Chapter 3 - The Web of Deception
"I didn't write these," I whispered, my voice trembling as I stared at the glowing screen. "Dad, I swear to God, I never sent these emails. I didn't even have my phone for the last month—Ethan kept telling me it was broken and needed to be sent away for repairs."
Dad pulled me into a fierce, protective hug, kissing the top of my head while rocking me gently. "I know, sweetheart. I know you didn't. Looking back, the tone was always too formal, too calculated. But Ethan played us masterfully. He made it sound like you were happily building your life, just too proud to accept direct help without hiding behind business jargon."
He pulled back, his eyes hardening into steel. "He used your name to squeeze over eighty thousand dollars out of your mother and me under the guise of real estate investments. And all the while, he was planning this abandonment."
Dad stood up, pacing back and forth on the concrete walkway while dialing a number on his phone. He didn't use a standard mobile line; he switched to his encrypted satellite assistant service, speaking with the cold, authoritative precision of a man who ran a multi-million-dollar construction empire.
"Marcus? It's Richard Bennett," Dad said into the phone. "Drop whatever you're doing in Los Angeles and get a private flight chartered to Phoenix Sky Harbor immediately. I need my corporate legal team and two private investigators on the ground within four hours."
He rattled off instructions with terrifying efficiency, ordering asset freezes, credit checks, and immediate background sweeps on Ethan Vance and his mother, Brenda.
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"And Marcus?" Dad added, his voice dropping an octave. "Check every flight manifest and hotel registry in the tri-state Arizona area. Find out where a silver 2025 Hyundai SUV registered under Ethan Vance is currently parked. I want them cornered before nightfall."
When he hung up, he looked down at me with a reassuring, fierce smile. "We are going to check into a luxury hotel right now, Em. You and Lily are going to take a long, hot bath, eat a proper meal, and sleep in a clean bed. Let your old man handle the rest. Ethan is about to find out what happens when you cross a Bennett."
