CHAPTER 7 — THE ENEMY INSIDE THE FAMILY
The photograph remained open on Alexander Laurent’s computer screen for nearly an hour.
He didn’t move.
He didn’t blink.
He simply stared.
A woman he had mourned for fifteen years was looking back at him.
Isabelle.
His wife.
The mother of his son.
The woman everyone believed had disappeared after losing her child.
But the photograph proved one thing.
She had been alive.
And she had been somewhere in Paris.
For years.
Alexander slowly touched the screen.
His fingers trembled.
"How..."
His voice broke.
"How could you still be here?"
Behind him, Elena stood silently.
She had seen the photograph.
She had seen the pain on his face.
And she understood.
Because Isabelle wasn't just Alexander's lost wife.
She was Elena's sister.
The person Elena had spent fifteen years searching for.
The person she believed she had failed.
"Alexander..."
He turned.
His eyes were filled with anger and confusion.
"She was alive."
Elena nodded slowly.
"I know."
"All these years..."
He looked back at the photograph.
"All these years, I thought she was gone."
Silence.
Then Alexander asked the question neither of them wanted to answer.
"Why didn't she come back?"
Fifteen years ago.
After Adrian disappeared...
Isabelle became someone nobody recognized.
The woman who once filled rooms with laughter became a shadow.
She searched every day.
Every night.
She followed every rumor.
Every possible lead.
Until one night...
She discovered something terrifying.
The hospital records had been changed before Adrian disappeared.
Not after.
Before.
Someone had planned it.
Someone had known exactly what they were doing.
And then Isabelle found something worse.
A financial transfer.
A payment made to a hospital employee.
The sender?
A company connected to the Laurent family.
At first, Isabelle believed it was impossible.
Her own family?
Her husband's family?
But then she found another piece of evidence.
A signature.
Victoria Laurent.
That was the moment Isabelle understood.
The person who took her son wasn't a stranger.
It was someone sitting at her family table.
Back in the present...
Alexander stood up.
His expression changed.
The sadness disappeared.
Only determination remained.
"I need to find her."
Elena nodded.
"We will."
But before they could continue, Lucas appeared at the office door.
He had heard everything.
Especially one name.
Isabelle.
His mother.
"You found her?"
Everyone froze.
Alexander looked at him.
"Lucas..."
The boy stepped inside.
"You know where my mother is?"
Alexander didn't answer immediately.
Because he didn't know how to explain something so complicated to a child.
"We found a clue."
Lucas stared.
"Is she alive?"
The question was quiet.
But it carried fifteen years of waiting.
Alexander looked at Elena.
Then back at Lucas.
"We don't know."
Lucas lowered his eyes.
For a moment, he looked like the little boy from the street again.
The boy who expected everyone to leave.
"I knew it."
Alexander frowned.
"What?"
"My mother said people would stop looking."
Lucas touched his necklace.
"She said one day everyone would forget us."
Alexander felt his heart break.
Because he realized something.
Isabelle hadn't just been hiding.
She had been running.
Running from someone.
That afternoon, Alexander called an emergency meeting.
Every major member of the Laurent family was summoned.
The message was simple.
The missing heir has returned.
The announcement created chaos.
Some family members celebrated.
Others panicked.
Because Lucas's existence changed everything.
The Laurent inheritance.
The company structure.
The future of the empire.
Everything.
And nobody understood that better than Sebastian Laurent.
Alexander's younger brother.
The man who had spent years waiting for his chance to lead the family.
When he heard Lucas was alive...
His reaction was not joy.
It was fear.
Inside the Laurent boardroom...
Sebastian sat across from Alexander.
He forced a smile.
"This is incredible news."
Alexander watched him carefully.
"Is it?"
Sebastian laughed nervously.
"Of course."
"A missing child returning after fifteen years."
He leaned back.
"A miracle."
Alexander placed documents on the table.
"I want access to all family records from fifteen years ago."
Sebastian's smile disappeared.
"Why?"
"Because someone inside this family erased my son's identity."
The room became silent.
Sebastian looked uncomfortable.
"Alexander, are you accusing someone?"
"I am investigating."
"Your mother?"
Alexander looked directly at him.
"And anyone else involved."
That night...
Sebastian entered Victoria's private office.
She was sitting near the fireplace.
"You said he would never come back."
Victoria didn't look surprised.
"I said he would not return as heir."
Sebastian closed the door.
"You lied to me."
Victoria finally looked at him.
"You are emotional."
"Do you understand what happens if the truth comes out?"
Victoria smiled.
"The truth is whatever survives."
Sebastian lowered his voice.
"We need to get rid of him."
Victoria's expression became cold.
"No."
Sebastian looked confused.
"No?"
"The boy is not the problem."
"Then what is?"
Victoria looked toward the window.
"Alexander."
The next morning...
Lucas woke up to find something waiting outside his bedroom.
A small wooden box.
No name.
No message.
Only a symbol carved into the top.
The Laurent family crest.
Inside was an old letter.
His hands shook as he opened it.
The handwriting was familiar.
A handwriting he remembered from childhood.
His mother's.
Lucas,
If you are reading this, it means they finally found you.
His breathing stopped.
He continued.
I need you to know one thing.
Your father never abandoned you.
Lucas looked up.
Tears formed in his eyes.
He kept reading.
The people who took you wanted you to believe you were unwanted.
They wanted you to hate the name Laurent.
But your father searched for you every single day.
Lucas covered his mouth.
Because for fifteen years...
He believed nobody came.
Nobody looked.
Nobody cared.
But the letter told a different story.
There is one person you must never trust.
Lucas's hands tightened.
The next sentence was written darker.
As if Isabelle had pressed the pen harder.
Victoria Laurent.
Suddenly...
The bedroom door opened.
Alexander stood there.
He saw the letter.
He saw Lucas crying.
And he immediately understood.
"What happened?"
Lucas looked at him.
For the first time...
Not with suspicion.
Not with fear.
But with a question.
"Did you really look for me?"
Alexander's eyes filled.
"Every day."
"Even when you couldn't find me?"
"Especially then."
Lucas stared at him.
The room was silent.
Then slowly...
The boy stepped forward.
Not a hug.
Not yet.
But he reached out.
And grabbed Alexander's hand.
For Alexander Laurent...
That small gesture meant more than any billion-dollar success.
Because after fifteen years...
His son had finally allowed him close.
But across the city...
A woman watched the news report.
"The missing Laurent heir may have been found."
She turned off the television.
Her hands shook.
Because she knew the boy.
She knew the necklace.
She knew the truth.
And she knew Alexander was getting closer.
The woman looked at an old photograph.
A younger version of herself.
Holding baby Adrian.
Then she whispered:
"I'm sorry, Lucas."
A tear fell.
Because the woman everyone thought was gone...
Was still alive.
And she had been hiding for one reason.
May you like
To protect her son.
ISABELLE MOREAU WAS COMING HOME.
