Chapter 3 - The Woman Behind The Door
The door at the end of the hallway moved slowly.
Not opened.
Moved.
As if someone on the other side was deciding whether they wanted me to see them.
I stopped walking.
For the first time in years, I felt uncertain inside my own home.
The mansion I built.
The place where I made every decision.
The place where I thought I knew every person who walked through the doors.
But tonight, everything felt unfamiliar.
I stared at the small opening.
"Who is there?"
No answer.
Only silence.
I stepped forward.
The door suddenly stopped moving.
My hand reached for the handle.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
I looked down.
One sentence appeared on the screen.
"Don't open that door unless you're ready to lose your family."
I froze.
My first instinct was anger.
Someone was playing games with me.
Someone was trying to scare me.
But the timing was too perfect.
The fake payments.
The stolen money.
The hidden photo.
The warning.
Everything connected to one thing.
Someone inside my home was hiding something.
I ignored the message.
I opened the door.
The room was dark.
It was my mother's old sitting room.
A place nobody used anymore.
After she passed away, I had kept everything exactly the same.
Her books.
Her paintings.
Her favorite chair near the window.
It was the one room in the mansion that still felt like a memory instead of a building.
But tonight...
Something was different.
A lamp was turned on.
Someone had been sitting there.
I walked inside.
"Show yourself."
A quiet voice answered from the corner.
"You always were impatient, Alexander."
I stopped.
Because I knew that voice.
A woman stepped into the light.
My sister.
Victoria Reed.
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
She looked exactly like someone who had been waiting for this moment.
Calm.
Prepared.
Almost relieved.
"Victoria."
She smiled slightly.
"I knew you would find out eventually."
My eyes narrowed.
"What are you doing here?"
She looked around the room.
"This was always my mother's favorite place."
"Answer my question."
Her expression changed.
"You think I did something wrong."
"I think someone has been stealing from my employees."
She didn't react.
That bothered me more than anger would have.
"Did you know about Rosa?"
Victoria looked away.
"I know more than you think."
I stepped closer.
"Then start explaining."
She sighed.
"You really believe this is about a housekeeper?"
"Someone used my name to take money from people who trusted me."
"No."
She looked directly at me.
"Someone used your name because they knew you would never look closely."
The words hit harder than I expected.
"What does that mean?"
Victoria walked toward the old bookshelf.
She touched one of the books.
"You built an empire, Alexander. But you forgot one thing."
"What?"
"People closest to you know exactly where your blind spots are."
I stared at her.
"Are you saying Harrison did this?"
She didn't answer.
That was enough.
"Where is he?"
"Not far."
"Victoria."
She turned back.
"You should stop asking where Harrison is."
"Then what should I ask?"
Her eyes became serious.
"Ask why Harrison was protecting someone else."
The room went quiet.
I felt my anger shift into suspicion.
"Who?"
Victoria didn't respond.
Instead, she walked toward the desk.
She picked up a small envelope.
"I found this in your office before you arrived."
My expression changed.
"You were in my office?"
"I told you. You don't know what is happening inside your own house."
She handed me the envelope.
I didn't take it immediately.
"Why should I trust you?"
A sad smile crossed her face.
"You shouldn't."
That answer surprised me.
I grabbed the envelope.
Inside was a printed email.
The sender was hidden.
The receiver was Richard Harrison.
The subject line made my chest tighten.
"Phase Two Complete."
I read the message.
The email was short.
Too short.
"Payment delays have worked. Employee complaints are controlled. Alexander still believes everything is under management."
My hands tightened around the paper.
Someone had been monitoring me.
Someone had been planning this.
I looked at Victoria.
"Where did you get this?"
She hesitated.
"I wasn't supposed to see it."
"Who sent it?"
She looked toward the hallway.
Then back at me.
"I don't know."
That answer wasn't enough.
"Victoria."
She lowered her voice.
"But I know who received another copy."
"Who?"
She looked at me.
"Your father."
I went completely still.
My father had been dead for seven years.
There was no reason his name should appear anywhere.
"What did you say?"
Victoria didn't move.
"I said your father."
"That's impossible."
"I thought so too."
I looked at the email again.
The date.
The timestamp.
Everything was recent.
Impossible.
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Where is the original?"
Victoria didn't answer.
"Victoria."
She looked nervous for the first time.
"I didn't bring it."
"Where is it?"
She walked toward the window.
"When I found it, someone knew."
"Who?"
She whispered:
"The same person who has been watching your office."
Before I could respond, a sound came from downstairs.
The front door.
Opening.
I immediately turned.
Nobody was supposed to enter.
Not now.
Not without security notifying me.
Victoria looked terrified.
"He's here."
I looked at her.
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
The footsteps echoed through the marble hallway.
Slow.
Calm.
Confident.
Someone who wasn't afraid of being discovered.
I walked toward the stairs.
Victoria grabbed my arm.
"Alexander, don't."
I looked at her hand.
Then at her face.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Her eyes filled with fear.
"The person who started all of this..."
She paused.
"...is not working against your family."
The footsteps stopped.
Right below us.
A man's voice called out.
"Alexander."
My blood turned cold.
Because I recognized it.
A voice I hadn't heard in seven years.
A voice that belonged to someone who should never have been able to speak again.
I slowly walked down the stairs.
The person standing in the entrance hall looked up at me.
And said my name again.
May you like
"Alexander."
It was my father.
