Chapter 10: The Traitor Within
Chapter 10: The Traitor Within
A week after Caleb's rescue, the Carver Estate had become a fortress.
Armed guards patrolled every entrance.
Security cameras covered every hallway.
No visitor entered without Marcus's approval.
Yet Daniel couldn't shake the feeling that someone was always one step ahead.
Whoever had orchestrated Aaron Brooks's murder...
Whoever had imprisoned Caleb...
Whoever had sent the anonymous DNA report...
They always seemed to know Daniel's next move.
That meant only one thing.
The enemy wasn't just outside the organization.
Someone inside the Carver family was feeding them information.
Caleb regained consciousness just after sunrise.
The doctors had stabilized his condition, but months of starvation and abuse had left him painfully weak.
Daniel entered the private recovery room alone.
Caleb looked older than thirty-three.
His face was hollow.
Dark circles surrounded his eyes.
Yet the determination in them remained unchanged.
"Hannah?" he whispered.
"She's safe."
Caleb closed his eyes in relief.
"Thank God."
Daniel pulled up a chair.
"I need answers."
Caleb looked toward the closed door before speaking.
"They're everywhere."
"Who?"
"The people behind the accounts."
Daniel leaned forward.
"They murdered Aaron."
"Yes."
"They kidnapped you."
"Yes."
"They're laundering money through my companies."
Caleb met his eyes.
"They've been doing it for years."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Who's leading them?"
Caleb hesitated.
"I don't know his name."
"What do you know?"
"I only ever heard one title."
Daniel waited.
Caleb whispered,
"The Accountant."
Across the mansion...
Hannah sat in the sunroom, knitting a tiny white blanket for the baby.
Ben lay on the carpet, reading a history book aloud with dramatic enthusiasm.
Martin smiled from his armchair.
For the first time in months...
The room felt peaceful.
Then Marcus walked in.
"Hannah."
She looked up.
"Daniel needs you."
"In the study?"
Marcus nodded.
"He wants to show you something Caleb remembered."
She carefully stood.
"I'll be right back, Ben."
The little boy smiled.
"I'll save your place."
Neither of them noticed the brief glance Marcus exchanged with one of the security guards in the hallway.
A glance that lasted less than a second.
But meant everything.
Daniel was still upstairs with Caleb.
He had not sent for Hannah.
The real Marcus...
Was standing beside him.
At that exact moment...
Another man wearing Marcus's black security jacket walked Hannah toward the west wing.
She frowned.
"This isn't the study."
"The boss moved."
She slowed.
"I've never seen this hallway before."
"It's under renovation."
His answer came too quickly.
Hannah's instincts stirred.
She stopped walking.
The man turned.
"Something wrong?"
She looked carefully at his face.
The haircut.
The uniform.
The voice.
It all seemed right.
Yet something felt...
Off.
Then she noticed.
Marcus always wore his wedding ring.
This man wasn't wearing one.
Her heart skipped.
"You aren't Marcus."
The man's expression changed instantly.
The polite smile vanished.
In its place appeared something cold.
Something deadly.
"You should've kept walking."
He reached inside his jacket.
A syringe.
Hannah turned and ran.
Her pregnancy made every step painful, but adrenaline drowned out the ache.
Behind her came rapid footsteps.
The man was gaining.
She rounded a corner and nearly collided with another servant.
"Help!"
The servant screamed.
The attacker shoved the woman aside and lunged forward.
His fingers caught Hannah's sleeve.
She twisted away.
The fabric tore.
Another few feet.
The grand staircase.
If she could reach it—
A powerful hand suddenly grabbed her arm.
For one terrifying second she thought the killer had caught her.
Then she heard the voice.
"Hannah!"
Daniel.
He had emerged from the opposite hallway just in time.
She stumbled into his arms.
"The man..."
Daniel looked up.
The attacker had already turned to flee.
"Marcus!"
The real Marcus appeared from the east corridor.
"Seal the house!"
The mansion exploded into motion.
Guards sprinted toward every exit.
Doors slammed shut.
The imposter disappeared around another corner.
Gunfire erupted.
Guests and staff screamed.
Within seconds, the peaceful estate had become a battlefield.
Daniel guided Hannah into the library.
"Lock the door."
Martin obeyed immediately.
Hannah struggled to breathe.
"He said you wanted to see me."
Daniel frowned.
"I never sent for you."
The realization hit both of them at once.
Someone inside the estate had known Daniel's schedule.
Someone had known exactly where Hannah would be.
Someone had helped the assassin.
Outside...
Marcus cornered the imposter near the service entrance.
"Drop it!"
The man smiled.
Instead...
He bit down on something hidden inside his mouth.
A capsule.
Within seconds, blood trickled from the corner of his lips.
Marcus rushed forward.
"No!"
Too late.
The assassin collapsed.
Dead.
Poison.
He had been prepared for capture.
An hour later...
Daniel stood in the mansion's surveillance room.
Every camera feed from the west wing had gone black for exactly six minutes.
Marcus stared at the monitor.
"They were disabled remotely."
Daniel folded his arms.
"Only three people have access."
Marcus nodded grimly.
"You."
"Me."
"And..."
They both spoke the final name together.
"Victor Kane."
The head of estate security.
A man who had worked for Daniel for nearly fifteen years.
Marcus looked stunned.
"No."
Daniel's voice remained calm.
"Where is he?"
No one answered.
Because Victor Kane was gone.
His office stood empty.
His company phone lay smashed on the desk.
His home had already been abandoned.
He had disappeared.
Late that evening...
Hannah sat quietly in the nursery Aaron had once dreamed of.
The tiny white blanket rested unfinished in her lap.
Daniel knocked softly before entering.
"You should be resting."
"I tried."
She looked up.
"I almost lost the baby today."
Daniel walked to the window.
He rarely struggled for words.
Tonight was different.
"I failed."
She frowned.
"What?"
"I promised you this house was safe."
He looked toward the dark gardens beyond the glass.
"It isn't."
Hannah stood slowly.
"You didn't fail."
"I brought you here."
"You saved me."
"I brought danger to your door."
She shook her head.
"Danger followed me long before I met you."
Silence settled between them.
Finally she whispered,
"If you hadn't been there..."
She couldn't finish.
Daniel stepped closer.
For a long moment neither of them spoke.
Then, very gently...
He rested his hand against the side of her face, careful not to touch the uneven hair Claire had cut days earlier.
"I'm done reacting," he said quietly.
His eyes had become colder than winter.
"They've attacked you."
"They murdered Aaron."
"They imprisoned Caleb."
"And today..."
His jaw tightened.
"...they nearly killed my child."
The words escaped before he could stop them.
Both of them froze.
Daniel slowly lowered his hand.
Hannah looked at him, her heart pounding.
My child.
Neither of them mentioned it.
Not after the mysterious DNA report.
Not after the impossible questions it had raised.
Yet neither of them could forget those two words.
Outside the nursery door...
Someone had been listening.
Ben Carter.
The little boy stood silently in the hallway, clutching his history book.
He didn't understand everything he had heard.
But he understood enough to know one thing.
Someone wanted to hurt Hannah.
And the person Daniel trusted most...
Had just betrayed them.
Far across the city, Victor Kane entered an abandoned church and approached the altar.
A lone figure waited in the shadows.
"The attempt failed," Victor admitted.
The figure didn't turn around.
"I expected as much."
Victor swallowed nervously.
"What now?"
The shadow finally spoke.
"Daniel believes you've been working for me."
"You told me he would."
A quiet chuckle echoed through the empty church.
"Good."
Victor frowned.
"But... I am working for you."
The mysterious figure smiled without looking back.
"No, Victor."
A pause.
"You're working for someone much higher."
Victor's face went pale.
"What do you mean?"
The figure turned just enough for moonlight to reveal only the edge of a familiar smile.
"You've never met the real mastermind."
The church bells began to ring.
May you like
And somewhere beneath the sound...
The conspiracy that had begun twenty years earlier was finally ready to reveal its first true face.
