Chapter 9: The Last Person Victoria Trusted
Chapter 9: The Last Person Victoria Trusted
The library became completely silent.
No one moved.
No one even seemed to breathe.
Because standing in the doorway was the last person anyone expected to see.
A person who had walked these halls for years.
A person who had served the Sterling family.
A person everyone trusted.
Marcus Hale.
The old family advisor.
The man William believed had disappeared after Victoria’s death.
But he wasn’t gone.
He had been here.
Hidden.
Watching.
Waiting.
Emma stared at him.
The silver-haired man stood beneath the emergency light, his expression unreadable.
In his hand was a small object wrapped in a white cloth.
And the cloth was stained red.
William’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Marcus…”
The older man looked at him.
“Hello, William.”
A thousand questions appeared in William’s eyes.
“How are you alive?”
Marcus gave a tired smile.
“That’s a strange question.”
“Where have you been?”
“Trying to survive.”
Alexander laughed quietly.
“Survive?”
Everyone looked at him.
Alexander stepped forward.
“You disappear for two years, return with secrets, and expect us to believe you’re the victim?”
Marcus looked at Alexander.
“You always did enjoy pretending.”
Alexander’s face hardened.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked at William.
“I came back because Victoria’s final request was finally fulfilled.”
William froze.
“Victoria?”
Emma watched carefully.
Every person in this room had a connection to Victoria.
Every person had a secret.
But Marcus spoke about her differently.
Not like someone remembering a dead woman.
Like someone remembering a promise.
“What final request?” William asked.
Marcus slowly walked into the library.
“The truth.”
He placed the object on the table.
“The truth about who destroyed your family.”
William stared at him.
“Was it you?”
Marcus looked hurt.
“After everything I did for this family, that is your first question?”
William’s expression softened slightly.
“I trusted you.”
“And I protected you.”
Marcus looked at the notebook on the desk.
“You just didn’t know it.”
Emma stepped closer.
“What is that?”
Marcus looked at her.
For the first time, he smiled.
“You must be Emma.”
She froze.
“How do you know my name?”
Marcus glanced at the note from Victoria.
“Because she told me about you.”
Emma felt a chill.
“Victoria knew me?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Marcus looked toward William.
“Because Victoria watched people carefully.”
A pause.
“She knew who was loyal.”
Emma remembered the garden.
The crying woman.
The words Victoria whispered.
Maybe that moment wasn’t random.
Maybe Victoria had been searching for someone she could trust.
William picked up the blood-stained object.
The cloth fell away.
Everyone froze.
Inside was a small metal key.
But not an ordinary key.
It had the same symbol Emma had seen carved into the basement wall.
The circle.
The line through the center.
William stared.
“Where did you get this?”
Marcus looked at him.
“From the place Victoria hid her final evidence.”
Emma’s heart raced.
“Where?”
Marcus looked toward the floor.
“Under this mansion.”
Everyone exchanged looks.
“There’s more?”
Marcus nodded.
“The basement Ethan was kept in wasn’t the only hidden room.”
William’s face darkened.
“There are more?”
“Yes.”
Emma felt a wave of anger.
A child had been hidden in one secret room.
How many more existed?
“How do we find it?” William asked.
Marcus looked at the key.
“Victoria designed the house with your grandfather.”
William frowned.
“What?”
“She knew the Sterling family had enemies.”
Alexander interrupted.
“Enough with these stories.”
Everyone looked at him.
Alexander stepped forward.
“You expect us to believe Victoria was some genius who predicted everything?”
Marcus turned.
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“I expect you to believe the woman you underestimated.”
That sentence hit Alexander.
Because it was true.
Victoria had been dismissed.
Ignored.
But she had spent her final days collecting evidence.
Preparing.
Protecting her son.
Marcus looked at William.
“Your wife discovered the truth about your brother.”
Alexander’s expression changed.
“But she also discovered something worse.”
William stared.
“What?”
Marcus looked around the room.
“At first, she believed Alexander was the only person involved.”
He paused.
“She was wrong.”
Everyone became silent.
Emma felt the same fear as before.
Another person.
Another secret.
Marcus continued.
“Victoria found proof that someone inside Sterling Holdings was helping him.”
William’s eyes moved around the room.
“Who?”
Marcus looked at Isabella.
Then at Alexander.
Then finally…
at William.
The billionaire noticed.
“Why are you looking at me?”
Marcus didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said:
“Because Victoria was afraid the person helping Alexander was someone you trusted more than anyone.”
William’s face changed.
“You think it was me?”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“But Victoria was afraid someone could use your name.”
Emma understood.
Someone had access to William’s power.
His accounts.
His company.
His reputation.
Someone close.
Very close.
Suddenly, Isabella spoke.
“I know who it was.”
Everyone turned.
William stared at her.
“You do?”
Isabella nodded.
But she looked uncomfortable.
“Victoria told me.”
Marcus frowned.
“When?”
“The night before she died.”
The room went still.
Emma felt a chill.
The night before her death.
The missing pieces were finally appearing.
“What did she tell you?” William asked.
Isabella looked down.
“She told me she had discovered the person who betrayed her.”
“Who?”
Isabella hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Someone she loved.”
William’s expression broke.
“Victoria loved many people.”
Isabella looked at him.
“No.”
Her voice became quiet.
“She meant someone she loved like family.”
The room became silent.
Alexander looked away.
Marcus looked tense.
And William suddenly realized something.
A possibility.
A terrifying possibility.
“Who?”
Isabella closed her eyes.
Then answered:
“Your mother.”
Nobody spoke.
Emma felt the shock spread through the room.
William’s mother?
The family matriarch?
A woman who had passed away years ago?
“That’s impossible.”
William shook his head.
“My mother died before Victoria.”
“Yes.”
Isabella nodded.
“But before she died, she left instructions.”
“For what?”
Isabella looked at Alexander.
“For who should control the Sterling empire.”
Alexander’s face went pale.
William noticed.
“Alexander…”
His brother said nothing.
And that silence was an answer.
Suddenly, Marcus’s phone rang.
Everyone jumped.
He looked at the screen.
Then his expression changed.
“What is it?” Emma asked.
Marcus slowly turned the phone around.
A message appeared.
Only four words.
THEY FOUND THE EVIDENCE.
Then another message arrived.
RUN.
Before anyone could react…
the library windows shattered.
The lights went out.
And a loud explosion shook the mansion.
Ethan screamed.
Emma grabbed him.
William pulled everyone away from the windows.
Smoke filled the room.
And through the darkness…
a figure moved.
Someone had entered the library.
Someone who wanted the evidence destroyed.
Someone who knew exactly where they were.
Marcus whispered:
“They’re here.”
Emma looked around.
“Who?”
Marcus’s answer was almost silent.
“The person Victoria was afraid of most.”
The smoke cleared slightly.
And standing near the doorway…
was someone from the Sterling family.
May you like
Someone who had been pretending to help them all along.
End of Chapter 9
