Chapter 10: The Betrayal Inside Our Home
The name echoed in my mind long after Elena said it.
"Caroline.""
I couldn't speak.
Dr. Caroline Whitmore.
The woman my father had trusted for years.
The woman who had treated me when I was younger.
The woman who always brought me books with raised letters so I could learn to read with my fingers.
The woman who smiled at me and called me "little Emily.""
No.
It couldn't be.
"You're sure?"" I whispered.
Elena didn't answer immediately.
That silence hurt.
"Elena.""
She finally spoke.
"Your father found evidence.""
"What kind of evidence?""
She sat beside me.
"Enough to know someone inside the family circle has been feeding information to the people behind Bellmont's group.""
I shook my head.
"Caroline wouldn't.""
Elena looked at me carefully.
"Emily.""
"What?""
"Sometimes the people who hurt us are not the people we expect.""
I hated that answer.
Because it sounded like something my father would say.
An hour later, my father came home.
I knew immediately something was wrong.
His footsteps were different.
Slower.
He wasn't carrying anger.
He was carrying disappointment.
"Dad?""
He stopped.
"I'm here.""
"Is it Caroline?""
The silence answered.
I felt my chest tighten.
"Why?""
He sat across from me.
"I don't know.""
"But you found proof?""
He looked away.
"Yes.""
"What did she do?""
My father placed a folder on the table.
I couldn't see the papers.
But I heard them move.
"She accessed private files.""
"About me?""
"About everyone.""
"Why?""
He didn't answer.
"Dad.""
His voice became quiet.
"Because she believed she was protecting herself.""
That confused me.
"From what?""
"From me.""
The words felt impossible.
My father continued.
"Years ago, Caroline's family lost everything because of decisions I made.""
I froze.
"Your decisions?""
He nodded.
"I was younger. I thought power solved every problem.""
I listened.
"I hurt people who had nothing to do with my conflicts.""
The honesty surprised me.
"Did Mom know?""
"Yes.""
"And she hated you for it?""
He looked down.
"She wanted me to change.""
I touched my cane.
"Did you?""
He smiled sadly.
"Your mother believed I could.""
A tear escaped before I could stop it.
I had spent years imagining my mother as a missing piece.
But now I understood something.
She wasn't just someone who left.
She was someone who fought to make my father better.
Then my father's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?""
A pause.
His expression changed.
"What do you mean she escaped?""
I sat up.
"Who?""
He ended the call.
"Caroline.""
Elena immediately stood.
"She knew?""
My father nodded.
"She knew we found the evidence.""
"Where is she?""
My father looked toward the window.
"Missing.""
That night, the house changed.
Security guards appeared outside.
Doors were locked.
Phones were checked.
I hated it.
Not because I was scared.
Because it reminded me that my father had been right.
There was a dangerous world outside.
And he had spent my entire life trying to keep me away from it.
The next morning, I found something on my bedroom table.
A letter.
My name was written on the front.
Emily.
I knew the handwriting.
Caroline's.
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside were only a few lines.
"Emily,
If you are reading this, Vincent knows the truth.
I need you to understand something.
I never wanted to hurt you.
I wanted your father to feel what I felt.
I wanted him to lose something precious.
But when I saw you, I remembered Isabella.
She would have hated what I became.
There is one thing Vincent does not know.
The Bellmont list was not created to destroy Emily Moretti.
It was created to find the person who could destroy Vincent Moretti.
And that person was never you.""
I stopped reading.
My heart raced.
There was more.
"Someone else ordered the list.""
My fingers tightened.
"Someone above Caroline.""
The final sentence made me freeze.
"Someone who has been waiting for Vincent to become weak.""
I heard footsteps behind me.
My father.
"Emily?""
I turned.
He heard the paper in my hand.
"What is that?""
I didn't answer.
Because I suddenly understood.
Caroline wasn't the end.
She was only a piece.
May you like
And the person behind everything knew exactly where to hurt my father.
Through me.
