Chapter 9: The Enemy Behind The Enemy
The document in my hand was dated two weeks before the engagement party.
Daniel had signed a confidential agreement.
A protection agreement.
I looked at him.
“Why didn’t you show me this before?””
His eyes dropped.
“Because I was ashamed.””
I almost laughed.
“Shame came after?””
He accepted that.
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
For the first time in months, Daniel wasn’t trying to defend himself.
He was admitting what he had done.
“I thought Vanessa could help me become someone bigger.””
He swallowed.
“I thought you saw me as your assistant.””
That sentence hurt.
Because it explained everything.
Daniel wasn’t chasing money.
He was chasing importance.
And Vanessa knew exactly how to manipulate that.
“What did she plan?””
He sat down.
“Ethan and Vanessa wanted control of the company because they were hiding massive debts.””
I looked at the document.
“They wanted Whitmore Dynamics?””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“They wanted the contracts.””
I frowned.
“What contracts?””
“The government contracts we secured last year.””
My stomach tightened.
“Why?””
“Because those contracts could cover their losses.””
I understood.
They weren’t building something.
They were escaping something.
Daniel continued.
“When Vanessa approached me, she told me she wanted to rebuild the company.””
I looked at him.
“And you believed her.””
“Yes.””
A painful pause.
“Until I found the financial reports.””
My phone buzzed.
Rachel.
I answered.
“Claire.””
Her voice was urgent.
“You need to come to the office.””
“What happened?””
“We found Ethan.””
I stood.
“Where?””
“He’s gone.””
I froze.
“What do you mean gone?””
“His accounts were emptied. His properties were transferred. And there’s something else.””
“What?””
Rachel hesitated.
“The documents Vanessa used against you were fake.””
I looked at Daniel.
“What documents?””
“The ones claiming your ownership was questionable.””
My mind raced.
“Who created them?””
A pause.
Then Rachel said:
“Daniel’s old attorney.””
I looked at my husband.
His face changed.
“No.””
Rachel continued.
“The attorney disappeared this morning.””
The room went silent.
Someone was still moving pieces.
Someone we hadn’t seen.
I ended the call.
Daniel looked terrified.
“I swear I didn’t know.””
I believed him.
Not because he deserved it.
Because fear was impossible to fake.
I grabbed my coat.
“We’re going to the office.””
He looked surprised.
“We?””
I stared at him.
“Don’t misunderstand.””
He nodded.
“I know.””
The office was almost empty when we arrived.
The lights were off except for the executive floor.
Rachel was waiting.
She handed me a tablet.
“Look.””
On the screen was security footage.
A person entering the building after midnight.
I watched carefully.
The person wore a dark coat.
A hat covered their face.
They walked directly toward the executive archives.
Then they turned.
The camera caught their face for one second.
My breath stopped.
Because I knew him.
I had seen him before.
At our wedding.
In old photographs.
A man Daniel always called “family.””
Rachel whispered:
“Claire…”
I couldn’t move.
The person in the video was the last person I expected.
Daniel looked at the screen.
His face turned pale.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“Who is he?””
Daniel stepped backward.
And for the first time since this nightmare began…
May you like
He looked truly afraid.
“That’s my father.””
