Page 25 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“Sure,” Sam said, without even knowing why. “Is this help with a limo service or another type of help?”
“Let’s just say I need your skills from your ex-profession with a rather delicate matter,” Ethan told him.
“Ah!” Sam replied.
“I need you to look into my family for me,” Ethan explained, and Sam went quiet for a few seconds.
“Has this got to do with your late ex-wife?” Sam shocked him by asking.
“What do you know about Beth?” Ethan’s brows furrowed, and his heart picked up speed.
“What I need to know,” Sam said cryptically. “And you didn’t answer my question.”
“I don’t know,” Ethan admitted. “When Harley mentioned a PI, my mind immediately thought about Beth’s father.”
“Did he blame you for her death?” Sam asked with a frown.
“Yes,” Ethan told Sam how Paul had tried to accuse Ethan of murdering his daughter.
“Parents look to blame whoever they can for the death of a child.” Sam’s voice resonated with a sadness Ethan recognized as a man who’d experienced significant loss. “Did you say Harley mentioned the PI?”
“Yes, your nephew has just paid me a visit,” Ethan told Sam, explaining what had happened. “In light of this new information, I’m in a difficult spot and don’t know who to trust.”
“It’s not a nice place to find yourself,” Sam sympathized. “And I will help you.” He paused. “But Ethan, I have to make sure you want to go down this path and open this can of worms because once you have, there’s no going back.”
Ethan thought about Sam’s words for a few seconds, dropping his head back and staring at the ceiling. “I’d like to think that I wasn’t betrayed and Carly’s career ruined over my brother’s latest crush at the time.” He blew out a breath, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “I needto find out if the rest of my family was in on whatever the reason was behind what they did or if they were even involved in it.”
“As long as you’re sure about this, Ethan,” Sam said, the tone in his voice carried a warning. “I’ll do as you ask, as it will be nice to make some sense of what happened for yours and Carly’s sake.” He sighed. “But again, I have to stress that once I start this, there will be no going back, and I’ll have to do a wide search of all your family, extended family, and even friends. It will mean looking into you as well.”
“Go ahead,” Ethan gave him permission. “If my family did try to destroy Stella Hart, I’d like to know why, and if it wasn’t them, then maybe we can find out who was behind it.”
“I’ll have to ask you not to tell anyone what we’re doing, as we’ll need the element of surprise,” Sam warned him. “That will include you not going after your brother, who I presume was the one who fired Carly while impersonating you.”
“I believe so,” Ethan said. “And I’m sure Harley figured that out, too. He also only gave me a day to get to the bottom of this.”
“You let me deal with my nephew,” Sam told him. “I’ll need both of you not to tell Carly about this either.”
“I don’t feel comfortable keeping anything from her after learning what I have,” Ethan told Sam. “And how do I expect her to ever trust me again if I don’t tell her about this?”
“You can,” Sam assured him. “Just not now.”
Ethan sighed. “Fine. I won’t say anything and I’ll keep my distance from my brother.”
“You can’t mention this toanyone inyour family, not your parents, daughter, or sister.”
“I won’t,” Ethan promised. “I can’t vouch for Harley, though.”
“Like I said, leave my nephew to me,” Sam told him again. “Go about your day as if you and Harley never had the conversation you did.”
Ethan stared at the phone on the desk after he hung up with Sam. This was not going to be an easy few days. Ethan stood and gathered his files. While he’d promised Sam he wouldn’t talk to Alex about three years ago, Ethan hadn’t promised not to ask his brother what he was doing at Carly’s restaurant the previous day.
Anger spurted through Ethan at the thought of what Alex had done three years ago, and his suspicions over his brother’s motive rose. Did he go to the restaurant to make sure Carly hadn’t yet figured out what had really happened three years ago? While Ethan had to wait for Sam to find out what had happened back then, Ethan could still get answers about that.
He left the conference room, locking the door behind him. As Ethan turned to find his brother, a figure ducking into a room caughthis eye. He frowned and started walking toward the room, wondering if he was being stalked by the paparazzi again. As Ethan neared the room, he heard a yell and dashed inside to find Harley had caught the stalker.
“Do you know this guy?” Harley asked Ethan.
“No!” Ethan shook his head, feeling sorry for the poor man whose arm Harley was twisting painfully. At least he felt sorry for the guy until he saw the camera. “What rag do you work for?”
