CHAPTER 13: The Enemy Who Was Hiding in Plain Sight

The room fell silent.

Victor Blackwood’s final words echoed through the abandoned mansion.

“The person behind all of this is someone you’ve already met.”

Nobody moved.

Because everyone understood what that meant.

The enemy was not a stranger.

Not someone hiding in another country.

Not a faceless corporation.

The enemy had been close.

Watching.

Waiting.

Ethan stared at Victor.

“You expect us to believe you?”

Victor calmly looked at him.

“No.”

A pause.

“I expect you to find the truth.”

Noah stepped forward.

“You accused William.”

Victor glanced at him.

“Because William made mistakes.”

A pause.

“But mistakes are not always crimes.”

Sophia crossed her arms.

“Then who is the real enemy?”

Victor looked toward the dark hallway.

“The person who convinced everyone to fight each other.”

Emma felt a chill.

Because that was exactly what had happened.

For years…

The Blackwood family had been divided.

William against Margaret.

Noah against Ethan.

Ethan against his own family.

Emma against everyone.

Someone had benefited from their destruction.

Ryan examined the room.

“Where is the evidence?”

Victor smiled.

“You’re still thinking like a detective.”

Ryan looked at him.

“And you’re still thinking like a Blackwood.”

Victor laughed quietly.

“Good.”

A pause.

“You might actually survive.”

He walked toward an old bookshelf.

Removed a hidden book.

Inside was a small key.

“This belonged to your great-grandfather.”

Victor placed it on the table.

“The first Blackwood vault key.”

Ethan frowned.

“I thought the vault records were stolen.”

Victor nodded.

“They were.”

“Then why do you have the key?”

Victor looked at him.

“Because I was the one who stole them.”

Everyone became tense.

Emma stared.

“You admit it?”

Victor nodded.

“Yes.”

A pause.

“But I didn’t steal them to hide the truth.”

“I stole them to prevent someone else from destroying it.”

Ryan looked suspicious.

“Who?”

Victor answered:

“The Inner Circle.”

The name carried weight.

Because everyone now knew.

The Inner Circle was the shadow controlling the Blackwood empire.

Victor continued.

“They are not a family.”

“They are not loyal.”

“They are people who believe they own the world.”

Noah looked at him.

“And you were one of them.”

Victor didn’t deny it.

“Yes.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

“You worked with them?”

“I did.”

A pause.

“Until I discovered what they planned.”

Emma asked:

“What did they plan?”

Victor looked at her.

“To erase every person connected to the original inheritance.”

Everyone froze.

“Every heir?”

Victor nodded.

“Ethan.”

“Noah.”

“Sophia.”

His eyes moved toward Emma.

“And you.”

Emma felt her stomach tighten.

“Why me?”

Victor answered:

“Because your father found the final document.”

The room became quiet.

“The final document?”

Victor nodded.

“The document proving who truly created the Blackwood empire.”

Ryan frowned.

“William?”

Victor shook his head.

“No.”

A pause.

“Daniel Carter.”

Emma froze.

“My father?”

Victor nodded.

“Your father discovered the original agreement.”

Ethan looked confused.

“But why would my father trust Emma’s father?”

Victor looked at him.

“Because Daniel was the only person who didn’t want the empire.”

Those words stayed in the air.

Everyone wanted the Blackwood fortune.

Everyone wanted control.

But Daniel Carter wanted something else.

Justice.

Victor continued.

“He believed the empire should not belong to whoever was strongest.”

A pause.

“It should belong to whoever protected the truth.”

Emma looked at the key.

“And my father hid the evidence?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

Victor looked at her.

“Inside the one place nobody could search.”

Emma touched her necklace.

Again.

The memory chip.

The hidden key.

The secrets.

Everything was connected.

Suddenly…

A loud explosion shook the mansion.

The windows shattered.

Everyone dropped down.

“Get down!”

Ryan shouted.

Smoke filled the room.

Someone had attacked the property.

Ethan grabbed Emma’s hand.

“Are you hurt?”

She shook her head.

“No.”

Noah helped Sophia stand.

Victor looked toward the broken window.

His expression changed.

“They found us.”

Ryan pulled out his phone.

“No signal.”

Victor nodded.

“Of course.”

Ethan looked at him.

“Who attacked us?”

Victor didn’t answer immediately.

Then he said:

“The Inner Circle.”

Footsteps echoed outside.

Multiple people.

Armed.

Moving closer.

Emma looked around.

“We’re trapped.”

Victor shook his head.

“No.”

Everyone looked at him.

“They think we are.”

He walked toward the fireplace.

Pressed a hidden button.

A wall opened.

Behind it was a secret passage.

Sophia stared.

“You knew this was here?”

Victor smiled.

“I built half of this house.”

Everyone entered the passage.

But before Ethan followed…

He stopped.

He looked at Victor.

“Why are you helping us?”

Victor looked at him.

For the first time…

The arrogance disappeared.

Only regret remained.

“Because I spent twenty years protecting the wrong people.”

A pause.

“And I’m tired of being the reason good people suffer.”

They escaped through the underground tunnel.

But they didn’t realize…

Someone had already infiltrated the passage.

Deep underground…

A figure watched them through a hidden camera.

The person smiled.

“They found Victor.”

A pause.

“Good.”

Another voice asked:

“What now?”

The figure answered:

“Now we take the one thing they need.”

“The girl?”

“No.”

A pause.

“The truth.”

Back in the tunnel…

Emma suddenly stopped.

Everyone turned.

“What happened?”

She looked down.

The necklace around her neck had opened.

The memory chip inside had started flashing.

Ryan checked it.

“There’s a new file.”

Ethan looked confused.

“There wasn’t before.”

Emma touched the necklace.

“My father created it.”

Ryan opened the file.

A video appeared.

Daniel Carter.

But this video was different.

Daniel looked terrified.

“Emma…”

His voice shook.

“If you are watching this, then they have found the heirs.”

He looked behind him.

Like someone was coming.

“There is one thing I never told you.”

Emma held her breath.

“The person who ordered my disappearance…”

Daniel paused.

“Was not Margaret.”

Everyone froze.

“It was someone who had access to every Blackwood decision.”

A shadow appeared behind Daniel.

Then Daniel whispered:

“The person you call family.”

The video cut.

The screen displayed one final image.

A childhood photograph of Ethan.

Standing beside someone.

Someone Emma knew.

The person’s face was circled.

Ethan stared.

His blood turned cold.

“No…”

Because the person in the photograph was the one person he never suspected.

Claire Blackwood.

The woman who had pretended to be his family.

The woman who claimed Emma attacked her.

The woman who started the entire chain of events.

But the question remained…

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Was Claire really the mastermind?

Or was she just another victim?