Chapter 9

The Enemy Inside

Trust was a dangerous thing.

People always talked about betrayal as if it came from strangers.

Enemies.

Competitors.

People standing outside the walls.

But the worst betrayals never came from outside.

They came from the people you allowed inside.

Because an enemy outside could be fought.

An enemy inside knew where to strike.

And after Victor Ashford’s phone call…

I no longer knew who was standing beside me.

I did not confront my father immediately.

That surprised even me.

The old version of myself would have demanded answers.

She would have walked into his office and asked:

“Did you lie to me?”

But the woman I had become understood something.

Questions asked in anger gave people opportunities to prepare answers.

Questions asked in silence revealed more.

So I watched.

I watched Adrian Vale.

The man who had protected me.

The man who had hidden the truth.

The man who taught me never to underestimate anyone.

Including him.

For three days, Blackthorn Manor changed.

The security doubled.

The legal team worked around the clock.

The media became more aggressive.

Every news channel wanted the same thing.

A statement from Adrian Vale.

But my father refused.

He said nothing.

And that worried me.

Because Adrian Vale was never silent because he was afraid.

He was silent because he was calculating.

The question was:

What was he calculating?

On the fourth morning, I found him alone in the library.

The same room where he used to read business reports when I was a child.

The same room where I once believed my father could solve any problem.

“Dad.”

He looked up.

He already knew why I was there.

“I received a call.”

His expression did not change.

“From Victor.”

Not a question.

A statement.

My father closed the book in front of him.

“So he finally contacted you.”

The answer shocked me.

“You knew he would?”

“Yes.”

I stared at him.

“You knew?”

My father looked away.

“I knew he would eventually try to reach you.”

“Why?”

“Because you are the one thing he cannot control.”

I stepped closer.

“That is not an answer.”

“No.”

His voice became quieter.

“It is not.”

For the first time…

My father looked tired.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

“I need you to understand something.”

“What?”

“Everything I did was to keep you alive.”

The words made me freeze.

“Alive?”

“Yes.”

“Dad…”

My voice lowered.

“What are you not telling me?”

He remained silent.

And that silence hurt.

Because silence was Nathan’s weapon too.

The same thing that once protected me was now making me afraid.

Before my father could answer, Evelyn Cross entered the room.

Her expression was serious.

“Adrian.”

He turned.

“What happened?”

She placed a tablet on the table.

“The evidence archive was breached.”

My heart dropped.

“What?”

Evelyn looked at me.

“Someone accessed the Evidence Room.”

My father immediately stood.

“When?”

“Last night.”

“Any files taken?”

She hesitated.

“Yes.”

My father’s face hardened.

“Which ones?”

Evelyn looked down.

“The files related to Victor Ashford.”

Silence.

Nobody moved.

Because whoever stole those files…

Was not searching randomly.

They knew exactly what they wanted.

We entered the Evidence Room minutes later.

The security team was already investigating.

Nothing was damaged.

Nothing was broken.

That was the frightening part.

The person who entered did not force their way in.

They used access.

My father looked at the security system.

“Show me the entry logs.”

A technician pulled up the records.

One name appeared.

I felt the world stop.

Because it was impossible.

“No.”

My voice was barely audible.

Everyone looked at me.

The access code belonged to:

Evelyn Cross.

The room became silent.

Evelyn stared at the screen.

“That’s impossible.”

My father looked at her.

“Is it?”

The question was calm.

But dangerous.

Evelyn looked hurt.

“Adrian.”

She shook her head.

“After thirty years?”

My father said nothing.

That silence was worse than an accusation.

I looked between them.

“Someone is framing her.”

Everyone turned toward me.

My father looked surprised.

“You believe her?”

I looked at him.

“I believe evidence can be manipulated.”

A pause.

“Something you taught me.”

The words hit him.

Because they were true.

Evelyn immediately surrendered her devices.

Her phone.

Her computer.

Her access cards.

The investigation began.

But the damage was already done.

Doubt had entered the room.

And doubt was exactly what the enemy wanted.

That afternoon, Nathan requested a private meeting.

Everyone told me not to go.

My father especially.

“He is dangerous.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

“Because he knows something.”

My father looked at me.

“He will manipulate you.”

I nodded.

“He always has.”

“Then why walk into his trap?”

I looked at him.

“Because sometimes…”

I paused.

“The best way to understand a trap is to step inside it.”

The meeting took place in the courthouse detention area.

Nathan looked exhausted.

But his eyes were clear.

That was what worried me.

A broken man was easier to predict.

Nathan was not broken.

He was adapting.

“You came.”

I sat across from him.

“Talk.”

He smiled slightly.

“You sound like your father.”

“I’m not here to discuss me.”

“No.”

He leaned forward.

“You’re here because you’re starting to doubt him.”

My expression remained calm.

But he noticed.

Of course he noticed.

Nathan always studied weakness.

“I know about Victor.”

I said nothing.

“I know what he told you.”

“How?”

“Because Victor talks.”

A pause.

“And because I was there.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Where?”

Nathan looked at me.

“Fifteen years ago.”

The room felt colder.

“You were a child.”

“Yes.”

“And Victor?”

Nathan smiled.

“He found me when I was nothing.”

My stomach tightened.

“He saved me.”

“No.”

Nathan shook his head.

“He created me.”

Nathan leaned back.

“Your father thinks he destroyed Victor.”

“He didn’t.”

“He created the reason Victor came back.”

I stared at him.

“What are you talking about?”

Nathan’s smile disappeared.

“Your father did something fifteen years ago.”

“Something that ruined my family.”

I watched him carefully.

“You expect me to believe you?”

“No.”

He looked at me.

“I expect you to ask him.”

Before I could respond, Nathan said something that made my blood freeze.

“Do you know why Victor chose me?”

“Because I was ambitious.”

“Because I was desperate.”

“Because I hated people like Adrian Vale.”

A pause.

“Because I was the perfect weapon.”

I stood.

“You married me to hurt my father.”

Nathan looked away.

“At first.”

My heart stopped.

“At first?”

He looked back.

“Then something changed.”

I almost laughed.

“Changed?”

“Yes.”

“What?”

For the first time…

Nathan looked almost human.

“I started believing I deserved everything.”

The honesty was disturbing.

Because it was the first honest thing he had said in years.

As I left the meeting room, Nathan called after me.

“Your father is hiding the truth.”

I stopped.

“He is not the hero you think he is.”

I turned slightly.

“And you are?”

Nathan smiled sadly.

“No.”

A pause.

“I’m the monster he created.”

When I returned to Blackthorn Manor…

Something was waiting for me.

An envelope.

No name.

No sender.

Inside was a photograph.

Not an old photograph.

A new one.

Taken inside Blackthorn Manor.

The image showed someone standing in the Evidence Room.

Holding the stolen files.

I looked closer.

My hands went cold.

Because I recognized the person.

It was not Nathan.

Not Victor.

Not Celeste.

Not even a stranger.

It was someone I had trusted.

Someone who had protected me.

Someone who had stood beside me since the beginning.

The photograph showed:

My father’s personal security chief.

The man who had guarded me since childhood.

The man who knew every secret in the Vale family.

On the back of the photograph, only one sentence was written:

THE ENEMY NEVER ENTERED YOUR HOME.

THEY WERE ALREADY LIVING THERE.

I stared at the words.

And finally understood.

The greatest threat was not the people who wanted to destroy me.

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It was the people who claimed they were protecting me.

End of Chapter 9