Chapter 9: The Enemy Inside the Family
The first thing Jillian did after the lights returned was find Cody.
She ignored everything else.
The shouting.
The broken glass.
The footsteps outside.
She only cared about one thing.
“Cody?””
“I’m here.””
He stood behind a concrete pillar.
Unhurt.
She pulled him into her arms.
For a moment, he was eight years old again.
Not sixteen.
Not an heir.
Not someone being hunted.
Just her child.
“You scared me.””
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
He looked at her.
“I do.””
And somehow that made her cry harder.
Nearby, Patrick was arguing with Emmett.
“You knew about my father.””
Emmett stared at him.
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing?””
“I was trying to find proof.””
“You let us live in that house.””
Patrick’s voice broke.
“With him.””
Emmett looked away.
“I thought I could stop him.””
Patrick laughed bitterly.
“You thought.””
The words hurt.
Because they were true.
Jillian walked toward them.
“Enough.””
Both men stopped.
She looked at Patrick.
“I need the truth.””
He nodded slowly.
“You deserve it.””
“Then start.””
Patrick looked at the floor.
“When Shawn found the records, he came to me first.””
Jillian felt a sting in her chest.
“Why?””
“Because he trusted me.””
“Did you help him?””
Patrick closed his eyes.
“No.””
The answer was honest.
And devastating.
“I was scared.””
“Of Malcolm?””
“Yes.””
Patrick swallowed.
“He controlled everything. The money. The business. The family.””
“You were his son.””
“I was his prisoner.””
Jillian looked at him.
“And Shawn?””
Patrick’s voice became quieter.
“He told me he had a backup plan.””
“What plan?””
“He said if anything happened to him, Cody would inherit everything.””
Emmett added:
“Not money.””
Jillian looked at him.
“Then what?””
“Control.””
She frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Emmett explained.
“Shawn owned enough voting power in the family companies to expose Malcolm.””
Jillian looked at Cody.
“Why Cody?””
“Because Malcolm would never suspect him.””
Cody looked confused.
“But I don’t want any of this.””
Emmett’s expression softened.
“That’s why your father chose you.””
Suddenly, Sofia entered the warehouse.
Her face was serious.
“We have a problem.””
Everyone turned.
“What?””
She looked at Patrick.
“Your father wasn’t alone.””
Patrick froze.
“What?””
Sofia handed Emmett a tablet.
Security footage appeared.
A man entering the warehouse earlier that night.
Jillian watched.
Then her blood ran cold.
Because she knew him.
Patrick saw her face.
“No.””
The man on the screen was walking beside Malcolm.
Helping him.
Not a stranger.
Not an enemy.
Someone from inside.
Someone who had been at the Bannon estate.
Someone who had watched Jillian run.
Patrick whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
Jillian looked at him.
“Who is it?””
Patrick didn’t answer.
He couldn’t.
Because the man on the screen was his closest friend.
His father’s lawyer.
The person everyone trusted with the family secrets.
Daniel Voss.
Sofia looked at them.
“Daniel has been moving money for Malcolm for years.””
Emmett studied the footage.
“But that’s not the worst part.””
Jillian looked at him.
“What?””
He zoomed in.
On Daniel’s hand.
A ring.
An old Bannon family ring.
Patrick stepped back.
“My father gave that ring to…”
He stopped.
Jillian noticed.
“To who?””
Patrick looked terrified.
“To Shawn.””
Nobody spoke.
Then Cody whispered:
“That means…”
Jillian looked at him.
“What?””
Cody pointed at the screen.
“Daniel didn’t steal it.””
He swallowed.
“He got it from my dad.””
The room went silent.
Because that meant one impossible thing.
If Shawn’s ring was in Daniel’s possession…
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Then Shawn may not have died the way everyone thought.
And somewhere, hidden behind twelve days of lies, the truth was still alive.
