Chapter 2: What Was Inside the Pouch
Inside the mansion, Ethan sat me down in a quiet sitting room and pressed a warm towel gently against my hands.
His jaw was tight.
He hadn't said a word since we left the backyard.
Then Vanessa walked in.
She had composed herself.
Smile back in place.
Voice soft and careful.
"Ethan, darling, let's not let this ruin the evening.
The guests are waiting."
He didn't look at her.
"Leave us."
Her smile flickered.
"She's fine.
It was a misunderstanding—"
"I said leave us, Vanessa."
She left.
But Patricia stepped into the doorway behind her, and the look she gave me was not embarrassment.
It was calculation.
I reached into my grocery bag and removed the waterproof pouch.
I set it on the table between us without a word.
Ethan stared at it.
"Mom…
what is that?"
"Everything I came here to show you."
His hands didn't move toward it.
Something in his expression told me he already suspected the evening was about to change completely.
Then his phone buzzed on the table.
He glanced down.
The name on the screen made him go very still.
It was his business partner, Richard Hale — a man who had told Ethan six months ago that he had never met Vanessa Mitchell in his life.
The call ended before Ethan answered.
A message appeared immediately after.
*Don't open that pouch in front of her.*
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What's inside that pouch — and why does Richard Hale know about it?
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The truth is darker than anyone at that party imagined.
Click the link below to read the full story.
