Chapter 4 - THE OTHER ASHFORD SONJulian Ashford was the kind of man cameras loved.
Thirty-five.
Harvard MBA.
Perfect smile.
Perfect suits.
Perfect charity photographs involving children he probably forgot five minutes after the cameras left.
Unlike Ethan, Julian had never rejected the Ashford name.
He had built his entire identity around it.
The following morning, Denise spread documents across her conference table while Marcus investigated Samuel Price.
I sat with Gabriel beside me and Ethan opposite us.
Nobody trusted anyone.
It was becoming our default arrangement.
“Julian is your mother's son?” I asked.
“Her son from her first marriage,” Ethan replied.
“And you're younger.”
“Yes.”
“Different fathers?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you have more shares?”
“My father's family founded Ashford Holdings. My grandfather was his father.”
That explained something.
Julian carried the name because Victoria changed his surname when she married Ethan's father.
But Julian wasn't biologically descended from the company founder.
Therefore, Ethan inherited the controlling family trust.
And eventually my child could inherit it too.
“Does Julian resent you?” Denise asked.
Ethan gave a humorless laugh.
“Since we were children.”
I looked at him.
“And you thought that detail wasn't relevant?”
“I thought Camille's death was connected to my mother.”
“That wasn't the question.”
“No. Julian and I aren't close.”
Marcus entered.
“We found Samuel.”
“Where?”
“Nowhere good.”
Samuel Price had checked into a motel outside Yonkers under another name.
Marcus had arranged to meet him.
When they arrived, the room was empty.
The bathroom window was open.
Blood stained the sink.
Police were called.
No body.
No Samuel.
“He ran?” Gabriel asked.
“Maybe.”
“Or someone took him?”
“Maybe.”
I pressed a hand to my stomach.
Ethan noticed.
“We should move Mia.”
“To where?” I snapped.
“A secure property.”
“I am not moving into your mother's house.”
“Not hers. Mine.”
I almost laughed.
“Of course you own secret houses too.”
“One.”
“How many bedrooms?”
He hesitated.
“Eight.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
“Billionaire definition of one house is fascinating.”
Despite everything, I nearly smiled.
Nearly.
Marcus recommended relocation.
Denise agreed.
By that evening, Gabriel and I were driven to a gated property north of the city.
Ethan did not stay.
That was my condition.
The house overlooked the Hudson.
It was beautiful in a way that made me angry.
Huge windows.
Stone fireplaces.
A kitchen larger than the restaurant where I worked.
There was even an indoor swimming pool.
I stood inside the master bedroom.
“You owned this while we had mice?”
Ethan winced.
“The mouse was one time.”
“Three times.”
“Same mouse.”
I stared at him.
He almost smiled.
I didn't.
“Go.”
His expression fell.
“Mia.”
“I need space.”
He nodded.
Then he left.
Two hours later, someone arrived uninvited.
Victoria.
Security stopped her at the gate.
She called me instead.
“I would like five minutes.”
“I wouldn't.”
“You are carrying my grandchild.”
“Interesting. Yesterday I was someone you wanted to disappear.”
“Those things are not mutually exclusive.”
I almost admired the audacity.
Almost.
“What do you want?”
“To protect Ethan.”
“From me?”
“From himself.”
I should have hung up.
Instead, I asked:
“Did you kill Camille?”
Silence.
Then Victoria said,
“No.”
“Did you offer her money?”
“Yes.”
The immediate admission surprised me.
“Ten million?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Camille was blackmailing Ethan.”
I frowned.
“About what?”
“You believe she was an innocent girl killed for loving my son because that's the version Ethan needs to believe.”
“And yours?”
“Camille had another lover.”
My stomach turned.
Victoria continued.
“She was uncertain who fathered her child.”
“Do you have proof?”
“I did.”
“What happened to it?”
“It disappeared from my safe after her death.”
Convenient.
“I suppose Julian stole it?”
Another silence.
That interested me.
“What do you know about Julian?”
“My son has many flaws.”
“That's not an answer.”
“No.”
“Did he kill Camille?”
“I don't know.”
For the first time, Victoria sounded genuinely tired.
Then she said something stranger.
“Ask Ethan why he changed his name to Cole.”
“I know why.”
“Do you?”
“He wanted distance from the family.”
Victoria gave a quiet laugh.
“Cole wasn't random.”
“What does that mean?”
“It was Camille's mother's maiden name.”
I stopped.
Ethan had taken the name of his dead fiancée's family.
“He never told you, did he?”
“No.”
“Mia, my son is not simply hiding from money. He has been living inside his grief for five years.”
Her voice softened.
“And you were the first person who pulled him out.”
I hated that her words affected me.
“Then why try to get rid of me?”
“Because love makes Ethan reckless.”
“That's your excuse?”
“My husband loved recklessly too. It destroyed him.”
“What happened to Ethan's father?”
She went silent.
I realized I had never asked.
Ethan said his father died when he was young.
Nothing more.
“How did he die?”
Victoria replied,
“Ask Ethan.”
Then she hung up.
I stood beside the window.
Rich families, I was learning, had the same secrets as poor families.
They simply had better lawyers.
The next morning, Ethan returned.
I confronted him immediately.
“Why Cole?”
He froze.
I watched the answer unfold across his face.
“Victoria told you.”
“Yes.”
“It's complicated.”
“I swear to God, Ethan, if you say that one more time…”
“Camille's mother was the only adult who treated me like a person after my dad died.”
“So you used her name.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because then you'd ask about Camille.”
“Exactly.”
He rubbed his face.
“I didn't want to bring a dead woman into our relationship.”
“She was already there. I just didn't know it.”
That hurt him.
Good.
Maybe I wanted it to.
Then his phone rang.
Julian.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Answer.”
He did.
“Julian.”
His brother's voice came through clearly.
“Mother says your waitress is asking questions.”
My jaw tightened.
Ethan's tone turned cold.
“Her name is Mia.”
“Cute.”
“What do you want?”
“To save you from making another catastrophic mistake.”
“Like Camille?”
Silence.
Then Julian laughed.
“Still obsessed with that?”
“Samuel Price contacted Mia.”
The call went quiet.
Completely quiet.
I saw Ethan realize it too.
Julian had stopped breathing for a second.
“Who's Samuel Price?” Julian asked.
Too quickly.
Ethan replied,
“The mechanic.”
“I don't remember every employee Camille hired.”
“He remembers you.”
Another silence.
Then:
“Be careful, little brother.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No. Advice.”
The call ended.
Marcus appeared moments later.
“We found something.”
He put a laptop on the table.
“Samuel accessed an old cloud-storage account yesterday.”
Inside it were scanned invoices.
Vehicle records.
Photos.
And one video.
Dated two days before Camille's death.
A garage security camera.
Camille's car rolled inside.
A man stepped out.
Young.
Tall.
Wearing a baseball cap.
The footage was grainy.
But Ethan recognized him immediately.
Julian.
The video continued.
Julian handed Samuel an envelope.
Then pointed toward Camille's car.
We couldn't hear the conversation.
But Samuel's later handwritten note explained it.
Mr. Ashford requested brake-line inspection. Paid cash. Told me not to enter job into system.
My heart pounded.
Then Marcus opened another file.
Bank records.
Twenty thousand dollars deposited into Samuel's account the following day.
From a shell company.
Its registered director?
Julian Ashford.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“That doesn't prove he cut the brakes.”
“No,” Marcus agreed.
“But it proves he lied about not knowing Samuel.”
Then an alarm screamed through the house.
Security lights flashed.
Marcus reached for his radio.
“What happened?”
A guard's voice crackled.
“Vehicle breached the east gate!”
Ethan grabbed my arm.
“Downstairs. Now.”
We barely reached the hallway when the lights went out.
The entire house went black.
Gabriel shouted from downstairs.
Then glass shattered.
Marcus drew his weapon and moved toward the stairwell.
I pressed both hands around my stomach.
Someone had entered the house.
Footsteps moved below.
Slow.
Controlled.
Then a man's voice echoed through the darkness.
“Mia Torres.”
Ethan pushed me behind him.
May you like
The stranger laughed.
“You really should've taken the five million.”
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