CHAPTER 7: THE ENEMY INSIDE THE FAMILY
Marcus Thorne had faced lawsuits.
He had faced corporate wars.
He had watched competitors spend millions trying to destroy his company.
But nothing had prepared him for this.
Because the most dangerous enemy was not standing outside his empire.
The enemy was already inside.
Someone had used his own security authorization.
Someone who had access to his family’s private information.
Someone who knew exactly how to erase evidence.
Marcus stood alone in the hospital hallway, staring at his phone.
The message from Victor repeated in his mind.
The person who deleted the footage used your security authorization.
His own authorization.
Impossible.
Only a handful of people had access.
His security team.
Victor.
And…
Marcus stopped.
A terrible thought entered his mind.
He didn’t want to believe it.
But every instinct told him he had to.
“Marcus?”
Khloe’s voice pulled him back.
He turned.
She was standing at the doorway of her room, supported by a nurse.
“You shouldn’t be standing.”
“I’m fine.”
“You almost lost consciousness an hour ago.”
Khloe looked at him carefully.
“What happened?”
Marcus hesitated.
He didn’t want to put more fear into her.
But he had learned something important.
Secrets destroyed families.
Truth saved them.
“Someone deleted the security footage.”
Khloe’s expression changed.
“What?”
“They used my access.”
She became quiet.
“Meaning someone close to you.”
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.”
Khloe slowly looked at him.
“Who has access?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
And that told her everything.
“There’s someone you don’t trust.”
He looked away.
“There’s someone I never thought I would have to question.”
Thirty minutes later, Marcus called an emergency meeting.
Not at the company.
Not at his mansion.
Somewhere private.
Somewhere nobody could listen.
The conference room inside the Thorne family’s private office was filled with tension.
Victor sat across from Marcus.
Beside him were Marcus’s security director, his chief financial officer, and his personal attorney.
Nobody spoke.
Until Marcus placed the tablet on the table.
“I want everyone here to understand something.”
His voice was calm.
But everyone felt the anger underneath.
“Someone attacked my wife.”
Silence.
“Someone tried to hurt my child.”
He looked around the room.
“And someone inside this circle helped them.”
Nobody moved.
The accusation was heavy.
His security director immediately spoke.
“Mr. Thorne, I swear I had nothing to do with this.”
Marcus nodded.
“I believe you.”
The man relaxed slightly.
“But someone accessed the system using my authorization.”
Everyone looked at each other.
Marcus continued.
“That means someone either stole my credentials…”
A pause.
“Or someone who already had them used them.”
The room became colder.
Victor leaned forward.
“We need to check every person who had access.”
Marcus nodded.
“Already started.”
His attorney opened a folder.
“There is one unusual activity.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What?”
“A login from a private device.”
“Whose?”
The attorney hesitated.
Then answered:
“Your mother’s old assistant.”
Marcus froze.
“My mother’s assistant?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
The assistant had disappeared years ago.
Right after his father’s death.
Another person connected to the past.
Another missing piece.
Marcus rubbed his forehead.
“Find her.”
The security director nodded.
“We’ll locate her.”
“No.”
Marcus looked up.
“I’ll find her myself.”
Meanwhile, Isabella was losing control.
She sat inside her apartment surrounded by expensive furniture she once believed represented success.
Now every object felt like a reminder.
A reminder that she could lose everything.
Her phone rang.
Daniel Cross.
She answered immediately.
“Tell me you fixed it.”
Daniel was silent.
That silence made her nervous.
“What happened?”
“The footage was recovered.”
Her blood froze.
“What?”
“I thought it was deleted.”
“Someone recovered a copy.”
Isabella stood.
“Who?”
Daniel’s voice became low.
“Victor Thorne.”
She closed her eyes.
Of all people…
Victor was the one person she feared.
Because Victor knew how to destroy someone without making noise.
“What do we do now?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
“Daniel?”
“We change the plan.”
“How?”
A pause.
“We stop trying to destroy Khloe.”
Isabella frowned.
“What?”
“We destroy Marcus.”
The room became silent.
Isabella understood immediately.
“If Marcus falls…”
“The company falls.”
“And Khloe loses everything.”
Daniel smiled.
“Exactly.”
That evening, Marcus returned to the hospital.
Khloe was awake.
She looked calmer.
But he could see the fear she was hiding.
“You’re thinking too much.”
Marcus smiled slightly.
“How do you always know?”
“Because I know you.”
That sentence stayed with him.
Because earlier that night, he had realized something.
He had spent years believing he knew everyone around him.
But he didn’t.
He didn’t know Isabella.
He didn’t know Daniel.
And maybe…
He didn’t know his own family.
Khloe reached for his hand.
“What are you afraid of?”
Marcus looked at her.
“The truth.”
She squeezed his fingers.
“Why?”
“Because every answer leads to another secret.”
Khloe was quiet.
Then she said:
“Marcus.”
“What?”
“Secrets only have power when they stay hidden.”
He looked at her.
“And what happens when they come out?”
Khloe held his gaze.
“Then the people who created them have to face what they did.”
For the first time all day…
Marcus felt certain.
He wasn’t fighting only for revenge.
He was fighting for his family.
Later that night, Marcus received an unexpected visitor.
The hospital security guard approached him.
“Mr. Thorne?”
“Yes?”
“There is someone here asking to see you.”
“Who?”
The guard looked nervous.
“A woman.”
Marcus frowned.
“What woman?”
The guard handed him a small envelope.
“She said you would recognize this.”
Marcus opened it.
Inside was an old photograph.
The same photograph of Isabella and his father.
But this one had something written on the back.
A message.
Three words.
YOUR FATHER KNEW.
Marcus’s heartbeat stopped.
Then another line appeared.
Ask Isabella why she was there the night he died.
He slowly looked up.
The woman who sent it was standing at the end of the hallway.
Watching him.
Marcus walked closer.
And when he saw her face…
He stopped.
Because she was the last person he expected.
The woman everyone believed disappeared fifteen years ago.
The woman connected to his father’s death.
She whispered:
“Marcus…”
A pause.
“I’m sorry.”
His expression hardened.
“Who are you?”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears.
“I was there the night your father died.”
Silence.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
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“And Isabella Rossi was the reason he never came home.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
