Chapter 4: The Enemy Inside the Family
The letter remained on the table.
The phone screen remained glowing.
And the single letter at the end of the message seemed to become heavier with every passing second.
*S.*
Victoria looked from the phone to the people standing around her.
The Sterling family.
A family built on generations of wealth, influence, and carefully protected secrets.
A family where every person in the room had a reason to hide something.
The man holding the phone was Sebastian Sterling.
Julian’s uncle.
Richard Sterling’s younger brother.
The person who had taken over many of the company responsibilities after Richard’s death.
For years, Victoria had heard people describe Sebastian as the calm one.
The reasonable one.
The man who kept the family together during difficult times.
But now, standing under the dim emergency lights, he looked different.
Not guilty.
Not afraid.
Just too calm.
Julian stepped toward him.
“Who sent you that message?””
Sebastian slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“I already told you. I don’t know.””
“You expect me to believe that?””
Sebastian sighed.
“Julian, you’re emotional.””
The words immediately angered him.
“Emotional?””
“Yes.””
Sebastian looked around the ballroom.
“Your engagement party has turned into a public disaster. You’re accusing your own family based on a letter from a dead man and a story from a woman who has hidden her identity for five years.””
Elena flinched.
Victoria noticed.
She hated that she noticed.
Because five hours ago, she would have agreed with him.
She would have looked at Elena and seen only a maid.
Someone who didn’t belong.
But now every accusation sounded different.
Because she had learned the most dangerous secrets were often hidden behind ordinary faces.
Julian’s voice was cold.
“Don’t talk about Elena like you know her.””
Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
“There it is.””
“What?””
“The reason you’re making mistakes.””
Julian stared.
“You think this is about love?””
Sebastian looked at Elena.
“No.””
His expression hardened.
“I think it’s about manipulation.””
Before Julian could respond, Elena spoke.
“Stop.””
Everyone turned.
Her voice was quiet.
But steady.
“I’m tired of people deciding who I am without knowing the truth.””
Sebastian smiled slightly.
“And what is the truth, Elena?””
The question sounded innocent.
But Victoria heard the threat underneath it.
Elena looked at him.
“The truth is that Richard Sterling trusted me.””
Sebastian’s smile disappeared.
Only for a second.
But Victoria saw it.
So did Julian.
“You knew my father trusted her,” Julian said.
Sebastian didn’t answer.
Julian stepped closer.
“You knew.””
“I knew many people worked for your father.””
“No.””
Julian’s voice lowered.
“You knew exactly who Elena was.””
The silence confirmed it.
Victoria felt a chill.
Because Sebastian wasn’t surprised by Elena.
He wasn’t asking who she was.
He already knew.
Sebastian walked toward the table.
“You have no idea what you’re doing.””
Julian looked at him.
“Then explain.””
“I’m trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
Sebastian looked at Elena.
“From someone who has been lying to you.””
Elena’s hands tightened.
“Lying about what?””
Sebastian didn’t answer.
And that silence was enough to make everyone uncomfortable.
Victoria stepped forward.
“If you have evidence, show it.””
Sebastian looked at her.
For the first time, he seemed surprised she had spoken.
Victoria continued.
“You’re accusing her. You’re accusing Julian of being manipulated. So prove it.””
Sebastian studied her.
Then smiled.
“You’ve changed.””
Victoria frowned.
“What?””
“Earlier tonight, you wanted her removed from your life.””
His eyes moved toward Elena.
“Now you’re defending her.””
Victoria didn’t respond.
Because he was right.
But she hated that he was using it.
“I want the truth.””
Sebastian nodded slowly.
“Good.””
He reached into his briefcase.
Then placed a folder on the table.
“I was hoping we wouldn’t have to do this.””
Julian stared at the folder.
“What is that?””
“Your father’s investigation.””
The room went silent.
Julian opened it immediately.
Inside were documents.
Bank records.
Photographs.
Emails.
Reports.
His eyes moved quickly.
Then stopped.
Victoria watched the color leave his face.
“What did you find?””
Julian didn’t answer.
Elena walked closer.
“Julian.””
He looked at her.
“This is about you.””
Elena froze.
“What?””
Julian turned the document around.
Victoria saw the page.
It was a financial report.
At the bottom was a signature.
*Elena Whitmore.*
Her heart sank.
“No.””
Elena whispered.
“That’s impossible.””
Sebastian crossed his arms.
“Is it?””
Julian looked at him.
“You’re saying Elena stole from Sterling Holdings?””
“I’m saying your father believed she did.””
Victoria looked at Elena.
The accusation was terrible.
But something about Elena’s reaction felt wrong.
She wasn’t shocked because she had been caught.
She was shocked because she had never seen the document before.
“I never signed that,” Elena said.
Sebastian smiled.
“Of course you would say that.””
“No.””
Her voice became stronger.
“I never touched those accounts.””
Julian looked between them.
He was trapped between two versions of reality.
The woman who had stood beside him during his darkest days.
And the uncle who had helped hold his family together.
Victoria saw the conflict in his eyes.
“Julian.””
He looked at her.
“You believe her?””
The question was painful.
Because it wasn’t just about Elena.
It was about trust.
Julian looked at the document again.
Then at Elena.
“I believe something is missing.””
Sebastian shook his head.
“You’re choosing feelings over facts.””
Julian’s eyes sharpened.
“No.””
He pointed at the document.
“I’m questioning facts presented by someone who refuses to answer simple questions.””
Sebastian’s expression changed.
“You’re accusing me?””
“I’m asking.””
“After everything I’ve done for this family?””
Julian stepped closer.
“After everything my father wrote?””
The tension between them filled the room.
Then Elena suddenly grabbed the folder.
Her eyes moved through the pages.
Her breathing changed.
Victoria noticed.
“What is it?””
Elena didn’t answer.
She turned another page.
Then another.
Finally, she stopped.
Her face became pale.
“Elena?””
She slowly lifted her eyes.
“I know where this came from.””
Everyone stared.
Julian moved closer.
“Where?””
She looked at the signature again.
The forged signature.
The false report.
Then she whispered:
“My room.””
Nobody spoke.
Victoria frowned.
“Your room?””
Elena nodded.
“When I first came to this mansion, Richard gave me a place to stay.””
She swallowed.
“But there was one room I was never allowed to enter.””
Julian looked confused.
“Which room?””
Elena turned toward the second floor.
“The old study.””
Victoria felt a strange fear.
Because she knew that room.
Everyone in the Sterling family knew it.
Richard Sterling’s private office.
The room that had remained locked since his death.
The room nobody entered.
The room everyone avoided.
Elena continued.
“Before he died, Richard told me something.””
Julian waited.
“He said if anyone ever opened that room…”
Her voice trembled.
“They would find the proof of who betrayed him.””
Sebastian’s face changed.
Just slightly.
But enough.
Julian noticed.
“You know what’s inside.””
Sebastian didn’t answer.
Julian turned toward the staircase.
“Open the study.””
Sebastian stepped forward.
“No.””
The word came too quickly.
Everyone looked at him.
Julian slowly turned back.
“Why not?””
Sebastian said nothing.
And for the first time that night…
He looked afraid.
Julian walked toward the staircase.
Victoria followed.
Elena followed behind him.
The three of them climbed toward the locked room that had held the Sterling family’s darkest secret for five years.
At the top of the stairs, Julian reached for the handle.
It was covered in dust.
A room untouched.
A room forgotten.
Or so everyone thought.
He unlocked the door.
The hinges creaked.
The darkness inside waited.
Then Victoria noticed something.
A small piece of paper had been placed on the floor just inside the doorway.
Julian picked it up.
His face changed.
“What?””
Victoria stepped closer.
He handed her the paper.
Only one sentence was written on it.
May you like
A sentence that made Elena cover her mouth in shock.
*“Julian, if you are reading this, it means Elena has already been blamed for my murder.””*
