CHAPTER 4: THE FILE HIDDEN INSIDE THE WALL
CHAPTER 4: THE FILE HIDDEN INSIDE THE WALL
I spent the next thirty minutes pretending everything was normal.
That was the hardest part.
Not the fear.
Not the suspicion.
Not even the possibility that someone had been secretly harming me.
The hardest part was smiling while the world around me celebrated a lie.
I shook hands with investors.
I thanked old friends.
I accepted congratulations from people who had no idea they were standing inside a nightmare.
Every person who approached me saw the same thing.
A successful man.
A beautiful fiancée.
A perfect engagement party.
Nobody saw the questions running through my mind.
Who was poisoning me?
Who had access to my food?
Who had used my security code?
And why was everyone around me suddenly hiding something?
I watched Vanessa from across the ballroom.
She moved effortlessly through the crowd.
She laughed at the right moments.
She touched people’s shoulders.
She remembered every guest’s name.
She was exactly the kind of person people admired.
That was what scared me most.
Danger rarely looked dangerous.
Sometimes danger wore a designer dress and smiled for cameras.
I walked toward the bar and ordered a drink.
The bartender immediately recognized me.
“Mr. Mercer, your usual?”
I paused.
“My usual?”
He nodded.
“Ms. Hale asked us to prepare it tonight.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of the counter.
“What exactly did she ask for?”
The bartender looked confused.
“Just your favorite bourbon.”
I smiled.
“Of course.”
He poured the drink.
I didn’t touch it.
Instead, I watched him carefully.
Nothing happened.
No strange movements.
No obvious signs.
That was the problem.
Whoever was behind this was not careless.
They were patient.
A few minutes later, my phone vibrated.
Another message.
Unknown number.
“You are looking in the wrong direction.”
I stared at the screen.
A second message arrived.
“Ethan did not disable the cameras.”
My heart stopped.
I immediately looked toward the security hallway.
How did this person know what I discovered?
I typed quickly.
Who are you?
The reply came instantly.
“Someone who tried to warn you before tonight.”
I frowned.
Why should I trust you?
A few seconds passed.
Then:
“Because I know what happened to your father.”
Everything around me seemed to disappear.
My father.
A subject nobody mentioned.
A subject I avoided.
A subject that still haunted me after fifteen years.
My father, Richard Mercer, died when I was twenty-one.
Officially, it was an accident.
A car crash on a rainy highway.
That was the story everyone accepted.
But I never did.
Because my father had been days away from exposing corruption inside his company.
And then he died.
The investigation ended quickly.
Too quickly.
I had buried the questions.
I had focused on rebuilding.
I created Mercer Ridge Technologies from nothing.
I convinced myself the past was finished.
But now someone was dragging it back into my life.
I looked at the message again.
Before I could respond, someone spoke behind me.
“Having a difficult evening?”
I turned.
Vanessa.
She was standing there holding her champagne glass.
Her expression was gentle.
Too gentle.
“I’m fine.”
She smiled.
“You always say that.”
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
She stepped closer.
“You said that when your father died.”
My entire body froze.
Vanessa had never talked about my father like that.
Not once.
“How do you know that?”
For the first time, her confidence disappeared.
Only for a second.
Then she recovered.
“You told me.”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
“I didn’t.”
A strange silence formed between us.
Vanessa looked away.
“You probably forgot.”
I studied her face.
I never forgot anything about my father.
Especially not conversations about him.
My phone vibrated again.
I didn’t look.
I already knew.
Someone was watching.
Vanessa noticed my reaction.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
She smiled.
“Another work issue?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
But I saw it.
Suspicion.
She knew something was wrong.
Before she could question me, Nora appeared near the doorway.
She looked terrified.
I excused myself and followed her.
“What happened?”
Nora glanced behind her.
“She knows.”
“Who?”
“Ms. Hale.”
My stomach tightened.
“What does she know?”
Nora lowered her voice.
“She knows Lily talked to you.”
I looked toward the ballroom.
“How?”
“She found the stuffed rabbit.”
I frowned.
“The rabbit?”
Nora nodded.
“She hid something inside it.”
My eyes widened.
“What?”
Nora looked around carefully.
“Lily found it in Ms. Hale’s office.”
My mind raced.
“What was inside?”
Nora hesitated.
Then she reached into her pocket.
She pulled out a small piece of paper.
“I took this before she could find it.”
I unfolded it.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
But the words were clear.
Subject: Alexander Mercer
Progress: Symptoms increasing.
Hearing damage continues as expected.
Estimated timeline: Six to eight weeks.
My hands began to shake.
I read the words again.
And again.
Because I needed my brain to accept what my eyes were seeing.
This wasn’t an accident.
This wasn’t stress.
This wasn’t a mystery illness.
Someone had been monitoring my condition.
Someone had been waiting.
I looked at Nora.
“Where did you get this?”
“From Lily’s rabbit.”
“Why was it there?”
Nora’s face turned pale.
“Because Lily saw Ms. Hale put it there.”
I looked back at the paper.
The words felt impossible.
Symptoms increasing.
Estimated timeline.
This was not someone trying to hurt me randomly.
This was a plan.
A carefully calculated plan.
Then another thought entered my mind.
The most terrifying thought.
Vanessa wasn’t trying to kill me.
Not yet.
She was trying to control the timing.
I folded the paper and put it in my pocket.
“Does anyone else know about this?”
Nora shook her head.
“No.”
“Good.”
She looked at me.
“What are you going to do?”
I looked through the doorway.
Vanessa was standing in the ballroom.
Watching me.
Smiling.
Waiting.
I smiled back.
“Nothing.”
Nora looked confused.
“Nothing?”
I nodded.
“Not tonight.”
Because whoever was behind this believed they were winning.
They believed I was weak.
They believed I was blind.
They believed they had control.
And I had learned something during my years building an empire.
Never reveal your next move to your enemy.
I walked back into the party.
I took Vanessa’s hand.
The crowd applauded.
She smiled proudly.
And I smiled too.
But inside, I made a promise.
I would find the truth.
I would uncover every secret.
May you like
And whoever had been slowly destroying my life…
Would finally learn what happens when they underestimate the wrong person.
