Chapter 7 - The Enemy I Never Saw Coming
The message on the phone remained on the screen.
"I know you found him. Now tell Alexander the truth about who his real enemy is..."
Nobody moved.
The hidden office felt smaller.
The air felt heavier.
I stared at those words.
Not because they were a threat.
Because they sounded like a warning.
Someone knew everything.
They knew Eleanor was alive.
They knew Thomas had returned.
They knew we found the hidden room.
And they knew I was finally close to the truth.
I looked at Eleanor.
"Who sent this?"
She didn't answer.
That frightened me more than anything.
Because Eleanor had always been fearless.
Even when she was angry.
Even when she was scared.
But now...
She looked like someone who had just seen the past return.
"Eleanor."
She slowly looked at me.
"There is something I never told you."
I almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because those words had become the story of my life.
Something I never told you.
Something I couldn't explain.
Something I wanted to protect you from.
Eight years of secrets.
Eight years of people making decisions for me.
I looked at her.
"Then tell me now."
She nodded.
"Before Daniel started moving the money, I discovered something else."
Thomas lowered his eyes.
"I tried to tell her not to investigate."
Eleanor looked at him.
"But I couldn't ignore it."
"What did you find?"
She took a deep breath.
"I found a connection between the company accounts and someone outside Whitmore International."
My lawyer looked at the documents.
"Who?"
Eleanor stared at the phone.
"The person who sent this message."
I waited.
She looked at me.
"The person who helped Daniel."
A cold feeling moved through my body.
"Who?"
Her voice became quiet.
"Your best friend."
The room went silent.
I didn't understand.
Or maybe I didn't want to.
"My best friend?"
Eleanor nodded.
"The person who visited you every day after your accident."
My mind immediately went back.
The hospital.
The flowers.
The promises.
The hand on my shoulder.
The voice telling me everything would be okay.
I felt sick.
"No."
Eleanor looked at me sadly.
"Alexander..."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You're wrong."
I wanted her to be wrong.
I needed her to be wrong.
Because some betrayals are too painful to accept.
The person who betrayed you is one thing.
But the person you trusted while you were broken...
That was different.
That destroyed something deeper.
Daniel suddenly laughed.
Everyone looked at him.
A quiet, bitter laugh.
"You finally understand."
I turned toward him.
"What?"
He looked at me.
"You spent years blaming me."
His expression changed.
"But you never questioned him."
My hands tightened.
"Who?"
Daniel looked away.
"Richard."
The name hit me.
Richard.
My closest friend.
My business partner.
The man who stood beside me when I built Whitmore International.
The man who told reporters I was like a brother.
The man who cried at Eleanor's funeral.
My stomach turned.
"You're lying."
Daniel smiled sadly.
"I wish I was."
Thomas opened another file.
"I found this before I disappeared."
He placed it on the desk.
A contract.
A private agreement.
Between Daniel...
And Richard.
My eyes scanned the page.
The signatures were clear.
Daniel Whitmore.
Richard Hayes.
My entire world shifted.
"When?"
Thomas answered.
"Six months before your accident."
I closed my eyes.
Six months.
They planned it six months before.
This wasn't sudden.
This wasn't desperation.
It was a plan.
A long one.
Eleanor touched my hand.
"I'm sorry."
I looked at her.
"How did you survive?"
The question had been burning inside me.
She became quiet.
"Because Claire helped me."
Lily looked up.
"My mother?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Your mother saved my life."
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"What happened to her?"
Eleanor looked away.
And that silence answered before words could.
I felt my chest tighten.
"What happened?"
Eleanor whispered:
"She disappeared because she knew too much."
Lily covered her mouth.
"No..."
I looked at Eleanor.
"Is she alive?"
Another silence.
Then:
"I don't know."
The answer hurt.
But before I could ask more, the security officer suddenly moved toward the window.
"Wait."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
He pointed outside.
"There."
Across the street.
A black vehicle was parked.
Engine running.
Watching the building.
Thomas immediately became alert.
"They know we're here."
My lawyer looked concerned.
"How?"
Thomas picked up the phone again.
"The message."
He looked at the screen.
"They wanted us to find it."
I stared at him.
"Why?"
His expression changed.
"Because this wasn't a warning."
A pause.
"It was an invitation."
Before anyone could respond, the office lights shut off.
Again.
But this time...
Everyone heard it.
A sound from the hallway.
A door closing.
Someone was inside the building.
The security officer grabbed his flashlight.
"I locked this floor."
Thomas looked at him.
"Then whoever came in..."
He stopped.
The sentence didn't need to finish.
Because everyone understood.
Someone had entered a locked floor.
Someone who knew this building.
Someone who knew this room.
Someone who knew exactly where we were.
The security officer moved toward the hallway.
I followed with my eyes.
The flashlight beam disappeared into the darkness.
Then we heard footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Coming closer.
Lily grabbed Eleanor's hand.
Daniel stepped backward.
For once, he looked just as afraid as everyone else.
The footsteps stopped.
Right outside the office.
Nobody breathed.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
"Alexander."
I froze.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it every day for twenty years.
The person I trusted.
The person who stood beside me.
The person who promised to protect everything I built.
May you like
The office door slowly opened.
And Richard Hayes walked inside holding a gun.
