2026-09-04 10:56:01Chapter 4 — The Secret Room
The ballroom erupted into confusion.
Guests rushed away from the entrance as the men in black suits moved through the crowd.
Ethan remained still.
His eyes were fixed on Adrian.
“The people who took my father?”
Adrian grabbed his arm.
“Not here.”
Ethan pulled away.
“I've spent three years looking for him. You're going to explain everything.”
“I don't have time.”
“You have ten seconds.”
Adrian stared at him.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then the system appeared.
[Emergency Mission Active.]
[Objective: Escape the Cross International Gala.]
[Reward: $1,000,000.]
[Additional Objective: Preserve the Unknown Key.]
Ethan slipped the silver key into his pocket.
Adrian noticed.
“You still have it?”
“Yes.”
“Then stay close to me.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn't.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow.
Adrian glanced toward the entrance.
“But right now, I'm the only person in this room who knows where they're going.”
Ethan hesitated.
Then followed him.
They moved through a side corridor.
Adrian pushed open a door and led Ethan into a private hallway.
“Where are we going?”
“Underground parking.”
Ethan stopped.
“No.”
Adrian turned.
“What?”
“I didn't come here to run.”
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Adrian looked at him for several seconds.
“Three years ago, your father discovered that someone inside Cross International was secretly moving company funds through shell companies.”
Ethan's expression changed.
“V-Prime Holdings?”
Adrian's eyes widened.
“How do you know that name?”
“I saw a transaction.”
Adrian looked impressed despite himself.
“Then you've already found part of the trail.”
“Who was behind it?”
“I don't know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I was twenty-two when it happened. My father kept me away from most of the company's internal affairs.”
“Yet you know my father was taken.”
Adrian looked away.
“Because I saw him that night.”
Ethan froze.
“You saw my father?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Outside the old Cross research facility.”
“Three years ago?”
Adrian nodded.
“He was arguing with my father.”
“What were they arguing about?”
“I couldn't hear everything.”
“Try.”
Adrian took a breath.
“Your father kept saying that someone had betrayed him.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did you warn me?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Because after your father disappeared, I asked questions.”
“And?”
“My father told me to forget everything.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
That wasn't an answer.
It was confirmation.
Someone had been hiding something.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Adrian's expression changed.
“They're coming.”
He opened another door.
“Inside.”
Ethan entered.
It was a small storage room.
Adrian shut the door behind them.
The footsteps passed.
Ethan looked around.
“This isn't the way to the parking lot.”
“I know.”
“Then why are we here?”
Adrian walked toward a large painting hanging on the wall.
He moved it aside.
Behind it was a keypad.
Ethan stared.
“You have a secret room?”
“Every important building has one.”
Adrian entered a code.
The wall clicked.
A hidden door opened.
Ethan looked at him.
“You're full of surprises.”
“You have no idea.”
They entered.
The door closed behind them.
Inside was a narrow room filled with monitors, documents, and old storage boxes.
Ethan immediately noticed a familiar name on one of the files.
DANIEL VALE
His heart skipped.
He rushed toward it.
Adrian tried to stop him.
“Wait.”
Ethan opened the file.
Most of the pages had been removed.
Only three remained.
One contained financial records.
Another contained a photograph.
The final page had only a handwritten sentence.
IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE IS NOT VICTOR CROSS.
Ethan stared at the words.
Not Victor.
Then who?
He turned toward Adrian.
“Who else had access to your father's private accounts?”
Adrian shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Think.”
“There were four senior executives.”
“Names.”
“Marcus Hale. Jonathan Reed. Robert Kane…”
He paused.
“And Evelyn Cross.”
Ethan looked up.
“Evelyn?”
“My father's younger sister.”
“Your aunt?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she now?”
Adrian's face became serious.
“She disappeared shortly after your father.”
Ethan looked back at the document.
Two people had disappeared around the same time.
His father.
And Evelyn Cross.
That couldn't be a coincidence.
The system appeared.
[New clue discovered.]
[Mystery Progress: 18%.]
[Possible connection detected between Daniel Vale and Evelyn Cross.]
Ethan clenched his fists.
For the first time, he felt like he was getting somewhere.
Then another notification appeared.
[Hidden Feature Unlocked.]
[Truth Scan.]
Ethan blinked.
“What is Truth Scan?”
[The ability allows the host to analyze inconsistencies in statements and documents.]
Ethan looked at Adrian.
“Interesting.”
Adrian frowned.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Ethan activated the ability.
A faint blue outline appeared around Adrian.
[Statement Analysis.]
Adrian Cross:
Truth probability: 82%.
Ethan's eyes widened.
So Adrian wasn't telling the whole truth.
“You said you don't know who took my father.”
“I don't.”
[Statement probability: 61%.]
Ethan stared at him.
“You're hiding something.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“I told you what I know.”
“No. You told me what you're willing to tell me.”
Before Adrian could respond, an alarm suddenly sounded.
The hidden room shook slightly.
Adrian looked toward the door.
“They found the entrance.”
Ethan calmly closed the file.
“Then we leave.”
“There's another exit.”
Adrian opened a second panel.
A staircase appeared.
They hurried down.
At the bottom was an underground tunnel leading toward an old service building behind the hotel.
When they finally emerged outside, the rain had returned.
Ethan took a deep breath.
The gala was behind them.
But the mystery had only become bigger.
An hour later, Ethan sat inside his penthouse.
The silver key rested on the table.
He studied it carefully.
There were no markings except a tiny number engraved near the edge.
317.
Ethan opened his laptop.
He searched through every document he had about his father.
Nothing.
Then he remembered the file from the gala.
One of the documents contained an old warehouse address.
He entered it into the system.
[Location recognized.]
[Warehouse 317.]
Ethan's eyes widened.
The key.
The number.
The warehouse.
They matched.
A new mission appeared.
[Main Mystery Mission Updated.]
Objective: Visit Warehouse 317.
Reward: $5,000,000.
Warning: This location may contain evidence related to Daniel Vale.
Ethan leaned back.
Five million dollars.
He almost laughed.
After everything that had happened tonight, the money no longer mattered as much as the answer.
His father was alive somewhere.
Or at least, there had been evidence of him.
Ethan stood.
“I'll find you.”
Across the city, inside a quiet office, Victor Cross sat behind his desk.
A man stood before him.
“Sir, Ethan Vale escaped.”
Victor's expression remained calm.
“Where is Adrian?”
“We lost track of him.”
Victor slowly looked up.
“And the key?”
The man hesitated.
“We believe Ethan has it.”
For the first time, Victor's calm expression disappeared.
“You were told to make sure that key never left the building.”
“Yes, sir.”
Victor stood.
“Find Ethan Vale.”
“Should we bring him back?”
Victor stared through the window.
“No.”
He paused.
“Find out what the system has given him.”
The man's face changed.
“The system?”
Victor said nothing.
But his silence was answer enough.
Three years ago, Daniel Vale had discovered a secret that could destroy powerful people.
Tonight, his son had inherited something far more dangerous.
And Victor Cross knew one thing Ethan didn't.
The Ultimate Wealth System had appeared before.
And the last person who possessed it had disappeared without a trace.
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