Chapter 6 - The Lawyer’s Warning
Ethan was not injured.
The noise had come from officers forcing open Conrad Pike’s downtown office after Brooks obtained an emergency warrant.
Pike was gone.
His computer had been wiped.
His assistant claimed he had left for “personal travel” two days earlier.
That afternoon, Brooks came to Ava’s hospital room carrying a file.
“We confirmed the sedative,” she said. “Zolpidem and a second anti-anxiety medication. Both could cause memory gaps, dizziness, confusion.”
Ava stared at the ceiling.
For weeks, Margaret had told Ethan that Ava was forgetting conversations.
Maybe she had been.
Just not for the reason Margaret claimed.
Ethan sat beside the bed.
“What about Lena?”
“Still missing.”
The words hurt.
Lena had risked everything because Ava had whispered one night, “I think she’s drugging me.”
No one else had believed her.
Brooks opened the file.
“We also found something about Pike.”
He had represented Monroe Biologics eighteen years earlier when Ava’s father, Samuel Monroe, was still CEO.
Then he was fired.
“For what?” Ava asked.
“Your father accused him of moving money through shell companies.”
Ava frowned.
“My father never told me.”
“He may have been protecting you.”
Brooks slid over an old memo.
Samuel Monroe had written one sentence across the top.
CONRAD PIKE IS NEVER TO CONTROL A MONROE TRUST.
Ethan read it twice.
“But Pike became our family attorney.”
“Through your mother,” Ava said.
They both knew it.
Margaret had introduced Pike to Ethan years after Samuel’s death.
Ava had assumed it was coincidence.
Now nothing felt accidental.
Later that night, Ethan helped Ava transfer to a private rehabilitation suite with police protection.
When the nurses left, he remained near the window.
“Ava.”
She looked at him.
“I need to tell you something.”
Her stomach tightened.
“The week before your crash, my mother asked me about your voting shares.”
Ava went still.
“She said your company was overexposed. That if something happened to you, we needed a plan.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told her your shares were protected by the Monroe trust.”
Ava’s voice dropped.
“And only I could change that.”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched between them.
Margaret had learned exactly what obstacle stood in her way.
Ava looked at Ethan.
“Did you tell her where the trust documents were kept?”
His face answered before he did.
“Yes.”
A knock sounded at the door.
A nurse entered holding a phone.
“Mrs. Vale, someone keeps calling the floor. She says it’s urgent.”
“Who?”
The nurse swallowed.
“Lena Ortiz.”
Ava grabbed the receiver.
“Lena?”
A whisper came through.
“I’m safe.”
Ava closed her eyes.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t say.”
“Police can protect you.”
“No. Not until you know what Pike has.”
“What does he have?”
May you like
Lena began to cry.
“The original crash video.”
