Chapter 6 - The Man Who Wanted My Empire
The name left Lily’s mouth like a whisper.
But it hit the room like a gunshot.
"Marcus."
Nobody moved.
Not even Marcus.
My security chief stood near the kitchen entrance, his face completely frozen.
For twelve years, I had trusted that face.
I had trusted that man with my life.
With my company.
With my children.
And now my seven-year-old daughter, who had spent three years unable to speak, had just named him as the person who terrified her.
Emma immediately stepped away from him.
"Marcus?"
Her voice cracked.
"No..."
Marcus looked at Lily.
Not angry.
Not defensive.
Just shocked.
And that scared me more.
A guilty person usually reacted.
They shouted.
They denied.
They attacked.
Marcus looked like someone who had just watched a secret escape from a locked room.
I slowly raised my weapon.
"Don't move."
Marcus looked at me.
"Daniel..."
"Don't."
My voice stopped him.
Because he knew.
He knew there was no friendship left in that moment.
Only answers.
Thomas moved beside me.
His eyes never left Marcus.
"I told you someone close to him was involved."
I looked at him.
"You knew it was Marcus?"
"No."
Thomas shook his head.
"But I suspected."
My anger turned toward him.
"You suspected?"
Thomas remained calm.
"Daniel, three years ago, every person involved in Elena's investigation disappeared."
He glanced at Marcus.
"Except the person who always knew where everyone was."
Marcus looked at Thomas.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Thomas smiled slightly.
"That is exactly what you would say."
Marcus took a step back.
The security guards outside the room immediately raised their weapons.
He stopped.
But his eyes stayed on me.
"Daniel, you need to listen."
I laughed quietly.
"That is what everyone says right before they explain why they betrayed me."
"I didn't betray you."
"Lily says otherwise."
Marcus looked at my daughter.
And something changed in his face.
Regret.
Not guilt.
Regret.
That confused me.
Because for a moment...
He looked like someone who wished things had gone differently.
"What happened that night?" I asked.
Marcus looked away.
"Three years ago."
Nobody spoke.
"You were supposed to attend a private meeting."
I nodded.
"I remember."
"It was canceled."
"Yes."
"Because Elena called you."
My hand tightened around the weapon.
"How do you know that?"
Marcus didn't answer.
I already knew.
He knew because he had been watching.
"Continue."
Marcus swallowed.
"Elena told you not to leave the house."
I stared at him.
"She said she had something important to tell you."
A memory appeared.
A small moment I had forgotten.
Elena standing near the stairs.
Her hand on my arm.
Her eyes nervous.
"Daniel, please. Stay tonight."
I had laughed.
I told her I would be back in an hour.
I told her nothing could happen.
I told her I had security.
I told her I was protecting her.
But I left.
And that was the last time I saw her alive.
Or thought I did.
Marcus continued.
"Someone used your absence."
My eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
He looked at me.
"I don't know."
I almost pulled the trigger.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because it's true."
"No."
I stepped closer.
"Because everyone knows enough to hurt me, but nobody knows enough to save me."
Marcus looked down.
Then quietly said:
"Elena wasn't the target."
The room froze.
"What?"
He looked at Lily.
"Your daughter was."
Emma immediately moved in front of Lily.
"No."
Marcus shook his head.
"Not because of who she was."
"Then why?"
"Because of what she saw."
I looked at Lily.
My daughter's hands were shaking.
"What did she see?"
Marcus closed his eyes.
"She saw the person who ordered the attack."
My breathing stopped.
"Who?"
Marcus looked at me.
"I can't tell you."
The room went silent.
Not because he refused.
Because I understood.
He was afraid.
Marcus was not afraid of me.
He was afraid of someone else.
"Who are you protecting?"
He didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"You protected this person for three years?"
"No."
His voice became sharper.
"I protected your family."
I stared at him.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Marcus looked toward the hidden passage.
"Because the person who ordered Elena's death is still watching this house."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Watching?"
Marcus nodded.
"Someone has access to everything."
"The cameras?"
"Yes."
"The security?"
"Yes."
"My organization?"
"Yes."
I looked at Claire.
Thomas.
My children.
Everyone.
Then back at Marcus.
"How long?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Since before Elena died."
The answer hurt.
Because it meant my entire world had been compromised.
Not yesterday.
Not last month.
Years ago.
I turned toward the security cameras.
Every corner of the mansion.
Every room.
Every hallway.
Someone had been watching my family through my own systems.
"What is the end goal?"
Marcus looked at me.
"Your empire."
I frowned.
"That's impossible."
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"That was always the plan."
I stared at him.
"Explain."
Marcus took a breath.
"The person behind this doesn't want your company."
"Then what?"
"He wants everything your company controls."
The answer made no sense.
Until Thomas spoke.
"The information."
I looked at him.
"What information?"
Thomas looked at me.
"The same information Elena discovered."
Marcus nodded.
"Your organization isn't valuable because of money."
He looked around the mansion.
"It's valuable because of access."
My expression changed.
"Access to what?"
Nobody answered.
Because suddenly every person in the room understood.
My company was never just a company.
It was connections.
Private networks.
People.
Secrets.
And someone wanted control over all of it.
My phone vibrated.
Everyone looked.
A new message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
A picture appeared.
My old office.
The same office from the previous photo.
But this time there was someone else inside.
Not Elena.
Not the person wearing her ring.
A person standing behind the desk.
The message underneath was short.
"You are looking for the wrong traitor."
Then another message arrived.
A video file.
I pressed play.
The screen showed my office security camera.
The timestamp was three years old.
The night Elena disappeared.
I watched the footage.
The door opened.
A person entered.
Someone carrying Elena's bag.
Someone wearing my security uniform.
Someone who had access to every locked door in my mansion.
Then the camera turned toward the person's face.
And I saw who had been standing beside my family all along.
May you like
The video froze.
Because the final frame revealed the person I trusted most... walking into my wife's room that night.
