Chapter 7: The Enemy Inside the House
The photograph on my phone felt heavier than paper.
Because it wasn’t just a picture.
It was a warning.
Someone had been inside the mansion.
Someone had been close enough to capture us while we were uncovering secrets that were supposed to stay buried.
And someone wanted me to know they were watching.
I stared at the image.
My own face looked back at me.
Confused.
Angry.
Searching.
Behind me, near the dark hallway, stood a shadow.
A person I couldn’t identify.
But the message was clear.
*YOUR FATHER WASN’T THE ONLY ONE WHO HAD A SECRET.*
I looked up.
“Everyone stay where you are.””
The words came naturally.
Old instincts.
The same instincts I had learned in the ring.
Always know your surroundings.
Always watch the exits.
Always assume danger is closer than you think.
Gabriel noticed.
“You think they’re still here?””
“Yes.””
The security team immediately moved.
Two guards checked the hallway.
Others moved through the ballroom.
My mother stayed beside me.
Her hand gripped my arm.
“Elias.””
I looked at her.
“I’m sorry.””
That hurt more than I expected.
Not because she said sorry.
Because she looked like she had been waiting years to say it.
“We’ll talk later.””
She nodded.
But I could see the fear in her eyes.
A mother’s fear.
Not for herself.
For me.
Gabriel approached.
“Show me the picture.””
I handed him my phone.
His expression changed as soon as he saw it.
“You recognize the location?””
I nodded.
“The hallway outside the records room.””
He looked toward the hallway.
“That area has cameras.””
“Then check them.””
His security team returned minutes later.
A woman in a black suit shook her head.
“Nothing.””
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed.
“Nothing?””
“No footage for the last twenty minutes.””
“Why?””
She hesitated.
“The system was disabled manually.””
My stomach tightened.
“By someone who knew your security.””
Gabriel looked at me.
“Yes.””
The answer was uncomfortable.
Because that meant the person wasn’t just dangerous.
They were familiar.
Someone with access.
Someone who knew how this mansion worked.
Victoria stood near the doorway, silent.
I noticed.
So did Gabriel.
“You.””
She looked at him.
“What?””
“You knew Adrian.””
Her face tightened.
“I told you what I know.””
“No.””
Gabriel stepped closer.
“You told me what you wanted me to know.””
Victoria’s expression changed.
“I’m not the enemy here.””
Nobody answered.
Because trust was already broken.
She looked at me.
“You think I’m lying.””
I stared at her.
“You humiliated me in front of sixty people.””
Her face fell.
“I know.””
“You treated my mother like she was nothing.””
“I know.””
“And now you expect me to believe you’re helping?””
Victoria looked down.
“I deserve that.””
The admission surprised me.
Because people like Victoria rarely admitted anything.
Then she whispered:
“But Adrian isn’t the only person you should fear.””
Gabriel immediately turned.
“What does that mean?””
Victoria looked nervous.
“He told me something.””
“What?””
“That someone close to you was feeding him information.””
The room went silent.
Gabriel’s expression hardened.
“Who?””
Victoria shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he never trusted anyone.””
She looked at me.
“He didn’t even trust me.””
That was difficult to believe.
Adrian Moretti sounded like someone who trusted nobody.
A man who controlled every move.
Every conversation.
Every outcome.
“Then why did he involve you?””
Victoria hesitated.
“He wanted me close to Gabriel.””
My eyes moved to Gabriel.
“Why?””
She swallowed.
“Because he thought Gabriel had something.””
“What?””
Victoria looked at the floor.
“A file.””
The room changed.
“What file?”” Gabriel asked.
Victoria shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“You’re lying.””
“I’m not.””
She looked at him.
“Adrian said it contained proof of what happened eleven years ago.””
My heart started beating faster.
“The fight?””
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.””
The fight.
The scandal.
The night my life ended.
The same night my father died.
The same night Gabriel had been there.
There was a connection.
I knew it.
“Where is the file?””
Victoria looked at me.
“I don’t know.””
Then she added:
“But Adrian believed your father hid it.””
My mother went pale.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
She whispered:
“No.””
I stepped toward her.
“Mom?””
She shook her head.
“No, no…”
“What is it?””
Her breathing became uneven.
For a moment, she looked like she was somewhere else.
Somewhere years ago.
Then she whispered:
“Your father left something behind.””
The room froze.
I stared.
“What?””
She closed her eyes.
“I lied.””
Those two words hurt more than anything else.
Not because she was hiding something.
Because she was admitting it.
“My father left something?””
She nodded.
“Before he died.””
“What?””
“A letter.””
My heartbeat increased.
“A letter?””
“Yes.””
“Where is it?””
She looked at me.
“I destroyed it.””
The silence that followed felt endless.
“You destroyed it?””
She nodded.
“I thought I was protecting you.””
I stepped back.
“Why would you do that?””
“Because of what it said.””
My voice lowered.
“What did it say?””
She looked toward Gabriel.
Then back at me.
“It said someone in the Moretti family was responsible for what happened to your father.””
Everyone went still.
“And you thought it was Gabriel?””
“No.””
The answer came instantly.
That surprised me.
My mother looked at Gabriel.
“I never believed Gabriel hurt him.””
Gabriel looked away.
“Then who?””
She didn’t answer.
Because she was afraid.
I had seen fear before.
Real fear.
Not the kind Victoria showed when she was caught.
Not the kind rich people showed when they lost control.
This was different.
This was the fear of someone who knew a truth could destroy everything.
“Mom.””
She whispered:
“Your father had one name written in that letter.””
My chest tightened.
“Whose?””
Before she could answer, the mansion alarm suddenly exploded.
Red lights flashed.
A security guard ran into the room.
“Mr. Moretti!””
Gabriel turned.
“What happened?””
“The underground garage.””
“What about it?””
The guard looked at me.
“There’s a vehicle registered to Elias Ward.””
My face changed.
“I don’t own a vehicle.””
The guard swallowed.
“That’s the problem.””
Everyone moved toward the garage.
I followed.
The underground area was silent.
Too silent.
A black sedan sat near the far wall.
Gabriel’s security team surrounded it.
A guard opened the door.
Inside was nothing.
No weapons.
No person.
Just a folder on the passenger seat.
My name was written on it.
Again.
Elias Ward.
I looked at Gabriel.
“Someone wants me to find these things.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
He stared at the folder.
“Because they’re controlling the order we discover them.””
I picked it up.
It was heavier than it looked.
Inside were documents.
Old photographs.
Records.
And one page on top.
A handwritten note.
My fingers shook as I read it.
*Elias,*
*If you are reading this, then I failed to protect you.*
My breathing stopped.
The handwriting.
I knew it.
I had seen it thousands of times.
On birthday cards.
On notes left beside my breakfast.
On the letters my father sent when I traveled for fights.
My father.
The page continued.
*There is one person you trust who knows the truth.*
I swallowed.
The next sentence was written darker.
Almost like the pen had been pressed into the paper.
*But that person is not your enemy.*
I frowned.
Then I turned the page.
Only one line was written.
One name.
And the moment I saw it, my entire understanding of my life shattered.
Because the name my father wrote was not Adrian.
Not Daniel.
Not Gabriel.
It was someone I had never suspected.
Someone standing in the same mansion with me.
Someone who had been protecting me for eleven years.
My hands went cold.
May you like
Because beneath the name was my father’s final warning:
*Do not trust the person who raised you.*
