CHAPTER 10 The Enemy Inside The Bloodline
Richard had spent his entire life believing one thing.
Family meant safety.
Family meant trust.
Family meant the people who would protect you when the world turned against you.
But now...
He wasn't sure anymore.
Someone inside his own family had helped hide the truth about Anna.
Someone close enough to erase evidence.
Someone powerful enough to silence people.
And someone who had been watching him for years.
That night, Richard didn't return to the mansion.
Instead, he took Sophie to a private guest house owned by his company.
A place only he and Marcus knew about.
When Sophie saw the smaller house, she looked confused.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Are we staying here?"
Richard smiled gently.
"For a while."
She looked relieved.
Not excited.
Relieved.
That broke his heart.
A seven-year-old child shouldn't feel safer in a temporary house than in her own bedroom.
Later that evening, Richard sat beside Sophie.
"I need to ask you something."
She nodded.
"About Mommy?"
Richard looked surprised.
"How did you know?"
Sophie touched the necklace she always wore.
A small silver heart.
"Mommy told me this would help me remember."
Richard looked at the necklace.
"Where did you get it?"
"She gave it to me before..."
Sophie stopped.
Before what?
Before the accident.
Richard swallowed.
"What did Mommy say?"
Sophie looked at him carefully.
"She said there are people who look nice but aren't."
Richard stayed quiet.
"She said Daddy would find the truth one day."
Richard felt tears forming.
Because Anna knew.
She knew something was coming.
And she tried to protect their daughter.
But she failed.
The next morning, Marcus arrived with another file.
"Richard."
The tone in his voice was different.
"What happened?"
Marcus opened the file.
"We found the person who contacted Thomas."
Richard looked down.
"Who?"
Marcus hesitated.
Then answered:
"Your father."
Richard froze.
"My father died eight years ago."
Marcus nodded.
"That's the problem."
He turned the laptop around.
On the screen was a bank account.
Active.
Receiving payments.
The account holder name:
William Hale.
Richard stepped back.
Impossible.
His father had been dead for years.
"Someone is using his identity."
Marcus nodded.
"Exactly."
Richard stared at the screen.
"Find out who."
But before Marcus could answer...
The security alarm started.
Both men looked toward the entrance.
Someone had entered the guest house.
Richard immediately moved toward Sophie.
A figure appeared in the doorway.
A woman.
Older.
Familiar.
Richard stopped.
Because he knew her.
His mother.
Eleanor Hale.
The woman everyone believed had disappeared from public life.
The woman who hadn't spoken to him in five years.
She looked at Richard.
Then at Sophie.
May you like
And whispered:
"You finally found out."
