Chapter 8: The Enemy Inside Sterling Manor
Chapter 8: The Enemy Inside Sterling Manor
Nobody spoke.
The accusation remained in the air like smoke.
“The person who wanted Ethan gone is standing right in front of you.”
Isabella’s words echoed through the library.
Emma looked from Isabella to Alexander.
For the first time since entering Sterling Manor, she didn’t know who to believe.
The woman who had trapped a child behind a hidden wall.
Or the man who had spent years standing beside William as family.
Because now the truth had become more complicated than anyone expected.
William stared at his brother.
“Alexander…”
His voice was low.
Almost a warning.
“What is she talking about?”
Alexander didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he smiled.
A small, controlled smile.
The kind of smile from someone who had spent years hiding behind charm.
“William, are you really going to believe her?”
He pointed toward Isabella.
“The woman who lied about her identity?”
His eyes moved toward Emma.
“The woman who manipulated your son?”
Then toward Ethan.
“The woman who kept him locked away?”
Nobody spoke.
Because those questions were impossible to ignore.
Alexander took a step closer.
“She wants you angry. She wants you confused.”
William’s expression hardened.
“Answer the question.”
Alexander stopped.
For the first time, the confidence in his face weakened.
Only slightly.
But Emma noticed.
“Did you threaten Ethan?”
Silence.
William’s voice became colder.
“Did you?”
Alexander looked at his brother.
Then he laughed quietly.
“You really think I would hurt a child?”
Emma watched carefully.
Again.
The same technique.
Never a direct answer.
Never a clear denial.
Just enough words to create doubt.
Isabella noticed it too.
“He’s doing it again.”
Everyone looked at her.
“Doing what?”
“Making everyone question reality.”
Alexander’s expression changed.
“Careful, Isabella.”
The warning in his voice was obvious.
And Emma understood something.
Whatever history existed between them…
it was complicated.
They weren’t simple partners.
They were people who knew each other’s weaknesses.
William stepped between them.
“I want the truth.”
Isabella looked at him.
“You’re finally asking the right question.”
She reached into her purse.
And pulled out a small black notebook.
Emma immediately recognized it.
It looked old.
Worn.
Like something Victoria had carried everywhere.
William stared.
“Where did you get that?”
Isabella looked down.
“Victoria gave it to me.”
The room went quiet.
“You knew her.”
Isabella nodded.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Isabella took a deep breath.
“Because before I became Isabella Sterling…”
She paused.
“My name was Isabella Moretti.”
William said nothing.
“I worked for Victoria.”
Emma frowned.
“Worked for her?”
Isabella nodded.
“She hired me.”
“What did you do?”
Isabella looked at the notebook.
“I investigated people.”
A cold feeling moved through Emma.
A private investigator.
Victoria had hired Isabella to investigate someone.
“Who?”
Isabella looked directly at Alexander.
“Your brother.”
The room became still.
Alexander laughed.
“You expect them to believe that?”
Isabella ignored him.
“Victoria suspected money was disappearing from Sterling Holdings.”
William’s face changed.
“What?”
“She discovered secret accounts.”
Emma watched William.
“You didn’t know?”
He shook his head slowly.
“No.”
Isabella continued.
“She found transfers connected to companies that didn’t exist.”
Alexander’s expression remained calm.
But Emma saw his hand tighten.
A small reaction.
A guilty reaction.
“Victoria was collecting evidence,” Isabella said.
“She knew someone inside the family was stealing.”
William looked at Alexander.
“Is this true?”
Alexander sighed.
“You’re making a mistake.”
William stepped closer.
“Is it true?”
Alexander finally lost his patience.
“You always were weak when it came to her.”
The sentence changed everything.
William froze.
Because Alexander wasn’t denying it anymore.
He was angry.
Angry that Victoria had mattered.
Angry that William believed her.
“You hated her,” William whispered.
Alexander smiled bitterly.
“I hated what she turned you into.”
Emma felt a chill.
There was years of resentment between these brothers.
“You had everything,” Alexander continued.
“The company.”
“The money.”
“The respect.”
“And I had to watch you waste it because of one woman’s emotions.”
William’s face hardened.
“Careful.”
But Alexander continued.
“She controlled you.”
“No.”
“She made you choose her over family.”
William stepped forward.
“And that bothered you?”
Alexander looked at him.
“Yes.”
The honesty shocked everyone.
“I was supposed to inherit this family.”
A pause.
“But then you were born.”
The room went silent.
Emma understood.
This was never just about money.
It was about obsession.
About a lifetime of jealousy.
Alexander looked around the library.
“Your father built this empire for both of us.”
William stared.
“And you think that means you can destroy my family?”
Alexander smiled.
“No.”
Then he looked at Ethan.
“I think your family destroyed itself.”
Ethan moved closer to Emma.
She immediately noticed.
The boy wasn’t just afraid.
He remembered something.
“Ethan?”
The child looked at the floor.
“Dad…”
William turned.
“What?”
Ethan hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Uncle Alexander came to see Mom before she died.”
The entire room froze.
William stared.
“What?”
Ethan nodded slowly.
“He was angry.”
Alexander’s expression changed.
“Ethan, you were a child. You don’t understand—”
“I heard you.”
The boy’s voice became stronger.
“You yelled at Mom.”
Nobody moved.
“What did I say?”
Ethan looked terrified.
But he answered.
“You said…”
He swallowed.
“You said, ‘If you give William those files, everything disappears.’”
William’s face went pale.
“What files?”
Ethan looked at the notebook.
“Those.”
Alexander immediately moved forward.
But William stepped in front of him.
“No.”
The command was powerful.
Everyone stopped.
William looked at the notebook.
Then at his brother.
“Is that what Victoria was protecting?”
Alexander didn’t answer.
William reached for it.
Isabella handed it to him.
Inside were pages of notes.
Names.
Dates.
Evidence.
And one final entry.
Written the day before Victoria died.
William read it.
Then his hands began shaking.
Emma stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
William couldn’t speak.
He handed the notebook to her.
Emma read the final page.
“If anything happens to me, do not trust Alexander.”
Her heart raced.
But underneath that sentence was another.
One that made her blood run cold.
“However, Alexander is not acting alone.”
Emma looked up.
Not alone.
Everyone became silent.
Because if Alexander wasn’t working alone…
then there was another person.
Another person inside this family.
Another person who helped destroy Victoria.
Suddenly, the lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out completely.
A sound came from the hallway.
A door locking.
William turned toward the entrance.
“What was that?”
Nobody answered.
Then a voice came through the darkness.
A voice they all recognized.
“Because you were never supposed to find this.”
Emma’s blood ran cold.
It wasn’t Alexander.
It wasn’t Isabella.
It was someone else.
Someone who had been inside the mansion the entire time.
Someone who knew every secret.
The emergency lights turned on.
And standing at the library entrance…
was the person nobody expected.
William stared.
“No…”
Emma looked shocked.
Because the person standing there was holding something in their hand.
Something covered in blood.
And they said:
“Victoria didn’t die because she discovered the truth.”
A pause.
May you like
“She died because she was about to reveal mine.”
End of Chapter 8
