Chapter 13 The Hunt Begins

Chapter 13: The Hunt Begins

The moment the words left the secretary's mouth, Ethan was already moving.

He snatched the car keys from the desk and strode toward the elevator with Samuel close behind. Isabella instinctively followed, but Ethan stopped without turning around.

"Go home."

She looked at him in disbelief.

"Your grandfather is missing. Let me help."

Ethan finally faced her.

"The people behind this have already killed to protect their secrets. If you're with me, you'll become a target."

"I already am."

The answer caught him off guard.

She stepped closer, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes.

"My family may be connected to this somehow, but I'm not. If someone is trying to destroy the Carter family, I want the truth as much as you do."

For a brief moment, Ethan studied her face.

She wasn't asking for forgiveness.

She wasn't trying to rebuild what they had lost.

She simply wanted to do the right thing.

"I'll have someone take you home safely," he said.

"It's the safest place for you."

Before she could argue, the elevator doors closed.

Within minutes, three black SUVs sped through the city toward Carter Manor.

Inside the lead vehicle, Samuel spoke into his phone nonstop, issuing one order after another.

"Seal every entrance to the estate."

"No employee leaves."

"Gather every member of the security team in the main hall."

"Check every surveillance server again."

One report after another came back.

"No sign of forced entry."

"The cameras failed for exactly four minutes."

"The chairman's bedroom was empty."

"The study has been searched."

Samuel lowered the phone.

"They planned this perfectly."

Ethan stared out the window.

"No."

Samuel looked at him.

"They planned it carefully."

"But perfect plans don't leave witnesses."

The convoy entered Carter Manor through the front gates.

Police vehicles, private security, and emergency responders had already surrounded the estate.

The atmosphere was tense.

Captain Harris, head of estate security, rushed toward Ethan the moment he stepped out of the vehicle.

"Young Master."

"What happened?"

Harris looked ashamed.

"We received a routine maintenance alert from the west security gate. It seemed harmless."

"And?"

"When several guards responded, the power failed throughout the estate for exactly four minutes."

"What happened during those four minutes?"

Harris lowered his head.

"When the backup generators activated..."

"...Chairman Carter was gone."

Ethan walked into the mansion without another word.

The house felt strangely empty.

The grandfather who had welcomed him home only days earlier had vanished from the place he considered safest.

Inside William's bedroom, nothing appeared out of place.

The bed was neatly made.

His reading glasses still rested on the bedside table.

A cup of tea sat untouched beside an open book.

It looked as though he had simply stepped out for a walk.

Ethan slowly scanned the room.

Something wasn't right.

Kidnappers searching for ransom usually left signs of violence.

There were none.

He moved toward the window.

It was locked from the inside.

Samuel joined him.

"No broken glass."

"No footprints outside."

"No blood."

Ethan remained silent.

Then he noticed something almost invisible near the bookshelf.

A single white chess piece.

The king.

He picked it up.

Samuel frowned.

"Chairman William never played chess."

"I know."

Ethan turned the piece over.

A tiny scratch had been carved into its base.

The number 17.

His eyes sharpened.

"This wasn't left by the kidnappers."

"You recognize it?"

Ethan nodded slowly.

"When I was a child, my grandfather taught me to solve puzzles."

"If he wanted to leave me a message without alerting anyone..."

"...he'd use numbers."

Samuel immediately understood.

"Number seventeen."

"What does it mean?"

Ethan closed his hand around the chess piece.

"The old wine cellar."

"It's beneath the east garden."

Without wasting another second, the two men hurried outside.

Hidden beneath a stone gazebo stood an iron door leading underground.

Captain Harris looked confused.

"I didn't even know this existed."

William had kept it secret for decades.

Samuel unlocked the rusted entrance.

A damp staircase disappeared into darkness.

Flashlights illuminated the narrow passage as they descended.

The cellar was filled with dusty shelves, antique furniture, and forgotten family heirlooms.

Everything appeared untouched.

Until Ethan noticed a wooden cabinet standing slightly away from the wall.

He pushed it aside.

Behind it was another hidden door.

Locked.

Samuel handed him a crowbar.

Within seconds, the old lock gave way.

The hidden room inside was barely large enough for two people.

On a small desk sat an old tape recorder.

Beside it rested another white chess piece.

This time...

The queen.

Ethan pressed the play button.

Static filled the room before William's familiar voice emerged.

"Ethan..."

"If you're hearing this, then I've either disappeared..."

"...or someone I trusted has finally made their move."

Samuel's face froze.

William had planned for this possibility.

"I don't have much time," the recording continued.

"The enemy you're searching for isn't outside the Carter family."

"They're already inside."

Ethan exchanged a look with Samuel.

William's voice became weaker.

"I couldn't expose the traitor without putting you in greater danger."

"So I created a trail only you would understand."

"If you're listening carefully..."

"...follow the chess pieces."

"They will lead you to the truth."

The recording suddenly stopped.

The tape had ended.

Samuel looked around the tiny room.

"There are more?"

Ethan stared at the two chess pieces in his hand.

"The king."

"The queen."

He remembered the old games he had played with his grandfather as a boy.

William had always said one thing.

"A king is powerful, but a king never wins alone. Watch the pieces around him."

Ethan slowly smiled.

His grandfather wasn't asking him to search randomly.

He had turned the entire investigation into a chess match.

Every hidden clue represented another piece on the board.

Every move had already been planned.

Before anyone could speak, Captain Harris's radio crackled loudly.

"Captain!"

"What is it?"

"We've found Richard Hale's car."

Samuel stepped forward.

"Where?"

"Abandoned at the old Riverside Warehouse."

Ethan's eyes turned cold.

Richard Hale.

William's trusted secretary.

The man Leonard Hayes had warned them about.

Whether he was the kidnapper or another victim...

They were about to find out.

Ethan slipped the two chess pieces into his pocket and headed for the stairs.

The game his grandfather had prepared fifteen years ago had finally begun.

And Ethan intended to make sure he was the one who delivered the final checkmate.