Chapter 5 - The Enemy Hidden in My Blood
The file opened.
And my entire past came back in one second.
Not as memories.
As evidence.
My name appeared on the screen.
Elena Marlow.
But underneath it was another name.
A name I had buried.
A name I had promised myself would never touch Lily's life.
Elena Vale.
Adrian stared at the monitor.
Then he looked at me.
"You lied about your identity."
I couldn't argue.
Because he was right.
"I protected my daughter."
His expression hardened.
"By hiding her from me?"
The accusation hurt more than I expected.
Because part of me had spent years wondering if I had done the right thing.
If keeping Lily away from Adrian was protection...
Or if it was just another kind of pain.
"I didn't know if you were safe."
The words came out quietly.
Adrian looked shocked.
"Safe?"
I nodded.
"You have no idea what your world does to people."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Adrian looked back at the file.
The next page loaded.
A photograph appeared.
A man standing beside a younger version of me.
My father.
Marcus Vale.
The man Adrian Voss had spent years trying to destroy.
The man who had built an empire through fear before Adrian ever had one.
The man who disappeared after the biggest financial war in New York history.
Everyone thought Marcus Vale was dead.
But the truth was worse.
He wasn't dead.
He was hiding.
And I was his daughter.
Adrian stepped away from the screen.
"Your father."
I looked down.
"Yes."
The room became silent.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
Why someone wanted me gone.
Why someone erased my records.
Why someone cared about finding Lily.
Adrian had spent years fighting my father's enemies.
And now his own daughter was standing inside Adrian's home.
"I didn't know what you would do if you found out."
His eyes met mine.
"What did you think I would do?"
I didn't answer.
Because the truth was ugly.
I thought he would see Lily as a weakness.
A target.
A weapon.
People like Adrian Voss didn't have families.
They had vulnerabilities.
And vulnerabilities got destroyed.
"I thought you would take her away."
Something in Adrian's expression changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
"You thought I would hurt my own child?"
I looked away.
"I didn't know you."
The words were simple.
But they hit him.
Because they were true.
The Adrian Voss I knew was the man everyone feared.
Not the man who had saved my daughter from being exposed.
Not the man who looked at Lily like he had lost four years he could never get back.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Adrian immediately moved.
His entire body changed.
The softness disappeared.
The dangerous man returned.
He stepped in front of Lily and me.
The door opened.
A guard entered.
"Sir."
Adrian didn't turn around.
"Talk."
The guard looked nervous.
"We found the person who accessed the archives."
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
The guard hesitated.
Then looked at me.
That was enough.
I already knew.
"Say it."
The guard swallowed.
"It was someone from inside your personal staff."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Name."
The guard lowered his voice.
"Margaret Collins."
I froze.
Margaret.
The woman who had trained me when I first came to the mansion.
The woman who brought Lily food when I worked late.
The woman who always told me she understood what it felt like to be alone.
"No."
The word escaped my mouth.
Adrian looked at me.
"You know her."
I nodded slowly.
"She helped me."
His expression became unreadable.
"That's how people get close."
I hated that he was right.
But Margaret wasn't just a stranger.
She was the only person in that mansion who knew Lily existed before tonight.
The only person who knew my daughter.
The only person who knew I was afraid.
"Bring her here," Adrian ordered.
The guard left.
Lily looked up at me.
"Mama, are we in trouble?"
My heart broke.
I knelt beside her.
"No, baby."
"Are you sure?"
I forced a smile.
"Yes."
But she saw through it.
Children always did.
Adrian watched us.
And for a moment, I saw something different in his eyes.
A question.
A realization.
Maybe he finally understood why I had hidden everything.
Not because I hated him.
Because I was scared.
A few minutes later, Margaret was brought into the room.
She looked different.
Not guilty.
Not afraid.
Calm.
Too calm.
She looked at me first.
Then Lily.
Then Adrian.
"I suppose the truth finally came out."
Adrian walked toward her.
"You accessed my private files."
Margaret smiled faintly.
"Yes."
Nobody expected that answer.
Even Adrian paused.
"You admit it?"
"I do."
The room became tense.
"Why?"
Margaret looked at me.
Not Adrian.
Me.
"Because she deserved to know."
My heart tightened.
"What are you talking about?"
Margaret's eyes softened.
"Elena, I tried to protect you."
I shook my head.
"Protect me?"
She nodded.
"From the people who wanted your daughter gone."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Who?"
Margaret looked at him.
"That is the problem, Adrian."
Her voice became serious.
"You keep looking for enemies outside your house."
A pause.
"Your enemy has been sitting at your table."
Everyone became still.
Adrian's face changed.
"Who?"
Margaret looked toward the security monitor.
Then toward the hallway.
"I can't say it here."
Adrian's voice became colder.
"You will say it now."
Margaret shook her head.
"Because if I say the name, they will know I told you."
A strange fear appeared on her face.
The first real emotion she had shown.
Not fear of Adrian.
Fear of someone else.
Then the lights flickered.
Again.
The same way they had before.
Everyone turned.
The security screens turned on by themselves.
A live feed appeared.
The camera was inside Adrian's private office.
A room nobody entered without permission.
A room containing every secret Adrian Voss had ever collected.
And standing in front of his desk...
Was Lily.
Alone.
My blood ran cold.
Because Lily was supposed to be beside me.
She wasn't.
The last person to touch her hand was Margaret.
Adrian stepped toward the screen.
His voice dropped.
"Where is my daughter?"
Nobody answered.
Then the camera zoomed closer.
A second person appeared behind Lily.
Someone wearing a black coat.
Someone holding a small envelope.
May you like
And before the camera cut out, Lily looked directly into the lens and whispered one word.
"Mama..."
