Chapter 13: The Enemy Inside the Family
Chapter 13: The Enemy Inside the Family
The human heart has a strange way of protecting itself.
When a stranger hurts you, anger comes easily.
When an enemy betrays you, hatred feels natural.
But when someone you love becomes the source of your pain...
your mind refuses to accept it.
It searches for excuses.
It creates explanations.
It whispers:
"Maybe I misunderstood."
"Maybe there is another reason."
"Maybe they are not capable of doing this."
That was what I kept telling myself.
Because Daniel Carter was not just my uncle.
He was the last connection I had to my childhood.
After my mother disappeared, he was the person who stayed.
The person who helped me survive.
The person who told me everything would be okay.
And now everyone was telling me he might have been the reason everything fell apart.
I couldn't accept it.
Not yet.
Alexander drove us back to Whitmore Manor in silence.
The city passed outside the window, but I barely saw it.
My mind was trapped fifteen years in the past.
My mother.
The night she disappeared.
My uncle's face.
The phone call.
His warning.
"Leave Whitmore Manor immediately."
Was it a warning?
Or was it a threat?
"You're thinking about him."
Alexander's voice broke the silence.
I looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"Because I am thinking about the same thing."
He kept his eyes on the road.
"You're trying to find a reason he couldn't be guilty."
I looked away.
"Is that wrong?"
"No."
His answer surprised me.
"It means you loved him."
A pause.
"But love makes betrayal harder to see."
I swallowed.
"Do you think your father is evil?"
The question caught him off guard.
After a moment, he answered:
"No."
I looked at him.
"Even after everything?"
He nodded slowly.
"I think he made terrible choices."
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel.
"But I don't think he woke up every morning planning to destroy people."
I understood.
Because maybe that was the difference.
People were rarely only monsters.
Sometimes they were broken people who made unforgivable decisions.
When we arrived at the manor, the first thing we noticed was the front door.
It was open.
Alexander immediately became alert.
"Stay behind me."
I almost smiled.
The old Alexander.
The protector.
Even after everything.
Even after my secrets.
That part of him remained.
We entered carefully.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
"Hello?"
No answer.
Then we heard something upstairs.
A sound.
Like someone moving.
Alexander looked at me.
"Stay here."
"No."
He frowned.
"Emily."
"I'm done staying behind while everyone else decides my fate."
For a moment, he stared at me.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."
Together, we walked upstairs.
The sound came from the archive room.
The same room where we found my mother's letter.
The door was open.
Inside...
everything had been destroyed.
Documents scattered across the floor.
Shelves emptied.
Someone had searched the room.
Someone knew what we found.
Alexander picked up a torn piece of paper.
"Someone was looking for something."
I looked around.
"The hidden account."
He nodded.
Then I saw something.
A small object on the floor.
A familiar object.
My breath stopped.
"Alexander."
He followed my gaze.
It was a necklace.
My mother's necklace.
The one I thought disappeared the night she did.
I picked it up with shaking hands.
"No..."
Alexander looked at me.
"What?"
"My uncle gave this to me."
His expression changed.
"When?"
"The day after my mother died."
Silence.
I turned the necklace over.
And noticed something I had never seen before.
A tiny symbol engraved on the back.
The same symbol from the documents.
The Blackthorn Circle.
My heart sank.
A sound came from behind us.
We turned.
Nobody.
Then the lights went out.
I grabbed Alexander's arm.
A voice spoke from the darkness.
"Emily."
My blood froze.
Because I knew that voice.
"Uncle Daniel?"
The lights came back.
And there he stood.
Older.
Tired.
But still the same man from my memories.
Daniel Carter.
My uncle.
The man everyone suspected.
He looked at the necklace in my hand.
And his face changed.
"You found it."
I stared at him.
"You knew about this?"
Daniel didn't answer.
That was enough.
"Why?"
My voice broke.
"Why did you lie to me?"
His eyes filled with pain.
"I was trying to protect you."
I laughed bitterly.
"Everyone says that."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Emily, listen to me."
"No."
I shook my head.
"I listened to you my entire life."
My tears fell.
"I believed you when you told me my mother was gone."
"I believed you when you told me she loved me."
"I believed you when you said you had no idea what happened."
His face collapsed.
"I never wanted you involved."
"But I was involved!"
My voice echoed.
"I lost my mother."
"I spent fifteen years thinking I was alone."
"And now I find out everyone knew the truth except me."
Daniel looked down.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry?"
I stared at him.
"Why?"
His silence hurt more than any answer.
Finally, he said:
"Because your mother asked me to hide the truth."
I froze.
"What?"
Daniel took a step closer.
"Your mother wasn't running from Richard."
"She was running from Jonathan."
I listened.
"But Jonathan wasn't the only person hunting her."
My heart raced.
"Who else?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Someone from our family."
The words echoed.
"Our family?"
He nodded.
"Your mother discovered that someone close to her was feeding information to the Blackthorn Circle."
"Who?"
Daniel looked at the necklace.
Then at me.
"Your aunt."
I froze.
"My aunt?"
"Sarah Carter."
The name felt unfamiliar.
Because I had never known much about her.
My mother's older sister.
A woman who left our family before I was born.
A woman nobody talked about.
"Why?"
Daniel's voice became heavy.
"Because Sarah believed Elizabeth took everything from her."
I felt cold.
"Like Victoria."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
Another person.
Another betrayal.
Another family member destroyed by jealousy.
Alexander stepped forward.
"Where is Sarah now?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Closer than you think."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Alexander.
"Your family and mine have been connected for years."
Alexander narrowed his eyes.
"Explain."
Daniel sighed.
"Sarah was not working alone."
"With who?"
Daniel looked at me.
And whispered:
"With someone inside the Whitmore family."
The room went silent.
Again.
"Who?"
Daniel hesitated.
Then:
"Jonathan."
Alexander closed his eyes.
"Of course."
But Daniel wasn't finished.
"There is something else."
"What?"
Daniel looked terrified.
"The hidden account isn't the only thing your mother left behind."
I held my breath.
"What else?"
Daniel looked at my stomach.
"She left a recording."
My heart stopped.
"A recording of what?"
Daniel whispered:
"Her final confession."
Before anyone could speak, Daniel's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
And his face immediately changed.
"What happened?"
He didn't answer.
He listened for several seconds.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
"That was the hospital."
My heart dropped.
"Richard?"
Daniel nodded.
"He woke up."
Alexander stepped forward.
"What did he say?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Only one thing."
"What?"
Daniel's voice became quiet.
"He said the person who shot him..."
A pause.
"Was not Victoria."
My blood ran cold.
"Then who?"
Daniel looked at Alexander.
Then at me.
"The person who shot Richard Whitmore..."
May you like
"Was someone who was supposed to be dead."
End of Chapter 13
