CHAPTER 8: THE ENEMY INSIDE THE HOUSE
For the first time in years, Marcus Vance heard fear in Victoria’s voice.
Not anger.
Not manipulation.
Not the cold confidence she always carried.
Fear.
Real fear.
And that scared him more than anything else.
Because Victoria Vance was not a woman who frightened easily.
Marcus stood in front of Elena and Leo, staring at the locked door.
Behind him, Elena held the child tightly.
“Don’t open it,” she whispered.
Marcus looked back at her.
“Why?”
“Because five minutes ago she was trying to destroy me.”
Elena’s voice was quiet.
“And now she wants us to believe she’s scared?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Because Elena was right.
But another part of him remembered something.
The way Victoria looked at the security footage.
The way her face changed when she realized someone else had been involved.
Maybe she was guilty.
Maybe she was lying.
But maybe…
She was also in danger.
“Marcus.”
Victoria knocked again.
Harder this time.
“Please.”
The word surprised him.
Victoria never said please.
Not to employees.
Not to family.
Not even to him.
Marcus walked toward the door.
Elena grabbed his arm.
“Be careful.”
He nodded.
Slowly, he unlocked it.
The door opened.
Victoria stood there.
But the woman in front of him looked completely different.
Her perfect makeup was slightly ruined.
Her confidence was gone.
And for the first time, Marcus saw something he had almost forgotten.
His wife was scared.
“What happened?” he asked.
Victoria looked past him.
At Elena.
Then at Leo.
She swallowed.
“You found the file.”
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“So you know about it.”
Victoria looked down.
“Yes.”
The answer shocked him.
“You knew?”
She nodded.
Marcus stepped closer.
“You knew there was a hidden file exposing what happened that night?”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“I couldn’t.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Why?”
Victoria looked at her.
And for a moment, there was no hatred in her eyes.
Only exhaustion.
“Because I didn’t know who I could trust.”
The hallway went silent.
Marcus stared at her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I know how it sounds.”
Victoria’s voice shook.
“But someone has been watching this family for months.”
Marcus crossed his arms.
“Someone working with you?”
The accusation hit her.
And surprisingly…
She didn’t fight back.
Instead, she whispered:
“Someone I thought was working for me.”
That sentence changed everything.
Elena looked confused.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria looked around the hallway.
“Not here.”
Marcus noticed her nervous glance.
“Where?”
“The old study.”
Marcus hesitated.
The old study had been closed for months.
After his father died, nobody entered that room.
“Why there?”
“Because nobody knows about it.”
Marcus gave a cold look.
“Apparently, people know more about this house than I do.”
Victoria looked away.
That response told him enough.
Ten minutes later, they entered the old study.
The room smelled like old books and dust.
The furniture was covered.
The lights flickered.
Marcus closed the door behind them.
“Start talking.”
Victoria stood near the fireplace.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she finally spoke.
“Three months ago, I received a message.”
Marcus watched her carefully.
“From who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Another anonymous message?”
Victoria nodded.
“It told me something was wrong with Leo’s trust.”
Marcus’s expression changed.
“What exactly?”
“That someone was trying to change the beneficiary documents.”
Elena frowned.
“But Leo is a child.”
Victoria nodded.
“Exactly.”
Marcus walked closer.
“Who would benefit?”
Victoria looked at him.
“That’s the problem.”
A pause.
“Only someone close to the family could do it.”
The room became silent.
Elena felt a chill.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone inside their world.
Marcus looked at Victoria.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her expression changed.
Because the answer was complicated.
“Because I thought it was you.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
Victoria looked away.
“I thought you were moving money around without telling me.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You thought I was stealing from my own son?”
“I thought you were protecting something.”
His face hardened.
“And instead?”
Victoria’s eyes filled with frustration.
“Instead, I found out someone was using my name.”
Marcus said nothing.
That was the first time Victoria sounded honest.
Not perfect.
Not innocent.
Just honest.
Elena quietly asked:
“Who was the person helping you?”
Victoria looked at her.
“A lawyer.”
Marcus’s eyes narrowed.
“Which lawyer?”
Victoria hesitated.
Then she answered.
“David Whitmore.”
The name immediately changed Marcus’s expression.
Elena noticed.
“You know him?”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“He’s handled my family’s legal matters for fifteen years.”
The room became colder.
Because that meant one thing.
The person behind everything wasn’t a stranger.
It was someone who had access to everything.
The money.
The documents.
The house.
The family secrets.
Suddenly, Marcus’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked at it.
Marcus answered.
“Who is this?”
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a distorted voice came through.
“Mr. Vance.”
Marcus stood still.
The voice continued.
“You’re looking in the wrong direction.”
Marcus’s grip tightened around the phone.
“Who are you?”
A quiet laugh.
“You think Victoria is your enemy?”
The voice paused.
“She’s only the person I needed you to hate.”
Marcus’s eyes moved toward Victoria.
The color disappeared from her face.
The voice continued.
“The real problem has been living under your roof this entire time.”
The call ended.
Silence filled the room.
Then Elena whispered:
“Under our roof?”
Marcus slowly lowered the phone.
And everyone understood the terrifying truth.
The person controlling everything…
was not outside the Vance estate.
May you like
They were already inside.
TO BE CONTINUED...
