Chapter 12: The Enemy in the Shadows
I stared at the photo.
My fingers went numb.
Someone had been outside.
Watching.
Listening.
The mansion suddenly felt different.
Not like home.
Like a trap.
Daniel immediately stood.
“Everyone stay inside.””
My father laughed bitterly.
“Now you care about safety?””
Daniel ignored him.
“Where are your security cameras?””
My father didn’t answer.
I noticed.
“You don’t know?””
His expression changed.
“They were upgraded last year.””
“By who?””
Silence.
I looked at him.
“Dad.””
He sighed.
“My security company.””
Daniel frowned.
“Which company?””
My father hesitated.
That was enough.
“You don’t even know?””
He looked angry.
“I hired professionals.””
Daniel pulled out his phone.
“Then we need to find out who actually had access.””
The next hour felt unreal.
Security footage played across the television screen.
The driveway.
The gates.
The garden.
Then suddenly—
The screen went black.
My stomach dropped.
“What happened?””
Daniel checked the system.
“Someone disabled the cameras.””
My father stood.
“That’s impossible.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“It’s intentional.””
I looked around the room.
Everyone was quiet.
Then Lila whispered:
“They’re here.””
We all looked at her.
“What?””
She stared toward the window.
“They’re here.””
I walked closer.
“Why would you say that?””
She looked terrified.
“Because I saw him.””
My heart raced.
“Who?””
She pointed outside.
“The man from the fire.””
Nobody moved.
Daniel rushed to the window.
But the yard was empty.
Only the trees moved in the wind.
My father grabbed Lila’s shoulders.
“What did you see?””
She shook.
“I saw him last week.””
Everyone froze.
“What?””
My father looked furious.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
She laughed through tears.
“Because I thought you would know.””
That sentence destroyed the room.
Because it meant Lila had suspected him.
My father released her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.””
But his voice was different.
Weak.
Daniel turned to me.
“Nora, you need to understand something.””
“What?””
“Your grandmother didn’t just investigate the fire.””
He looked at the documents.
“She was building a case.””
“Against who?””
He looked at my father.
Then at me.
“Everyone involved.””
My mother sat silently.
Then she spoke.
“There’s something I never told you.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She reached into her purse.
Her hands shook as she pulled out an old envelope.
“I found this after your grandmother died.””
My father immediately stood.
“Evelyn.””
She ignored him.
“I was afraid.””
I took the envelope.
“What is it?””
She whispered:
“A letter from Victor Hale.””
I opened it.
The first line made my heart stop.
Richard thinks he can blame me, but he forgets who asked me to help.
I looked at my father.
He looked terrified.
I kept reading.
The fire was never supposed to happen this way.
My breathing slowed.
Because those words meant one thing.
Victor hadn’t acted alone.
Someone else had been involved.
Someone inside my family.
Then I reached the final line.
And everything changed.
If anything happens to me, Nora must know the truth about her father.
I looked up.
My father was no longer angry.
He was afraid.
May you like
Because he knew what came next.
And I was about to discover the one secret he had spent my entire life hiding.
