I don't go, they may destroy the box and the file.""And if you go, they may hurt you."Ethan looked at her. "I've faced worse."Sophia shook her head. "This isn't about being brave. Whoever is doing this knows everything about your father. They know about the ring. They even knew I had the box."Ethan said nothing. That was what bothered him most. The enemy was always one step ahead.Daniel arrived a few minutes later. When Ethan told him what happened, his expression became serious. "So they have both the missing file and the box now.""Yes.""And they want you at Room 17."Ethan nodded.Daniel thought for a moment. "Then we shouldn't give them what they want."Ethan looked at him. "What do you suggest?""We watch the place first."Ethan agreed. Before leaving, he

The black vehicle followed Ethan and Daniel for nearly twenty minutes. Ethan noticed it when they left the forest. At first, he said nothing. He simply watched the vehicle through the side mirror. It stayed far enough behind them to avoid suspicion, but it never turned away."Daniel."Daniel glanced at him. "I see it.""Don't lose it."Daniel nodded. Instead of driving toward the city, he took a different road. The black vehicle followed.Daniel smiled faintly. "They're not even trying to hide it anymore."Ethan looked at the road ahead. "Let's find out who they are."Daniel suddenly turned into a narrow street. The black vehicle followed. A few seconds later, Daniel accelerated. The vehicle behind them did the same.Ethan looked back. "There are two more."Two dark vehicles had appeared behind the first.Daniel's expression changed. "We have company.""Can you lose them?""I can try."He turned sharply into another road. The vehicles followed.Ethan's phone rang. Unknown number. He a

Ethan stared at Mrs. Lawson. "From the same people who took my father?"Mrs. Lawson nodded slowly. "Yes.""Then tell me who they are.""I can't."Ethan's expression hardened. "You've been saying that for too long."Sophia stepped between them. "Mom, please. We deserve the truth."Mrs. Lawson looked at her daughter. "You don't understand what you're asking for.""We understand enough," Sophia replied. "Dad knew Ethan's father. Grandpa knew him. You knew him. And now Ethan's father has disappeared." She pointed at the letter. "And this letter says someone inside our family betrayed him."Mrs. Lawson lowered her eyes. "I know."Ethan froze. "You know?""I suspected.""Who?""I don't know."Ethan shook his head. "No. You know something."Mrs. Lawson remained silent.Ethan placed the letter on the desk. "My father changed my identity to protect me. He trusted someone in this family to keep me safe. Then someone betrayed him." He looked directly at her. "If that person is still alive, I wil

Ethan had barely slept. The black notebook lay on the passenger seat of his car, beside the golden ring and the old photograph he had taken from the burned Carter property. Three objects. Three pieces of a mystery that had followed him for twelve years. And still, he had no clear answer about his father. He drove toward the old railway station, remembering the message left inside the wooden box. Do not look for me until you understand why the boy had to be protected. Ethan tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "Who was that boy?" he whispered. He had asked himself the same question countless times, but every clue led him to another question. The name Alexander appeared in the notebook. Daniel Grant had disappeared after the fire. His father had trusted someone who later betrayed him. And now someone was threatening Emily because he refused to stop searching. Ethan was tired of being kept in the dark. This time, he intended to find something that could not

The black car stopped in front of a large white house just outside the city. Ethan Carter looked through the windshield. The house stood behind an old iron gate, surrounded by tall trees and a garden that had not been properly maintained in years. The windows were closed, and the curtains were drawn. Nothing about the building suggested that anyone lived there. Yet Ethan knew someone was watching him. He had felt it since leaving the city."Are you sure this is the place?" Daniel asked from the passenger seat.Ethan checked the address on his phone. "Grace Miller's address matches."Daniel glanced at the house. "Then we should be careful. Someone requested those hospital records before we did. If Grace knows something about the fire, we may not be the first people who have come looking for her.""That's why we can't waste time."Ethan opened the car door. Before he could step out, his phone rang. The number was unfamiliar. He answered. "Mr. Carter?"A woman's voice came through the sp