CHAPTER 9: THE PERSON WHO KNEW EVERY SECRET
The phone call lasted less than thirty seconds.
But those thirty seconds changed everything inside the Vance estate.
Marcus Vance had spent his entire life believing the biggest threats came from outside.
Rivals.
Competitors.
Strangers looking for weaknesses.
But now he was facing something far more dangerous.
A person who had been invited inside.
Someone who walked through his halls.
Someone who knew his family better than most people.
Someone who had been hiding in plain sight.
Marcus looked around the old study.
Nobody spoke.
The silence felt heavier than any argument.
Finally, Victoria broke it.
“You believe me now?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Victoria stepped closer.
“I know what I did was wrong.”
Elena looked at her.
That sentence surprised everyone.
Victoria rarely admitted anything.
“I was angry,” Victoria continued.
Her voice lowered.
“I was afraid.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Afraid of what?”
Victoria looked toward the closed door.
“Losing everything.”
A bitter smile appeared on her face.
“My marriage. My son. My position in this family.”
Elena watched her carefully.
For the first time, she saw something beneath Victoria’s cruelty.
Insecurity.
But that didn’t erase what she had done.
“You still tried to blame me.”
Victoria looked down.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“And I regret it.”
Marcus studied her.
He wanted to believe that.
But trust was not something that returned because someone apologized.
Not after everything.
“Tell me about David Whitmore.”
Victoria immediately became serious.
“He approached me six months ago.”
“Why?”
“He said he noticed unusual activity around Leo’s trust account.”
Marcus frowned.
“And you believed him?”
“At first.”
Victoria walked toward the desk.
“He showed me documents. Numbers. Transfers.”
She opened an old drawer.
“I thought he was helping me protect my son.”
She pulled out a folder.
“But then I realized something.”
Marcus took the folder.
“What?”
Victoria looked at him.
“Every time I followed his advice, something went wrong.”
Marcus opened the documents.
The pages showed financial reports.
Legal agreements.
Account movements.
Elena stood beside him.
“What happened?”
Victoria answered quietly.
“Someone was testing how much control they could gain.”
Marcus looked up.
“Through you.”
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.”
The realization was painful.
Someone had used her.
And she had helped them without knowing.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from somewhere inside the mansion.
Everyone froze.
Marcus immediately looked toward the door.
“What was that?”
Elena’s arms tightened around Leo.
Victoria’s face changed.
“That came from upstairs.”
Marcus moved quickly.
“Stay here.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Elena—”
“I’m not leaving Leo alone.”
He understood.
She wasn’t being stubborn.
She was protecting the child.
The same thing she had done all day.
“Stay behind me.”
The three of them moved into the hallway.
The mansion was unusually quiet.
Too quiet.
The security system was still down.
No cameras.
No alarms.
No protection.
Marcus looked around.
“Everyone stay close.”
They reached the second floor.
The crash had come from the guest wing.
The door was slightly open.
Marcus pushed it slowly.
Inside, papers covered the floor.
The room had been searched.
Drawers were open.
Furniture had been moved.
Someone had been looking for something.
Victoria whispered:
“They’re here.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Who?”
She didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t know.
Then Elena noticed something.
A small envelope sitting on the desk.
Her name was written on it.
“Elena.”
Everyone looked.
Marcus walked toward it.
“Don’t touch it.”
He used a handkerchief to pick it up.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Only one sentence.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT WHEN THEY BLAMED YOU.
Elena felt a chill.
Someone knew.
Someone had been watching her.
Marcus looked at the message.
His expression became darker.
“This person wants you scared.”
Elena shook her head.
“No.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
She pointed at the paper.
“They don’t want me scared.”
A pause.
“They want me to remember.”
The room went silent.
Marcus looked confused.
“Remember what?”
Elena looked at the floor.
Her face became pale.
“There’s something about that night.”
Victoria watched her.
“What?”
Elena took a slow breath.
“I never told anyone this.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Tell me.”
Elena looked at Leo.
Then at Marcus.
“The night Leo disappeared…”
Her voice trembled.
“I saw someone.”
Everyone froze.
Victoria whispered:
“Who?”
Elena swallowed.
“I saw a person standing near the garden door.”
Marcus stared.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because…”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Because I thought I was imagining it.”
“Why?”
“Because the person was wearing a face I recognized.”
The hallway became silent.
Marcus’s voice lowered.
“Whose face?”
Elena looked at Victoria.
Then back at Marcus.
“It looked like your father.”
Nobody moved.
Marcus went completely still.
His father had been dead for years.
Impossible.
Victoria stepped back.
“That’s not possible.”
Elena nodded.
“I know.”
Marcus looked toward the dark hallway.
A strange feeling moved through him.
Because if Elena was right…
then this wasn’t just about Leo’s inheritance.
This wasn’t just about Victoria.
This was connected to the darkest secrets of the Vance family.
And somewhere inside that mansion…
someone knew the truth.
Suddenly, the lights went out.
The entire estate fell into darkness.
Then, from the end of the hallway…
came the sound of slow footsteps.
May you like
Someone was walking toward them.
TO BE CONTINUED...
