CHAPTER 7 — THE MAN WHO BETRAYED ELENA
CHAPTER 7 — THE MAN WHO BETRAYED ELENA
The video continued playing.
Elena couldn’t look away.
She wanted to believe her eyes were wrong.
She wanted to believe the person standing behind Lily was someone else.
Someone wearing Daniel’s face.
Someone pretending to be the man she loved.
But the truth was right there.
The same dark hair.
The same voice.
The same watch on his wrist.
Daniel Cross was standing behind the missing girl.
The girl Elena had promised to protect.
The girl who had trusted her.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
The only sound was the rain hitting the mansion windows.
Elena slowly lowered the phone.
Her hands were trembling.
“Tell me this isn’t real.”
Daniel said nothing.
That silence hurt more than any confession.
Elena stepped backward.
“Tell me.”
Her voice cracked.
“Tell me you didn’t take her.”
Daniel finally looked at her.
His expression was filled with regret.
“I didn’t hurt her.”
Elena stared at him.
“That’s your answer?”
“You didn’t hurt her?”
“She was kidnapped.”
“She was trapped for eight years.”
“And now she is gone again.”
Daniel swallowed.
“I was trying to keep her alive.”
Elena felt anger rise inside her.
“Alive?”
“You call this alive?”
She pointed at the screen.
“She is terrified.”
“She thinks nobody will save her.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Because she knows the truth.”
Elena froze.
“What truth?”
Daniel looked toward Marcus.
Then toward the hidden room.
“The truth that will destroy everyone.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“You knew.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Yes.”
“You knew what happened to Claire.”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Marcus’s face hardened.
“You helped them.”
“No.”
Daniel’s voice became defensive.
“I stopped something worse from happening.”
Elena looked between them.
She felt trapped between two people who knew more than they had ever told her.
“Enough.”
Both men turned toward her.
“I’m done hearing half-truths.”
Her eyes locked onto Daniel.
“You have five minutes.”
“Tell me everything.”
Daniel stayed silent.
“Or I call the police.”
A painful expression crossed his face.
Then he nodded.
“Eight years ago, Claire discovered Victor wasn’t just hiding money.”
Elena listened carefully.
“He was hiding people.”
The words made her stomach tighten.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel looked at the floor.
“People who knew too much.”
Elena thought of Lily.
Her missing sister.
The hidden rooms.
The secret documents.
Everything connected.
“Who was the first person who disappeared?”
Daniel looked at her.
“Amelia.”
Elena’s heart stopped.
Her sister’s name sounded different coming from him.
Real.
Dangerous.
“She found evidence against Victor.”
“She tried to expose him.”
“But before she could go public…”
Daniel paused.
“She vanished.”
Elena whispered:
“And Claire?”
“She found out Amelia was connected to the case.”
“She started searching for answers.”
“She found Lily’s hidden room.”
Elena looked confused.
“Wait.”
“If Claire knew Lily was alive, why didn’t she rescue her?”
Daniel’s face became full of pain.
“Because she tried.”
“And that’s why she disappeared.”
The room went silent.
Elena felt a cold wave move through her.
“Someone stopped her.”
Daniel nodded.
“Someone inside the family.”
Before Elena could respond, Marcus suddenly looked toward the hallway.
“Someone is coming.”
Everyone became alert.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Confident.
Not rushed.
Someone who wasn’t afraid.
The library door opened.
Victor Hawthorne stood there.
But something was different.
The powerful billionaire who controlled rooms with a single look was gone.
He looked exhausted.
Broken.
“You need to stop searching.”
Elena stared at him.
“Where is Lily?”
Victor didn’t answer.
“Where is my sister?”
Still no answer.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Victor.”
The billionaire looked at him.
“You failed.”
Daniel’s face changed.
Elena noticed.
Failed?
What did that mean?
Victor walked closer.
“You were supposed to keep Elena away from this.”
Elena’s eyes widened.
She looked at Daniel.
“You were assigned to me?”
Daniel looked devastated.
“Elena…”
“No.”
She backed away.
“Was our relationship just another part of your plan?”
Daniel didn’t respond.
And that answer destroyed whatever hope she had left.
Victor looked at Elena.
“You think you uncovered a secret.”
“You think you are chasing the truth.”
“But you don’t understand.”
“What?”
Victor’s expression turned cold.
“You were brought into this mansion because someone needed you here.”
Elena frowned.
“Who?”
Victor looked toward the phone still showing Lily’s video.
Then he said something impossible.
“Claire.”
Elena froze.
“Claire brought me here?”
Victor nodded.
“She knew only you could finish what she started.”
Elena felt confused.
Angry.
Terrified.
“Where is she?”
Victor looked at her.
For the first time, there was sadness in his eyes.
“She is closer than you think.”
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A phone ringing.
Everyone looked toward the table.
It was Lily’s necklace.
The small heart pendant Elena had taken from the girl earlier.
Except now…
It was ringing.
Elena slowly picked it up.
A hidden device inside the pendant had activated.
A voice came through the speaker.
A voice Elena had never heard before.
But one everyone else recognized.
Claire Hawthorne.
“Elena…”
The voice was weak.
Broken.
“Please forgive me.”
Elena held her breath.
Then Claire whispered:
“I never wanted you to find Lily.”
“I needed you to find the person who trapped her.”
A pause.
Then the final words came.
“And that person…”
“…is not Victor.”
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“It’s someone you trust.”
The signal cut out.
Elena looked around the room.
At Victor.
At Marcus.
At Daniel.
And suddenly she understood.
The person behind everything was still hiding among them.
Watching.
Waiting.
May you like
And Elena had no idea who to believe anymore.
TO BE CONTINUED — CHAPTER 8: THE ENEMY INSIDE THE FAMILY
