Chapter 6: The Enemy Inside
Chapter 6: The Enemy Inside
The words stayed in the air.
Inside Sterling Global headquarters.
Nobody moved.
Nobody needed to ask the question.
Because we were all thinking the same thing.
Who had access?
Who knew the systems?
Who knew my father's company well enough to manipulate millions of dollars and erase someone's digital trail?
My father built Sterling Global from nothing.
He trusted very few people.
But those few people...
Had everything.
William slowly sat down.
For the first time in my entire life, I saw fear on his face.
Not worry.
Not stress.
Fear.
"That building has twenty-seven floors."
His voice was quiet.
"Thousands of employees."
James looked at him.
"How many people have executive clearance?"
William didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The answer was obvious.
"The board."
James said.
"The executives."
"The finance department."
"The legal team."
My father nodded.
"And my personal office."
I looked at him.
"Who works in your personal office?"
Another silence.
Then:
"Victoria."
The name meant nothing to me.
But the way he said it meant everything.
"Who is Victoria?"
I asked.
William looked away.
"My executive assistant."
I felt a strange emptiness.
Because I knew that name.
Not personally.
But I had heard it.
For years.
Victoria handled my father's schedule.
His meetings.
His private documents.
She sent birthday gifts to Ethan.
She attended our family dinners.
She was always there.
Always helpful.
Always smiling.
"How long?"
My father closed his eyes.
"Twenty years."
James stood.
"Twenty years?"
"Yes."
"And you never thought she could be involved?"
William's expression hardened.
"I trusted her."
That answer hurt him more than anyone else could have.
Because William Sterling didn't trust easily.
If someone earned that place...
It mattered.
My phone buzzed.
A new message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
Stop looking. You already lost enough.
My hands shook.
James saw it.
"Claire?"
I handed him the phone.
William immediately stood.
"Show me."
He read it.
His face changed.
Not anger.
Recognition.
"She knows we're investigating."
A security officer entered the room.
"Mr. Sterling."
"What?"
"We have a situation."
Everyone turned.
"There was unauthorized access to your company server."
"When?"
"Eight minutes ago."
William's jaw tightened.
"From where?"
The officer hesitated.
"Your private office."
Nobody spoke.
Because Victoria's name was still hanging in the room.
We left immediately.
The drive to Sterling Global headquarters felt unreal.
The city moved around us.
Cars.
People.
Traffic lights.
Normal life.
But my life had stopped.
My son was gone.
My husband betrayed me.
And now someone had been hiding inside my family's company for years.
When we arrived, the building was already surrounded.
Employees were being escorted out.
Security cameras were being reviewed.
The lobby that usually felt powerful and impressive now felt like a crime scene.
The head of security approached my father.
"Mr. Sterling."
"Report."
"We locked down the executive floors."
"Any injuries?"
"No."
"Any suspects?"
He hesitated.
"One."
My heart started beating faster.
"Who?"
The security chief looked uncomfortable.
"Victoria Bennett."
My father went still.
"Where is she?"
"On the twenty-third floor."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
That was the first thing that felt wrong.
A person planning an escape would run.
They wouldn't stay.
Unless...
They wanted to be found.
We took the elevator up.
Nobody spoke.
When the doors opened on the twenty-third floor, the hallway was dark.
The lights flickered.
At the end of the hallway...
My father's office door was open.
Security moved first.
Then stopped.
"Clear."
We entered slowly.
The office looked untouched.
Everything organized.
Perfect.
Almost too perfect.
Then I saw it.
A photograph on William's desk.
Not one of his business awards.
Not a family picture.
A picture of Ethan.
My son.
Taken at his fifth birthday.
A photo I had never seen before.
I picked it up.
My hands trembled.
"Why does she have this?"
Nobody answered.
A voice came from behind us.
"Because he was the only innocent person in this whole mess."
Everyone turned.
Victoria stood in the doorway.
No weapon.
No fear.
Just exhaustion.
Security moved forward.
My father raised his hand.
"Wait."
He stared at her.
"Why?"
Victoria looked at him.
After twenty years.
She looked at him like she had been waiting for that question.
"Because you never asked."
My father frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
She laughed softly.
A broken laugh.
"You hired me because I was efficient."
"Because I never complained."
"Because I solved your problems."
She stepped closer.
"But you never wondered why I needed that job."
Nobody spoke.
Victoria looked at me.
"I'm sorry about Ethan."
My eyes burned.
"Don't."
Her face fell.
"I mean it."
"Don't say his name like you knew him."
"You weren't there."
The words hit her.
Because they were true.
She looked down.
"You're right."
Then she opened a folder.
"I didn't kill your son."
Everyone froze.
"But I know who did."
The room changed.
My father stepped forward.
"Who?"
Victoria looked directly at him.
"Your business partner."
Silence.
"I don't have a business partner."
She gave a sad smile.
"You did."
A pause.
"Until you pushed him out twenty years ago."
My father's face changed.
A memory.
A name.
Someone from the past.
"Daniel..."
The name escaped.
I looked at him.
"Who is Daniel?"
Victoria answered.
"Your father's former partner."
"He helped build Sterling Global."
"Then William took control."
My father shook his head.
"That was business."
Victoria looked at him.
"No."
"It was betrayal."
The room went quiet.
She opened another file.
Inside were old documents.
Old signatures.
Old contracts.
"Daniel spent twenty years planning revenge."
"He found Melissa."
"He found Garrett."
"He knew exactly where to hurt you."
I felt sick.
"So Melissa..."
"Was only a tool."
Victoria nodded.
"Yes."
My father stared at the documents.
"Where is Daniel now?"
Victoria looked toward the window.
The city stretched below us.
"He disappeared three days ago."
"After sending the final message."
James frowned.
"What final message?"
Victoria looked at me.
Then said:
"The message was not for William."
My blood ran cold.
"Who was it for?"
She answered:
"You."
A new notification appeared on my phone.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
Claire, if you want to know why your son really died, come alone.
I stared at the screen.
And below it...
A location.
The abandoned warehouse outside Boston.
The same place where Daniel had once built Sterling Global's first office.
My father grabbed my phone.
"No."
His voice was immediate.
"Absolutely not."
But Victoria whispered the words that made everyone freeze.
"He's not asking you to come."
She looked at me.
"He's telling you he already knows you will."
And somehow...
That scared me more than anything.
Because she was right.
I would go.
Not for revenge.
Not for Garrett.
Not for my father.
May you like
For Ethan.
Because a mother deserves to know the truth about what happened to her child.
