Chapter 7: The Betrayal Inside Sterling Tower
I stared at the note in my hand until the words stopped looking real.
My business partner.
My closest friend.
The man who had stood beside me when I built Sterling Corporation from nothing.
Jonathan Reed.
For ten years, I had trusted him with my company.
My money.
My secrets.
And now his name was sitting on my daughter's bed.
I grabbed my phone and called him.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
My chest tightened.
"Maria!""
The housekeeper rushed upstairs.
"Sir?""
"Where is Sophie?""
Her face changed instantly.
"I thought she was with you.""
Those words hit me harder than anything.
Because for the first time in my life, I felt completely powerless.
I called the police.
I called security.
I called every person who could help.
But while everyone moved around me, one thought kept repeating.
I failed her again.
Not because I didn't love her.
Because I kept believing love was enough.
It wasn't.
Children needed protection.
They needed someone who noticed the danger before it reached them.
Two hours later, security found Sophie.
She wasn't gone.
She had been hiding.
Inside the old reading room at the far end of the mansion.
When I opened the door, I saw her sitting in the corner, holding her rabbit.
"Sophie.""
Her head lifted.
"Daddy?""
I dropped to my knees.
I pulled her into my arms so tightly she almost couldn't breathe.
"I'm sorry.""
She started crying.
"I thought you were mad at me.""
"Mad?""
I held her face.
"Sweetheart, I could never be mad at you.""
She looked down.
"Vanessa said people always leave when children are difficult.""
My heart broke.
I looked over her shoulder.
And there, hidden behind a bookshelf, was a small camera.
I froze.
"Sophie.""
She followed my eyes.
"What is it?""
I stood slowly.
Someone had been watching her.
Watching my family.
Watching my home.
I called James immediately.
Within an hour, my entire security system was being checked.
Then James found something.
"Richard.""
His voice was different.
Serious.
"What?""
"The cameras weren't hacked.""
I stared at him.
"What do you mean?""
"They were accessed using internal authorization.""
I felt cold.
"Who has that access?""
James looked at me.
"Only three people.""
"Who?""
He opened the file.
"You.""
"Me.""
"Your security director.""
"And?""
James hesitated.
"Jonathan.""
I walked to the window.
The city stretched beneath me.
Thousands of people.
Millions of lives.
And somehow, the biggest threat was sitting at my own table.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Where is Jonathan?""
A woman's voice replied.
"You're asking the wrong question.""
I froze.
"Who is this?""
"Someone who knows what happened to your wife.""
My grip tightened.
"My wife died three years ago.""
The woman went silent.
Then she whispered:
"Richard... Emily Sterling didn't die because of an accident.""
My entire body went still.
"What did you say?""
But the call ended.
I looked at Sophie sleeping upstairs.
Then I looked at Jonathan's name on my phone.
May you like
For three years, I thought I had lost my wife.
Now I wondered if I had been lied to.
