Chapter 9 - THE ENEMY INSIDE THE FAMILY
The lights inside the old facility suddenly went out.
Emma held onto Sarah’s hand.
Edward moved in front of them.
No matter what happened next, he would not lose his family again.
“Marcus.”
“I’m on it.”
Marcus moved toward the entrance.
Then came the sound of glass breaking.
Someone had entered.
Not one person.
Several.
Edward looked around.
“We need another way out.”
Sarah shook her head.
“There isn’t one.”
Edward looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“This place was built to keep people inside.”
The words made his blood run cold.
Twenty years.
Sarah hadn’t been hiding.
She had been trapped.
Footsteps got closer.
A voice echoed through the hallway.
“Edward.”
Everyone froze.
Because Edward recognized that voice.
Victoria.
She stepped into the room surrounded by security guards.
But she wasn’t smiling anymore.
The perfect wife was gone.
The mask had fallen.
“You always were stubborn.”
Edward stared at her.
“You kidnapped my wife.”
Victoria laughed softly.
“You still don’t understand.”
Sarah looked at her with disgust.
“You ruined everything.”
Victoria’s expression hardened.
“No, Sarah. You ruined everything.”
Emma stepped forward.
“Why?”
Victoria looked at her.
“Because your mother was going to destroy the entire empire.”
Emma shook her head.
“That’s a lie.”
Victoria smiled.
“Ask your father.”
Edward frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
Victoria walked closer.
“Your father built his company with blood on his hands.”
Silence.
Edward’s face changed.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Victoria looked at Sarah.
“She found out the truth.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“He wasn’t the man everyone thought he was.”
Edward looked between them.
His entire world was collapsing again.
His father.
His company.
His family.
Everything he believed about his life was being questioned.
Then Victoria pulled out a folder.
“I kept this because I knew one day you would come looking.”
She threw it onto the table.
Edward opened it.
Inside were old contracts.
Illegal transactions.
Names of powerful people.
And at the top…
The original company records.
Emma looked at her father.
“Dad…”
Edward couldn’t speak.
Because one signature appeared on every document.
His father’s.
But then he noticed something else.
A second signature.
A signature from someone who was still alive.
Someone standing in front of him.
Victoria.
Edward slowly looked up.
“You were working with him.”
Victoria smiled.
“Now you’re finally understanding.”
Marcus suddenly shouted:
“Edward!”
Everyone turned.
Marcus was holding another document.
His face was pale.
“Sir… there’s one more thing.”
Edward looked at him.
“What?”
Marcus swallowed.
“This entire investigation…”
He looked at Victoria.
“She wanted you to find Sarah.”
The room went silent.
Edward frowned.
“Why?”
Marcus held up the final page.
“Because the person Victoria was protecting…”
He stopped.
Edward stepped closer.
“Who?”
Marcus looked directly at him.
“Someone inside your own family.”
Then the lights turned off again.
A gunshot exploded through the room.
Emma screamed.
When the emergency lights came back on…
Someone was lying on the floor.
May you like
And the person standing beside them was the last person Edward expected.
TO BE CONTINUED…
