Chapter 5 - The Enemy Inside The Family
The photograph remained on the table for almost an hour.
Nobody touched it.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone in the room understood what it meant.
This was no longer a warning.
It was a declaration.
Someone had crossed a line.
Simon Gambino stood silently beside the table, staring at the image of Natasha taken outside her apartment.
The picture was not blurry.
It was not random.
Whoever took it wanted him to know one thing.
They had been watching.
They had access.
They were close.
Too close.
Natasha watched Simon carefully.
She had seen anger before.
Everyone had.
But this was different.
Simon was not shouting.
He was not threatening anyone.
He was completely still.
And somehow, that was more frightening.
“Simon.”
He did not answer.
“Simon.”
Finally, his eyes moved toward her.
“What?”
She pointed toward the photograph.
“Whoever did this wants a reaction.”
His expression remained cold.
“Yes.”
“So don’t give them one.”
For a moment, the guards in the room looked shocked.
Nobody spoke to Simon Gambino like that.
Nobody told him what to do.
But Simon did not get angry.
Instead, he looked at Natasha.
“You think I should ignore a threat?”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I think you should think before you act.”
The room became silent.
Because everyone expected Simon to reject the idea.
But he didn’t.
He looked back at the photograph.
Then slowly nodded.
“You sound like Elena.”
Natasha frowned.
“Your wife?”
“Yes.”
A quiet sadness entered his voice.
“She always told me my first instinct was to destroy the problem.”
He paused.
“And sometimes I destroyed things that didn’t need to be destroyed.”
Natasha looked at him.
“Was she the only person who could stop you?”
Simon looked toward the hallway where his sons were sleeping.
“No.”
A pause.
“She was the only person who tried.”
Those words carried more pain than anger.
Later that night, the penthouse became a fortress.
Security doubled.
Every entrance was checked.
Every employee was investigated.
Every camera was reviewed.
But Natasha noticed something.
Simon did not leave.
Usually, after something like this happened, someone like him would disappear into a meeting.
He would make calls.
Give orders.
Handle the situation.
Instead, he stayed.
Sitting beside his sons.
Watching them sleep.
Natasha stood quietly near the doorway.
“You don’t trust anyone.”
Simon looked up.
“No.”
“Not even your own security?”
“No.”
“Why?”
He looked back at the children.
“Because Elena trusted someone.”
Natasha became quiet.
“What happened?”
Simon’s jaw tightened.
“She trusted people inside our home.”
The answer was enough.
Natasha understood.
The danger was not an enemy outside the walls.
It was someone who had already been invited in.
The next morning, Natasha began reviewing everything about the twins.
Their schedule.
Their medical history.
Their reactions.
Their environment.
She noticed patterns.
Small things.
Things other people ignored.
The twins reacted badly to sudden sounds.
Bright lights.
Unexpected changes.
But they also reacted positively to familiar rhythms.
Consistency.
Calm voices.
Gentle movement.
“They need stability,” Natasha explained to Simon while they sat in the nursery.
Simon listened carefully.
“They lost their mother.”
“Yes.”
“And now everything around them keeps changing.”
Simon looked down.
“I hired different specialists.”
“I know.”
“Different nannies.”
“I know.”
His expression changed.
“You think that made it worse?”
Natasha chose her words carefully.
“I think they experienced too many people trying to fix them.”
Simon looked at the twins.
“They weren’t broken.”
“No.”
She smiled slightly.
“They were just scared.”
That sentence stayed with him.
Because maybe Simon had spent months believing something was wrong with his children.
Maybe he had forgotten they were grieving.
Just like him.
That afternoon, Simon received a message.
One sentence.
We found the person who accessed the nursery records.
Within minutes, Simon was gone.
Natasha watched from the hallway as his security team moved quickly.
She knew that look.
The situation had changed.
“Where is he going?”
One guard answered carefully.
“To speak with someone.”
“Who?”
The guard hesitated.
Then:
“Someone who worked for the family.”
That answer bothered Natasha.
Because Simon had said something important before.
Someone inside the home.
Someone trusted.
An hour later, Simon returned.
But this time, he looked different.
Not angry.
Hurt.
Natasha immediately noticed.
“What happened?”
Simon placed a folder on the table.
Inside were documents.
Employee records.
Security reports.
And one name circled in red.
“Marcus Vale.”
Natasha looked at him.
“Who is he?”
Simon sat down slowly.
“He worked for me for twelve years.”
“Security?”
“No.”
Simon looked at the papers.
“Family advisor.”
The words felt heavier.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
“Did he plant the device?”
Simon shook his head.
“We don’t know.”
“But you think he did.”
A long silence.
Then:
“I don’t want to.”
That answer surprised her.
Because Natasha expected certainty.
She expected revenge.
Instead, she saw something else.
Betrayal.
“You trusted him.”
“Yes.”
“Like you trusted Elena’s people.”
Simon looked away.
“Yes.”
Natasha sat across from him.
“What if he isn’t the person?”
Simon looked at her.
“What?”
“What if someone wants you to believe it’s him?”
Simon studied her.
“You think someone is framing him?”
“I think whoever did this knows you.”
She continued.
“They know how you think. They know who you trust. They know what will hurt you.”
Simon became silent.
Because she was right.
The enemy was not only attacking his family.
They were manipulating him.
That night, Natasha woke up because she heard crying.
Not the twins.
A different sound.
She stepped into the hallway.
The lights were dim.
The penthouse was quiet.
Then she saw Simon.
Sitting in the nursery.
Holding one of his sons.
No security.
No guards.
No intimidating presence.
Just a father.
Natasha stood at the doorway.
“You should sleep.”
Simon looked up.
“I don’t sleep much.”
“Why?”
He looked down at the baby.
“Because every time I close my eyes, I remember the night Elena died.”
Natasha didn’t speak.
“She called me that night.”
Her expression changed.
“She called you?”
“Yes.”
“Did you answer?”
Silence.
That silence told her everything.
Simon looked away.
“No.”
The room became painfully quiet.
“Why?”
His voice was barely audible.
“Because we argued earlier.”
Natasha understood.
A missed call.
A final chance.
A memory that could never be changed.
“She called three times.”
Simon swallowed.
“I ignored all three.”
Natasha felt the pain behind those words.
Not the pain of a powerful man.
The pain of someone who would replay one decision for the rest of his life.
“I thought I had more time.”
Those words broke something.
Because everyone thought they had more time.
Until they didn’t.
Natasha walked closer.
“You can’t punish yourself forever.”
Simon gave a quiet laugh.
“You don’t know me.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“But I know your sons need their father.”
Simon looked down.
The baby’s tiny hand held onto his finger.
A small reminder.
A reason to keep going.
The next morning, a new piece of information arrived.
The security team found something hidden in Marcus Vale’s office.
A file.
Old documents.
And one shocking discovery.
A letter written by Elena.
A letter Simon had never seen.
When Simon opened it, his hands became completely still.
Because the first sentence changed everything.
Simon, if anything happens to me, the person you trust most may be the one you should fear.
Natasha watched his expression change.
The past had returned.
The mystery surrounding Elena’s death was not over.
It was only beginning.
And now Simon Gambino had to face the one possibility he feared most.
May you like
The person who destroyed his family…
Might have been standing beside him all along.
