CHAPTER 11 The Enemy Who Was Family
CHAPTER 11 The Enemy Who Was Family
The underground room fell into complete silence.
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
Because everyone recognized the voice.
It was impossible.
Again.
Another person who should have been gone had returned.
Another secret had crawled out of the past.
Dr. Adrian Mercer slowly stepped aside.
The figure behind him walked into the dim light.
Theodore stared.
Rosalie covered her mouth.
Sebastian’s hand tightened around the weapon.
Because standing in front of them was someone they never expected to see again.
Eleanor Vale.
Alive.
But that was impossible.
Everyone knew Eleanor was standing behind them upstairs.
Everyone knew she had entered the old estate with them.
Or at least…
They thought they did.
Theodore looked around.
Confusion filled his face.
“How?”
The woman standing before them smiled.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
It was a smile full of confidence.
“Because you have spent your entire life believing whatever people told you.”
Sebastian looked toward the tunnel entrance.
Then back at Eleanor.
“What is this?”
The woman laughed softly.
“Still trying to understand everything at once.”
Rosalie stepped forward.
“You’re Eleanor.”
The woman tilted her head.
“Yes.”
“Then who is the person upstairs?”
Nobody answered.
Theodore suddenly understood.
His blood ran cold.
“Another lie.”
The real Eleanor stepped closer.
“I was never the enemy.”
Sebastian stared at her.
“You expect us to believe that?”
“I expect you to finally understand.”
She looked at Theodore.
“Your family has spent decades creating copies.”
Theodore frowned.
“Copies?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Identities.”
“People who could replace others.”
Rosalie looked disturbed.
“Why?”
Eleanor looked at Sebastian.
“Power.”
Dr. Mercer lowered his eyes.
Theodore looked at him.
“You knew.”
Mercer nodded.
“Yes.”
“How long?”
Mercer hesitated.
“Since before Rosalie was born.”
Theodore felt anger rise.
“You watched all of this happen?”
Mercer’s face showed regret.
“I tried to stop it.”
Rosalie looked at him.
“You put me in that coffin.”
Mercer closed his eyes.
“I know.”
Her voice shook.
“You killed me.”
“No.”
Mercer looked at her.
“I saved you.”
Everyone stared.
Mercer continued.
“The drug they gave you was designed to make doctors believe your heart had stopped.”
Theodore’s expression changed.
“What?”
Mercer nodded.
“Your body was still alive.”
“Then why declare me dead?”
“Because the person behind this needed everyone to believe you were gone.”
Rosalie stepped closer.
“Who?”
Mercer looked toward the fake Eleanor.
“She knows.”
The room turned toward Eleanor.
She remained calm.
Too calm.
“Rosalie discovered the truth.”
Theodore looked at his sister.
“What truth?”
Eleanor answered.
“The truth about the Vale bloodline.”
She walked toward the old documents.
“Your father spent years searching for the original family records.”
She picked up a file.
“He discovered the inheritance was stolen.”
Sebastian interrupted.
“We know this.”
“No.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“You know only part of it.”
She opened the file.
“The original Vale heir had two children.”
Theodore looked confused.
“So?”
“The older child disappeared.”
Eleanor looked at Sebastian.
“The younger child took the family name.”
A cold silence filled the room.
Sebastian understood first.
“No.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Yes.”
She looked at Theodore.
“The Vale family everyone knows today…”
She paused.
“Was built by someone who stole another person’s identity.”
Theodore looked at Sebastian.
The man who raised him.
The man who protected him.
The man who lied to him.
“Is that true?”
Sebastian did not answer.
Again.
Silence.
Theodore’s expression changed.
“Why does everyone keep choosing silence?”
Sebastian finally spoke.
“Because sometimes the truth destroys more than lies.”
Theodore shook his head.
“No.”
His voice became stronger.
“The truth only destroys people who built their lives on lies.”
Suddenly, the lights inside the underground room flickered.
A warning alarm started.
Daniel looked toward the control panel.
“Someone entered the main house.”
Sebastian turned.
“Who?”
Daniel checked the monitor.
His face changed.
“The fake Eleanor.”
Everyone froze.
Rosalie whispered:
“She followed us?”
Daniel nodded.
“But that’s not the worst part.”
He looked at the screen again.
“She isn’t alone.”
Theodore moved closer.
“Who is with her?”
Daniel turned the monitor.
A man appeared on the screen.
Older.
Wearing a dark suit.
Everyone became silent.
Alexander stepped forward.
“No.”
Theodore looked at him.
“You know him?”
Alexander’s face lost all color.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
Alexander whispered:
“Your grandfather’s closest advisor.”
Sebastian stared.
“That man died twenty years ago.”
Alexander shook his head.
“No.”
His voice became serious.
“He disappeared.”
Theodore looked at the screen.
Another impossible return.
Another person who was supposed to be gone.
“Who is he?”
Alexander answered:
“The man who taught my father how to control the Vale family.”
The door behind them suddenly locked.
Everyone turned.
Theodore grabbed the handle.
Nothing.
They were trapped.
A speaker hidden in the wall activated.
A familiar voice filled the room.
The fake Eleanor.
“You spent so much time searching for the enemy.”
A pause.
“But you never asked the most important question.”
Theodore looked toward the speaker.
“What question?”
The voice answered:
“Who started this?”
The room went silent.
Then the voice continued.
“Theodore…”
“Your mother did not disappear because someone wanted her gone.”
“She disappeared because she discovered the truth first.”
Isabella stepped forward.
Her face changed.
“No.”
The voice laughed.
“She knows.”
Theodore looked at his mother.
“Knows what?”
Isabella looked terrified.
Because for the first time…
She looked guilty.
The speaker continued.
“The person who began the war inside the Vale family…”
A pause.
Then:
“Was Isabella Vale.”
Everyone turned toward Theodore’s mother.
And Theodore realized something terrifying.
The biggest secret was not who betrayed the family.
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The biggest secret was why.
TO BE CONTINUED…
