CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 7
The Enemy Inside Vale Dominion
The greatest threats rarely come from outside.
That was something my father taught me when I was young.
People expect enemies to announce themselves.
They expect anger.
Threats.
Obvious signs.
But the most dangerous person in the room is usually the one smiling beside you.
The one who knows your habits.
Your weaknesses.
Your secrets.
The one you never think to question.
For years, Nathan Ashford was the person I feared.
I was wrong.
Nathan was only a man who wanted power.
The real danger was someone who had spent twenty-five years waiting for it.
Celeste Monroe's testimony changed everything.
The public saw it as the final blow against Nathan.
The headlines were everywhere.
CELESTE MONROE TURNS AGAINST ASHFORD
FORMER EXECUTIVE REVEALS CORPORATE FRAUD NETWORK
ASHFORD EMPIRE NEARS COLLAPSE
People loved the story.
The powerful man brought down by the woman who knew his secrets.
But they did not know the full truth.
Neither did I.
Because while everyone watched Nathan's trial...
Someone else was watching us.
The morning after Celeste's testimony, my father called me into his office.
I immediately knew something was wrong.
Elias Vale did not look worried often.
Concerned?
Yes.
Focused?
Always.
But worried?
Almost never.
"What happened?"
He turned one of the screens toward me.
A security report.
My eyes moved across the information.
Then stopped.
"Someone accessed the central archives."
My father's expression was cold.
"Yes."
"When?"
"Last night."
My stomach tightened.
"During the trial?"
He nodded.
"Someone used the chaos to enter our systems."
I looked at the report again.
"How much was taken?"
My father didn't answer immediately.
That scared me.
"Dad."
His silence became the answer.
"Everything?"
"No."
He looked at me.
"Not everything."
A pause.
"Only what mattered."
Vale Dominion had survived for decades because information was its foundation.
Money could disappear.
Companies could collapse.
People could betray you.
But information was different.
Information was power.
And someone had just stolen the one thing my father protected more carefully than his wealth.
His history.
His secrets.
His weaknesses.
"Who had access?"
I asked.
My father looked away.
"Only people inside Vale Dominion."
The words were heavy.
An enemy had not broken into the kingdom.
The enemy already lived there.
The investigation began immediately.
Every employee.
Every executive.
Every department.
Everyone was questioned.
But my father already knew something.
He knew the person who did this understood Vale Dominion.
They understood security protocols.
They understood the internal structure.
They understood how to move without leaving obvious traces.
This was not a hacker.
This was someone trained.
Someone familiar.
Someone close.
I watched my father study the reports.
"Who could do this?"
He remained silent.
Then:
"Someone I trusted."
That answer hurt more than I expected.
Because my father trusted very few people.
Three hours later, we found the first clue.
A deleted file was recovered.
Not from an outside device.
From an internal account.
The name appeared on the screen.
I stared.
"No."
My father closed his eyes.
Because he knew.
I knew.
The entire room knew.
The person responsible was:
Adrian Cross.
Adrian had worked for my father for fifteen years.
He was not family.
But he was close.
Very close.
He was my father's second-in-command.
The person who handled sensitive operations.
The person who knew everything.
When I was younger, I remembered him as Uncle Adrian.
Not by blood.
By trust.
He had attended family dinners.
He had watched me grow up.
He was one of the few people my father allowed near us.
And now...
He had betrayed him.
"I don't understand."
My voice was quiet.
My father looked at me.
"Neither do I."
That was the most frightening part.
My father was not angry.
He was hurt.
Because betrayal from an enemy was expected.
Betrayal from family was different.
Adrian was gone.
His office was empty.
His apartment was empty.
His accounts had been closed.
His phone was destroyed.
He had disappeared perfectly.
Too perfectly.
Which meant one thing.
He had planned this for a long time.
And someone had helped him.
My father looked at the recovered file again.
"What did he steal?"
I asked.
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"Dad."
Finally, he said:
"Your mother's records."
I froze.
"My mother's?"
My father nodded slowly.
"Everything connected to her."
I felt cold.
Because my mother was the one subject my father never discussed.
She died when I was young.
The official story was an accident.
But my father never spoke about it.
Not once.
"Why would Adrian want those?"
My father looked at the screen.
"Because your mother knew the truth about Victor."
The room became silent.
That night, Nathan's trial continued.
But the attention had shifted.
Because something unexpected happened.
The prosecution received a new package.
Anonymous.
Inside were documents.
Old documents.
Documents showing that Nathan Ashford's connection to my family began long before our marriage.
The sender?
Unknown.
But there was one message attached.
"You are investigating the wrong man."
The prosecutor immediately contacted my father.
When Elias saw the documents...
His face changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
"Victor."
I heard him whisper.
Meanwhile, Nathan was waiting for his chance.
He believed Celeste's testimony had damaged him.
But he also knew something else.
The trial was changing.
People were no longer focused only on him.
Attention was moving toward Vale Dominion.
Toward my family.
Toward secrets.
And Nathan understood something.
A secret was more valuable than money.
Because money could be recovered.
But secrets could destroy people.
That evening, Nathan received a visitor.
Not a lawyer.
Not Celeste.
A stranger.
A man wearing a dark coat.
The guards checked his identification.
Then allowed him inside.
Nathan sat across from him.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled.
"Someone who can help you."
Nathan laughed.
"Everyone says that."
The man placed a folder on the table.
Nathan looked down.
Then stopped.
Inside was information about Vale Dominion.
Information that should have been impossible to obtain.
Nathan slowly looked up.
"How?"
The man smiled.
"Because the empire you fear..."
A pause.
"Has cracks."
Nathan studied him.
"Who sent you?"
The man stood.
Before leaving, he said:
"Someone who wants Elias Vale to lose everything."
Nathan watched him leave.
Then looked back at the folder.
For the first time since his arrest...
Nathan felt something he had not felt in days.
Hope.
The next morning, my father's worst fear came true.
Every major news network received a package.
Inside:
Private documents.
Financial records.
Personal information.
And one headline prepared in advance.
VALE DOMINION: THE EMPIRE BUILT ON SECRETS
The attack was not against Nathan.
It was against us.
The world that once watched Nathan fall...
Now turned toward my family.
Reporters surrounded the building.
Investors panicked.
Partners demanded answers.
And in the middle of the chaos...
A message arrived on my phone.
Unknown number.
I already knew.
Victor.
The message contained only seven words.
"Now you understand how it feels."
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
"Your husband was easy."
A pause.
"You are the real challenge."
I looked at my father.
The strongest man I knew.
The man who had defeated governments and corporations.
And for the first time...
He looked uncertain.
Because Victor Vale was not trying to destroy our empire.
He was trying to make us destroy ourselves.
Deep underground, Victor watched the news.
Adrian stood beside him.
"You were right," Adrian said.
"About what?"
"The daughter."
Victor smiled.
"She is stronger than I expected."
"Then why challenge her?"
Victor looked at the screen showing my face.
"Because strength without pain is incomplete."
A pause.
"Her father taught her how to survive."
He smiled.
"Now I will teach her what survival costs."
The screen went dark.
May you like
And the war inside Vale Dominion officially began.
END OF CHAPTER 7
