Chapter 10 - The Enemy Within
Charlotte Vale had spent years searching for the person who destroyed her family.
She thought it was Adrian Cross.
Then she discovered Adrian was only a servant.
She thought the battle was about ownership.
Then she discovered the Solmere Empire was only a piece of something much larger.
Now she understood the most dangerous truth of all.
The enemy was not outside the walls.
The enemy was already inside.
Charlotte stared at the message on her phone.
You finally found your father. Now find the person who betrayed you.
The words felt like a warning.
Not a threat.
Someone wanted her to discover something.
Someone wanted her to keep digging.
But why?
Charlotte looked around the hidden archive.
Her father.
Daniel Reeves.
Ethan.
Three people who knew secrets about her family.
Three people who had reasons to hide the truth.
And one of them had leaked her documents.
She turned toward Ethan.
“How long have you known about my father?”
Ethan looked surprised.
“I didn’t.”
Charlotte studied his reaction.
He was nervous.
But not guilty.
“You accessed the files before sending them.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
Charlotte’s eyes narrowed.
“Protect me?”
Ethan nodded.
“The documents were dangerous.”
“Dangerous enough to hide?”
“No.”
He looked at Richard.
“Dangerous enough that someone would kill to erase them.”
Richard remained silent.
Charlotte noticed.
Her father was hiding something.
Again.
“Everyone keeps protecting me by lying to me.”
Nobody answered.
Because they knew she was right.
The next morning, Charlotte returned to Solmere headquarters.
But this time, she did not go to the executive floor.
She went somewhere nobody expected.
The employee archives.
The place where years of company history were stored.
Adrian had controlled executives.
But Charlotte believed the truth was hidden with the people who were ignored.
The employees.
The assistants.
The people who saw everything.
She found an old employee directory.
Then she searched one name.
Maria Bennett.
Former financial assistant to Richard Vale.
Status:
Missing.
Charlotte frowned.
Another disappearance.
Another person erased.
She searched deeper.
Maria Bennett had worked directly with her mother before disappearing three days after Richard Vale’s accident.
Charlotte printed the file.
Then she noticed something.
A handwritten note attached to the document.
"She knew the truth about the transfer."
Charlotte froze.
The transfer.
The ownership transfer Adrian claimed was legal.
The document that supposedly removed Charlotte from control.
Someone had known it was fake.
Someone had tried to expose it.
And that person vanished.
Meanwhile, across the city...
Adrian Cross entered a private office beneath an old financial building.
No cameras.
No records.
No employees.
Only one person waited.
A man sitting in the shadows.
“You failed.”
Adrian remained silent.
The man continued.
“She found the archive.”
Adrian looked down.
“She was always smarter than expected.”
A cold laugh filled the room.
“Smart?”
The man leaned forward.
“She is emotional.”
“She is angry.”
“She thinks this is about revenge.”
Adrian looked up.
“What do you want me to do?”
The man smiled.
“Give her what she wants.”
Adrian frowned.
“Meaning?”
“Let her believe she is winning.”
A pause.
“People become careless when they think they have power.”
Adrian understood.
“You want her to expose herself.”
“Yes.”
The man stood.
“And when she finds the final truth…”
He looked at Adrian.
“We end this.”
That night, Charlotte received another message.
A location.
A time.
And one sentence.
Come alone if you want the truth about your mother.
Charlotte stared at the screen.
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“You don’t even know who sent it.”
“I know enough.”
“This could be our only chance.”
“It could be a trap.”
Charlotte looked at the old files.
The missing people.
The lies.
The secrets.
Then she said:
“Everything has been a trap.”
A pause.
“But I am tired of running from them.”
Richard looked at his daughter.
For the first time, he saw something different.
Not the child he left behind.
A woman.
A fighter.
Someone who had survived everything they threw at her.
“I’m coming with you.”
Charlotte shook her head.
“No.”
“Charlotte.”
“If someone wants me alone, I go alone.”
Richard looked worried.
“That is exactly what they want.”
Charlotte picked up her coat.
“Maybe.”
She looked back.
“But sometimes…”
A pause.
“You have to walk into the darkness to find who is holding the knife.”
The meeting location was an abandoned train station.
Empty.
Cold.
Silent.
Charlotte walked through the darkness.
Then she heard footsteps.
A woman appeared.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
Charlotte recognized her immediately.
“Maria Bennett.”
The woman stopped.
“You know my name?”
Charlotte stepped closer.
“You were my mother’s assistant.”
Maria’s eyes filled with tears.
“She would be proud of you.”
Charlotte froze.
“You knew my mother?”
“I loved your mother.”
A pause.
“And I failed her.”
Charlotte’s expression hardened.
“What happened?”
Maria looked around.
“They killed the wrong person.”
Charlotte frowned.
“What?”
Maria whispered:
“Your mother was not the target.”
A cold feeling moved through Charlotte.
“Then who was?”
Maria looked directly at her.
“You.”
Before Charlotte could answer...
a gunshot echoed through the station.
Maria collapsed.
Charlotte dropped beside her.
“Maria!”
Blood spread across Maria’s clothes.
With her final strength, Maria grabbed Charlotte’s hand.
“The person behind everything…”
She struggled to breathe.
“Is closer than you think.”
Then she whispered one final name.
A name Charlotte never expected.
“Your mother’s closest friend…”
Maria’s eyes closed.
Charlotte looked into the darkness.
Someone had been watching.
Someone had fired the shot.
And someone had just confirmed the truth.
May you like
The conspiracy was not created after her mother’s death.
It began before it.
