Chapter 4 - THE SHADOW INSIDE THE HOUSE
The scream came from the east wing.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
The entire Vale estate had gone completely dark.
No lights.
No cameras.
No security system.
Nothing.
Then Adrian grabbed my hand.
“Stay behind me.”
His voice was calm, but I felt the tension in his fingers.
He wasn’t afraid for himself.
He was afraid for me.
And for our baby.
The emergency lights finally flickered on, painting the hallway in a dim red glow.
Security guards rushed through the corridor.
Daniel followed behind them, holding his phone.
“What happened?”
Nobody answered.
Because everyone was looking toward the end of the hallway.
The door to Beatrice Vale’s private office was open.
And inside…
Everything was destroyed.
Papers were scattered across the floor.
A glass cabinet had been broken.
A chair was overturned.
And Beatrice Vale was standing in the middle of the room.
Alive.
But shaken.
Her perfectly styled hair was messy.
Her expensive dress was torn at the shoulder.
For the first time since I had met her…
She looked vulnerable.
Adrian immediately stepped forward.
“Mother.”
Beatrice looked at him.
Then at me.
Her eyes narrowed.
“This is because of her.”
I froze.
Even after everything, she still blamed me.
Adrian’s expression changed.
“No.”
His voice was cold.
“This happened because someone broke into your office.”
Beatrice looked away.
“I’m fine.”
Daniel walked into the room and examined the damage.
“Your security system was manually disabled.”
Adrian looked at him.
“By who?”
Daniel shook his head.
“We’re checking.”
Then one of the guards picked something up from the floor.
A small black device.
Adrian walked closer.
“What is that?”
The guard swallowed.
“A signal jammer.”
The room became silent.
Someone had planned this.
Someone wanted the cameras down.
Someone wanted the house blind.
I felt a chill run through me.
Because I remembered the picture.
The picture of me sleeping.
Whoever sent it had access to this house.
Someone who knew every corner.
Someone close enough to watch me.
Adrian looked at his mother.
“Did anyone enter your office tonight?”
Beatrice hesitated.
Only for a second.
But Adrian noticed.
“Mother.”
She looked angry.
Then defensive.
“No.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
“Mrs. Vale, your office was accessed from your personal security code.”
Beatrice’s face changed.
“That’s impossible.”
Adrian stared at her.
“Your code?”
She didn’t answer.
And that silence said everything.
The same code used to delete my pregnancy records.
The same code connected to the medical archive.
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Who else has access?”
Beatrice looked at me.
And suddenly I knew.
She wasn’t just hiding something.
She was afraid someone else would reveal it.
“I don’t know.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Her eyes became sharp.
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with.”
The words shocked everyone.
Because for the first time…
Beatrice sounded scared.
Not angry.
Not arrogant.
Scared.
Adrian noticed too.
“What are you hiding?”
She looked at him.
Then at me.
And whispered:
“You think I’m the enemy?”
Nobody spoke.
Beatrice took a breath.
“You have no idea who is watching this family.”
Before Adrian could respond, every phone in the room suddenly received the same notification.
A video file.
Unknown sender.
Daniel opened it.
The screen showed the inside of the Vale estate.
The camera angle was hidden.
Then the image changed.
It showed me.
Walking through the hallway.
Two days earlier.
Then another clip.
Me entering the kitchen.
Then another.
Me sleeping.
My stomach turned.
The person recording had been following me for weeks.
Adrian grabbed the phone.
“Find where this came from.”
Daniel nodded.
But before he could leave, a final image appeared.
A photograph.
An old photograph.
Adrian stared at it.
His face lost all color.
“What is it?”
He didn’t answer.
I stepped closer.
And saw the picture.
It was Adrian.
As a child.
Standing beside a woman I had never seen before.
A woman who looked almost exactly like me.
Adrian whispered one sentence.
“That’s impossible.”
May you like
Because the woman in the photo…
Was my mother.
