Chapter 6: The Call from a Dead Man

Ava stared at the phone.

For one impossible second, everything around her disappeared.

The gunmen.

The shattered doorway.

The blood.

The darkness.

All she could see were the two words glowing on the screen.

Ethan Cross.

Her husband was calling.

“Ava, don’t.”

Damien’s warning barely registered.

The phone continued to ring.

Ava reached for it.

Damien grabbed her wrist.

“I said don’t answer it.”

She pulled away from him.

“That’s Ethan.”

“You don’t know that.”

“His name is on the screen.”

“Anyone can save a contact under any name.”

Ava glared at him.

“And anyone can claim to be someone’s brother.”

Damien’s expression hardened.

Another bullet struck the wall behind them.

Victoria grabbed Ava’s arm.

“We don’t have time for this. Answer it or leave it.”

Ava snatched the phone from the floor.

The moment her finger touched the screen, the call ended.

“No!”

She immediately tried to call back.

The number was hidden.

There was no way to return the call.

Ava stared at the screen.

“Why would someone call this phone using Ethan’s name?”

Lucas leaned weakly against the tunnel wall.

“Because it belongs to him.”

Everyone turned toward him.

Ava’s heart stopped.

“What?”

Lucas pointed at the phone.

“That phone belongs to Ethan.”

Damien stared at him.

“How do you know?”

“I’ve seen it before.”

Ava looked down at the black phone in her hand.

It was an ordinary device. No case. No personal markings.

“Why would Ethan’s phone be lying inside a hidden tunnel in a hospital?”

Lucas closed his eyes.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“Then tell me what you know!”

Lucas flinched at the anger in her voice.

Ava didn’t care.

For days, people had been giving her half answers.

Ethan was dead.

Ethan might be alive.

Victoria was his wife.

Damien was his brother.

The plane crash wasn’t an accident.

And now a dead man had just called his own phone.

She was tired of secrets.

“Who was calling?” Ava demanded.

Lucas shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

“You said the phone belongs to Ethan.”

“It does.”

“Then who has his number saved as Ethan Cross?”

Lucas looked at her.

“Someone Ethan trusted.”

Before Ava could respond, Damien grabbed her shoulder.

“We need to move.”

Footsteps echoed behind them.

The gunmen were getting closer.

Victoria helped Lucas forward while Ava followed with the phone clutched tightly in her hand.

Damien pulled the cabinet back into place behind them.

The tunnel became completely dark.

“Keep moving,” he whispered.

Ava switched on the phone’s flashlight.

The narrow passage stretched ahead.

Old pipes ran along the ceiling. Dust covered the concrete floor.

“Where does this lead?” Victoria asked.

Lucas struggled to breathe.

“Parking garage.”

“How far?”

“Maybe five minutes.”

A loud bang came from behind them.

The attackers had found the cabinet.

“Move faster,” Damien ordered.

They hurried forward.

Lucas stumbled.

Ava caught him before he hit the floor.

“I’m fine,” he whispered.

“No, you’re not.”

Blood had soaked through his bandages.

“We need to get you to another hospital.”

Lucas laughed weakly.

“They found me in this one.”

“Then we’ll find somewhere they can’t.”

His expression changed.

“There is nowhere they can’t.”

Ava stopped.

“What does that mean?”

Lucas looked behind them.

“They have people everywhere.”

“Who are they?”

He hesitated.

Damien stepped closer.

“Answer her.”

Lucas looked at him.

Then he said quietly, “The Black Ledger.”

Damien froze.

Ava noticed immediately.

“You know that name.”

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

Damien looked away.

“I’ve heard rumors.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Not now.”

Ava stepped in front of him.

“People are trying to kill us. My husband may still be alive, and someone just called his phone. Stop telling me not now.”

Damien stared at her.

For a moment, she thought he would refuse.

Then he sighed.

“The Black Ledger isn’t a person.”

“What is it?”

“A record.”

“Of what?”

Damien’s voice dropped.

“Every illegal payment made through Cross Holdings over the last fifteen years.”

Victoria frowned.

“Bribes?”

“Bribes. Offshore transfers. Political payoffs. Money laundering.”

Ava stared at him.

“You’re saying Ethan’s company was involved in all of that?”

“My family’s company.”

“Did Ethan know?”

Damien didn’t answer.

That silence was enough.

Ava’s stomach twisted.

“Did my husband know?”

“He found out six months ago.”

Lucas spoke before Damien could answer.

“He was trying to expose it.”

Damien turned sharply.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I helped him.”

Silence filled the tunnel.

Lucas leaned against the wall.

“Ethan knew someone inside Cross Holdings was moving money through shell companies. He didn’t know who he could trust.”

“And he trusted his pilot?” Victoria asked.

Lucas gave a weak smile.

“I wasn’t always his pilot.”

Damien’s face changed.

“Who are you?”

Lucas looked at him.

“Someone your brother paid to stay invisible.”

Another explosion sounded behind them.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

“They’re coming,” Victoria whispered.

They continued moving.

After several minutes, the tunnel split in two.

Lucas pointed to the left.

“Garage.”

“And the right?” Ava asked.

He hesitated.

“Old maintenance rooms.”

Damien looked back.

“We split up.”

“No,” Ava said immediately.

“If we stay together, they’ll catch all of us.”

Victoria nodded reluctantly.

“He’s right.”

Damien pointed left.

“Victoria, take Lucas to the garage.”

Victoria stared at him.

“And you?”

“I’ll take Ava through the maintenance section.”

Ava shook her head.

“Why me?”

“Because you have Ethan’s phone.”

Before she could argue, a beam of light appeared in the tunnel behind them.

“They’re here!” Victoria whispered.

“Go!”

Victoria wrapped Lucas’s arm around her shoulder and hurried left.

Damien grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her right.

They ran.

Behind them, voices echoed through the tunnel.

“Find the woman!”

Ava’s blood ran cold.

Not the witness.

Not Lucas.

The woman.

“They’re looking for me.”

Damien heard it too.

His grip tightened around her hand.

“Keep running.”

They reached a metal door.

Locked.

Damien slammed his shoulder against it.

Nothing.

The footsteps grew louder.

Ava looked at the phone.

The screen suddenly lit up again.

Another incoming call.

Ethan Cross.

This time, Ava answered before Damien could stop her.

“Hello?”

Silence.

“Ethan?”

Nothing.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“If this is some kind of joke, I swear—”

“Ava.”

Her entire body went still.

She knew that voice.

She had heard it every morning for two years.

She had fallen asleep beside it.

Laughed with it.

Loved it.

“Ethan?”

A long silence followed.

Then her husband’s voice whispered through the phone.

“Don’t trust my brother.”

The call ended.

Ava slowly lowered the phone.

Damien stood directly in front of her.

“What did he say?”

Ava stared at him.

The footsteps behind them were getting closer.

But suddenly, the men chasing them weren’t the only people she feared.