Chapter 7 - The Truth That Finally Set the Twins Free
The message remained on the phone screen for only a few seconds.
Then it disappeared.
The device shut down completely.
No warning.
No explanation.
Just a blank black screen reflecting Rory Starks’ face.
But the words stayed in his mind.
The person you trust most knows why.
Rory had spent his entire life understanding threats.
He knew how criminals operated.
He knew how enemies manipulated fear.
He knew how people lied when they had something to hide.
But this was different.
This was someone who knew him.
Someone who understood exactly where to hurt him.
Not his business.
Not his money.
Not his reputation.
His daughters.
Rory turned slowly toward the room.
Lily and Rose were still holding onto him.
Their small hands were wrapped tightly around his arms.
They were not looking at the dark hallway anymore.
They were looking at the adults.
Watching.
Waiting.
Children always noticed more than people believed.
And Rory realized something painful.
For eight weeks, everyone had been trying to explain their fear.
But nobody had asked what caused it.
Until now.
"Veronica."
She looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Take the girls upstairs."
The twins immediately grabbed his hand tighter.
"Daddy?"
Rory lowered himself to their level.
His voice softened.
"I need to talk to the adults."
Lily looked worried.
"Is the monster coming back?"
Rory felt his heart tighten.
He looked at the two little girls who had been terrified in their own room.
Then he made a promise.
Not as a mafia boss.
Not as a powerful man.
As their father.
"No."
He touched Lily's hair gently.
"The monster doesn't get to come back."
Rose looked at him.
"Promise?"
Rory nodded.
"I promise."
Veronica guided them upstairs.
But before leaving, she looked back at Rory.
She knew.
This was not finished.
Not even close.
Susan remained in the dining room.
She had not moved.
She sat at the table with both hands wrapped around a cup of untouched tea.
For the first time since Rory had known her, she looked vulnerable.
Not elegant.
Not controlled.
Not confident.
Just tired.
"You knew."
Rory stood across from her.
Susan looked down.
"Yes."
"How long?"
She closed her eyes.
"Since before the bear."
The answer hit harder than he expected.
Rory's expression darkened.
"Explain."
Susan looked toward the window.
"I found out someone was watching your family."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You expect me to believe that?"
She looked back at him.
"Yes."
Rory laughed quietly.
"You brought a surveillance device into my home."
"No."
Her voice became sharper.
"I brought the bear because I thought it would protect them."
Rory stopped.
"What?"
Susan swallowed.
"The device was already inside."
Silence.
Rory stared at her.
"What are you saying?"
Susan leaned forward.
"When I gave Lily and Rose the bear, it was normal."
Rory's eyes narrowed.
"Then how did it get inside?"
"I don't know."
She looked genuinely afraid.
"But a few weeks later, I noticed something strange."
"What?"
"The girls stopped sleeping."
Rory said nothing.
"I asked them why."
Susan's voice became quieter.
"They told me the bear was making a sound."
The same story.
The same fear.
The same warning.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Susan looked away.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of me?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"Of whoever did it."
Rory studied her.
Susan Thompson was many things.
Complicated.
Secretive.
Sometimes dishonest.
But he knew fear.
And she was afraid.
Really afraid.
"Who are you protecting?"
Susan remained silent.
That was the answer.
Rory stepped closer.
"Susan."
She looked at him.
"If someone is threatening my daughters, you don't get to stay quiet."
Her eyes filled slightly.
"I was trying to keep them alive."
The words changed everything.
Not because Rory believed her completely.
But because of the way she said them.
She wasn't defending herself.
She was admitting something.
She had been scared.
"Tell me everything."
Susan took a deep breath.
"Three months ago, I found documents."
"What documents?"
"Old Starks family records."
Rory frowned.
"From where?"
"Your father's estate."
The room became colder.
Rory's father had died years ago.
A complicated man.
A man who had built the foundation of the Starks empire.
A man who left behind many unanswered questions.
"What did the documents say?"
Susan hesitated.
"They mentioned someone inside the family."
"Who?"
"I never found out."
Rory stared at her.
"But someone wanted those documents."
"Yes."
"And the bear?"
Susan nodded.
"I think they were trying to find something."
Rory looked toward the ceiling.
Toward the nursery.
"They were watching my daughters."
Susan's face tightened.
"No."
She shook her head.
"They were watching you."
The words landed heavily.
Rory already suspected it.
But hearing it confirmed was different.
An hour later, Rory sat in his office with Veronica.
The old family records Susan mentioned were brought from storage.
Dust covered the boxes.
Years of history.
Years of secrets.
Rory opened the first folder.
Nothing.
The second.
Nothing.
Then the third.
A name appeared.
A name he knew.
A name that made his blood run cold.
"Marcus."
Veronica looked at him.
"What?"
Rory turned the page.
The documents contained financial records.
Private transactions.
Old agreements.
And one repeated name.
Marcus Hale.
His head of security.
The man who had protected him for eleven years.
The man who had access to everything.
The man who could enter the nursery.
The man who could erase camera footage.
The man who knew every weakness in the mansion.
Rory stared at the papers.
The truth was becoming clearer.
Marcus was not protecting him.
He was hiding something.
A noise came from outside the office.
Both Rory and Veronica looked up.
Someone was walking in the hallway.
Slow footsteps.
Rory immediately closed the folder.
The door opened.
Marcus stood there.
His face was serious.
"You found it."
Rory did not move.
"You knew."
Marcus looked at the documents.
"I knew you would eventually."
Veronica stepped forward.
"You put the device there?"
Marcus looked at her.
"No."
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
Rory noticed.
"Then explain."
Marcus entered the room.
He looked older than he had that morning.
Tired.
Broken.
"I was trying to stop it."
"Stop what?"
Marcus looked directly at Rory.
"The person who has been using your family against you."
Rory's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
Marcus hesitated.
Then he said:
"Someone you would never suspect."
The room became silent.
"Who?"
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
Then back at Rory.
"Your brother."
Rory froze.
The name he had not heard in years.
The person who disappeared from the Starks family.
The person everyone believed was gone forever.
"No."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"He's alive."
Rory felt the world shift.
Because suddenly, the teddy bear was not the beginning.
It was only a warning.
Someone had returned.
Someone who knew the Starks family better than anyone.
Someone who knew exactly how to break Rory.
Marcus lowered his voice.
"And he wants what your father left behind."
Rory looked at the documents.
The hidden device.
The destroyed trust.
The fear in his daughters' eyes.
Everything connected.
The nightmare was never about a toy.
The nightmare was about the past coming back.
May you like
And this time...
It had found his children.
