Chapter 4 - Ethan Had Seen Grant Leave the Private Meeting Room
The next clue came from Ethan.
He had not been wandering randomly through the resort.
He had been looking for Silvio.
That afternoon Silvio was supposed to meet privately with his chief financial officer and two outside auditors.
The children were staying in a family suite with Lucinda while the adults handled business.
Ethan grew bored.
Then he saw Grant leave the executive hallway carrying a gray envelope.
“Was he supposed to be there?” Silvio asked.
Ethan shrugged.
“He saw me.”
“What happened?”
“He put it inside his jacket.”
Silvio’s attention sharpened.
“What did the envelope look like?”
Ethan described it.
Gray.
Thick.
Red tab.
Silvio knew exactly which envelope.
The preliminary audit packet.
For six weeks, Moretti Resorts had been reviewing vendor payments connected to a major coastal renovation project.
The investigation was confidential.
Very few people knew.
Lucinda knew because she served as regional operations director.
Grant knew because one of the questioned vendors belonged to a company he had recommended.
But neither was supposed to see the preliminary findings before the formal board review.
Silvio had left the packet inside the private meeting room when he stepped out to answer a call.
If Ethan saw Grant leaving with it—
Grant had taken evidence.
“What did you say to him?” Silvio asked.
Ethan looked embarrassed.
“I told him stealing was bad.”
Despite everything, Silvio nearly smiled.
“Then what?”
“He told me it was his.”
“Did you believe him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“It had your name on it.”
Silvio’s smile disappeared.
Ethan had seen Grant remove a confidential audit packet.
Grant knew the child saw him.
Minutes later—
Mia was locked in the SUV.
Ethan was caught trying to get Silvio.
Then shoved in beside her.
One mystery was beginning to take shape.
But there was still something worse.
Grant had not merely wanted Ethan quiet.
If that were the only goal, there were countless ways to delay a seven-year-old.
Why lock both children inside a vehicle under afternoon sun?
May you like
And why ask whether they were still alive?
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