Chapter 11 - The Closest Enemy
Chapter 11 - The Closest Enemy
The final message remained on the black screen.
"The real traitor is still standing beside you."
Nobody moved.
Nobody wanted to be the first person to speak.
Because every person in the room was suddenly questioning everyone else.
Trust had disappeared.
The billionaire father slowly turned around.
His eyes moved from one face to another.
Michael.
Claire.
The girlfriend.
Thomas.
The contractor.
Someone standing beside him had betrayed him.
Someone had known the truth.
Someone had helped create the nightmare that destroyed his family.
The father looked at Daniel.
The boy immediately grabbed his hand.
"Dad."
The father looked down.
"Who do you trust?"
Daniel hesitated.
That hesitation frightened him.
Because Daniel had survived by learning one thing.
Not everyone who smiled was safe.
The father lowered himself beside his son.
"You can tell me."
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
Then toward the hidden room.
Finally, he whispered:
"Someone always came back."
The father frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Daniel held the camcorder tighter.
"After everyone left."
"After the lights turned off."
"Someone came to talk to me."
The father felt his stomach tighten.
"Who?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I never saw their face."
The girlfriend suddenly spoke.
"He's lying."
Everyone turned.
The father looked at her.
"Why would he lie?"
She became quiet.
The father noticed.
Again.
She knew something.
He stepped toward her.
"You keep knowing things you shouldn't know."
The woman looked desperate.
"I was involved."
The room became silent.
The father stared.
She finally admitted it.
"I helped Michael."
Claire closed her eyes.
Thomas looked angry.
The father felt like the ground disappeared.
"Why?"
The girlfriend started crying.
"Because I was afraid."
The father laughed bitterly.
"Everyone says they were afraid."
"You all use fear as an excuse."
She shook her head.
"No."
"You don't understand."
"Michael didn't threaten me."
The father looked confused.
"Then who did?"
The girlfriend looked toward Daniel.
And whispered:
"The person behind everything."
Before anyone could ask another question, the mansion alarm suddenly activated.
A loud warning sound filled the house.
The contractor moved toward the window.
"Someone is outside."
Thomas checked his phone.
"Security cameras are offline."
The father immediately looked toward Daniel.
The boy was gone.
His heart stopped.
"Daniel?"
Nobody answered.
The father ran through the hallway.
"Daniel!"
He searched the hidden room.
Empty.
The kitchen.
Empty.
The stairs.
Empty.
Panic began replacing anger.
For seven years, he had lived with the nightmare of losing his son.
He could not lose him again.
Then he saw something.
A small trail of white dust.
Leading toward the old storage room.
The same room where Daniel had been hidden.
The father followed it.
The door was slightly open.
Inside was darkness.
"Daniel?"
A weak voice answered.
"Dad..."
The father rushed inside.
Daniel was standing in the corner.
But he wasn't alone.
Someone was behind him.
A hand rested on his shoulder.
The father froze.
The person stepped into the light.
And the father recognized him immediately.
A man from his past.
A man who was supposed to be in prison.
A man who had disappeared after the original investigation.
The father whispered his name.
"Victor."
Victor smiled.
"You finally found the truth."
The father moved in front of Daniel.
"What do you want?"
Victor looked around the room.
"I want what was always mine."
The father stared.
"Your company?"
Victor smiled.
"No."
He looked at Daniel.
"Your son's trust."
The father felt confused.
"What are you talking about?"
Victor reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old photograph.
A photograph of Daniel as a baby.
But someone else was standing beside him.
Someone the father had never seen before.
Victor handed it over.
"Your son was never just an heir."
The father looked at the picture.
"Then what was he?"
Victor leaned closer.
"The only person who knows where the original documents are hidden."
The father looked at Daniel.
The boy lowered his head.
The father felt a sudden fear.
"Daniel..."
The boy whispered:
"I didn't want to tell you."
The father looked shocked.
"What?"
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"Mom told me never to say it."
The room went silent.
The father slowly asked:
"Say what?"
Daniel looked at him.
"The night I disappeared..."
A pause.
"I saw who started everything."
The father stepped closer.
"Who?"
Daniel looked toward Victor.
Then toward Michael.
Then toward the woman who had betrayed them all.
And finally whispered:
"It was someone who was supposed to protect me."
The father felt his blood run cold.
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Because the truth he had searched for seven years...
Was about to destroy the last person he still wanted to believe in.
