Chapter 9: The Enemy Inside Carter Global
Chapter 9: The Enemy Inside Carter Global
Emma had spent seven years believing her enemies were outside.
People who looked down on her.
People who mocked her.
People who thought she was nothing.
But now...
She discovered something far more painful.
The enemy had been standing beside her.
Inside the company she built.
Inside the empire she created with her own hands.
Someone at Carter Global had helped hide the truth.
Someone she trusted.
Someone who had access to everything.
The next morning, Emma entered the Carter Global executive floor.
Every employee stood as she walked by.
They respected her.
They admired her.
They saw her as a symbol of success.
But Emma no longer felt safe.
She entered her private office and closed the door.
"Lock all access records from seven years ago."
Her assistant looked surprised.
"Seven years ago?"
Emma nodded.
"Every file. Every employee login. Every deleted document."
Her assistant hesitated.
"Ms. Carter... are you investigating someone inside the company?"
Emma looked out at the city.
"I am investigating the person who destroyed my life."
Two hours later...
The report arrived.
Emma opened the file.
Her eyes moved quickly.
Employee access records.
Security logs.
Financial transfers.
Hidden accounts.
Then she saw it.
One name appeared repeatedly.
A name she knew.
A name she trusted.
Daniel Brooks.
Her former Chief Financial Officer.
The man who helped her build Carter Global from the beginning.
Her friend.
Her advisor.
The person who stood beside her when nobody believed in her.
Emma whispered:
"No..."
Her assistant looked concerned.
"Do you know him?"
Emma didn't answer.
Because Daniel wasn't just an employee.
He was family.
Seven years earlier...
When Emma was struggling to build Carter Global, Daniel was the first person who believed in her.
Everyone laughed at her idea.
A young woman trying to compete against billion-dollar corporations.
But Daniel told her:
"One day, everyone who laughed will ask you for help."
Emma believed him.
She never imagined...
He would be the one who hurt her.
That evening, Emma confronted him.
Daniel was sitting in his office.
Older now.
More successful.
But still carrying the same calm smile.
"Emma."
He stood.
"You finally found out."
Emma stopped.
Her expression changed.
"You knew?"
Daniel looked away.
"I knew you would eventually discover the truth."
The words shocked her.
"How long?"
Silence.
"How long did you know?"
Daniel sighed.
"Seven years."
Emma felt something break inside.
Seven years.
The same number that haunted her.
"You knew Ryan didn't leave me because of money."
Daniel didn't answer.
"You knew Victoria lied."
Still silence.
"You knew I was raising Lily alone."
His eyes lowered.
"Yes."
Emma stepped closer.
"Why?"
Daniel looked at her.
And his answer made her furious.
"Because I was protecting you."
Emma laughed.
A cold, painful laugh.
"Protecting me?"
"You don't understand."
"No."
Emma's voice became sharp.
"I understand perfectly."
She pointed at him.
"You watched me suffer."
Daniel looked guilty.
"I had no choice."
"Everyone says that."
Emma's eyes filled with anger.
"Everyone who destroys someone's life always says they had no choice."
Daniel finally sat down.
"Victoria threatened Carter Global."
Emma froze.
"What?"
"Seven years ago, she discovered your company was becoming too powerful."
Daniel continued.
"She knew Ryan would leave you if he believed you betrayed him."
Emma stared.
"That doesn't explain what you did."
Daniel looked at the floor.
"Victoria threatened to expose your father's identity."
Emma's face changed.
"My father again."
Daniel nodded.
"She knew who he was."
"Who?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he opened a drawer.
Inside was an old photograph.
Emma picked it up.
Her hands froze.
The picture showed a young woman.
Her mother.
Standing beside a man.
A man Emma recognized.
Because his face appeared on every business magazine in America.
Her father.
The billionaire who disappeared.
The man she thought abandoned her.
Alexander Carter.
Emma whispered:
"My father..."
Daniel nodded.
"He didn't abandon you."
Her eyes moved to him.
"Then why did he leave?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Because he was trying to protect you."
Before Emma could ask more...
The office lights suddenly went out.
The entire floor became dark.
Security alarms started ringing.
Her assistant's voice came through the emergency system.
"Ms. Carter!"
Emma grabbed the phone.
"What happened?"
A pause.
Then:
"The private archives have been accessed."
Emma's heart sank.
"By who?"
The answer came.
A name.
A name that made her blood run cold.
"Victoria Anderson."
Emma immediately rushed to the archives.
But she was too late.
The files were gone.
The evidence.
The documents.
Everything connected to seven years ago.
Destroyed.
Except one thing.
A single piece of paper left on the desk.
Emma picked it up.
Only one sentence was written:
"If you want the truth about Lily, ask who signed her birth certificate."
Emma froze.
Lily.
Not Noah.
Not Ryan.
Lily.
Someone had been hiding something about her daughter.
Something Emma never knew.
That night...
Emma returned home.
She watched Lily sleeping.
Her beautiful daughter.
The reason she survived everything.
Then she looked at the old birth certificate.
The one she had kept for seven years.
For the first time...
She noticed something strange.
The signature.
The witness signature.
It wasn't from the hospital.
It wasn't from a doctor.
It was from someone inside the Anderson family.
Someone who had no reason to be there.
Someone who knew the truth from the beginning.
Emma's hands trembled.
Because the name at the bottom was:
Victoria Anderson.
At the same time...
Ryan received a phone call.
The caller's voice was distorted.
"You want the truth about Emma?"
Ryan froze.
"Who is this?"
The voice answered:
"The truth is simple."
A pause.
"Emma wasn't the only one betrayed."
Ryan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
The person whispered:
"Your daughter Lily..."
"Was never supposed to be born into the Anderson family."
The call ended.
Ryan stood frozen.
Because suddenly...
He realized the biggest secret was not about Emma.
It was about his daughter.
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And someone had been hiding Lily's true story for seven years.
To be continued...
