Chapter 10 - The Message That Almost Escaped
Brooke connected the old phone to the penthouse guest network.
Trevor’s security software blocked the upload.
She tried mobile service.
The phone had no active plan.
She could not send the recording.
But she could preserve it.
Brooke copied the file onto a small memory card and hid it inside the seam of Ethan’s military jacket.
She left the recording on the phone as well.
If Trevor found one copy, another would remain.
The following morning, Victoria entered the bedroom carrying makeup.
“You have a video call with Ethan tonight.”
Brooke stared at her.
“Why?”
“He requested one.”
Hope rose in Brooke’s chest.
Victoria placed heavy concealer on the bed.
“You will cover the bruises.”
“No.”
Victoria smiled.
“Then we cancel the call and tell him you refused to speak.”
Brooke considered shouting the truth during the call.
But Trevor would end it before Ethan understood.
She needed a signal.
Something Ethan would recognize.
Brooke applied the makeup.
She wore a long-sleeved sweater despite the warm room.
At nine, Ethan appeared on the screen.
He looked thinner than when he left.
Tired.
Alive.
Brooke nearly cried.
“Hey,” he said. “I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
Victoria sat beyond the camera.
Trevor stood near the router.
Ethan studied Brooke’s face.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
The lie hurt.
“You look pale.”
“I haven’t been sleeping.”
Victoria leaned into view.
“We’ve encouraged her to see a doctor.”
Brooke forced herself not to react.
Ethan frowned.
“Brooke, I need you to answer me. Do you feel safe?”
Trevor’s hand moved toward the router.
Brooke looked at Ethan’s military photograph behind the laptop.
Then she said the sentence they had used before every deployment.
“I’m keeping your jacket ready.”
Ethan became still.
That phrase had a specific meaning.
Years earlier, they had agreed that if Brooke ever felt unsafe during a monitored call, she would mention his uniform.
Ethan looked toward Victoria.
“Why would my jacket matter?”
Brooke answered carefully.
“Someone may need it before you come home.”
The screen went black.
Trevor had disconnected the call.
Victoria grabbed Brooke’s shoulder.
“What did that mean?”
“Nothing.”
Trevor stared at her.
He did not believe her.
Thousands of miles away, Ethan replayed the final seconds in his mind.
Brooke had given him the emergency phrase.
May you like
And she had been looking at someone off-camera.
👉 Ethan could not leave his post immediately, but he quietly asked the family attorney to investigate Mercury Capital without warning Victoria or Trevor.
