The Enemy Within
893 Words
Chapter Four
The Enemy Within
Amara Ellis stared at the picture on her phone.
Her fingers felt cold.
The image showed her and Adrian Vale entering the hotel earlier that evening.
Someone had been watching them.
Following them.
Waiting for the perfect moment to send a warning.
For the first time since she started working at Vale Corporation, Amara felt something she hated feeling.
Fear.
Not for herself.
For the possibility that she had stepped into a world she didn't understand.
She looked at Adrian, who was still sitting across from her in the car.
He noticed her expression immediately.
"What happened?"
Amara hesitated.
She knew she should ignore it.
She knew she should keep quiet.
But hiding things from Adrian Vale seemed like a dangerous decision.
She handed him the phone.
The moment he saw the message, his expression changed.
The calm billionaire disappeared.
The man in front of her became someone else.
Someone dangerous.
"Where did you get this?"
"Someone sent it to me."
"When?"
"Just now."
Adrian looked at the picture again.
His jaw tightened.
"Show me the number."
Amara gave him the phone.
He immediately called.
The line rang.
Once.
Twice.
Then disconnected.
His eyes became darker.
"Adrian?"
He ignored her and dialed another number.
"Find out who owns this number."
Amara watched him carefully.
She had never seen him like this.
Not angry.
Not frustrated.
Terrified.
And that scared her more than the message itself.
---
The car stopped outside Vale Tower.
Amara expected Adrian to tell her to go home.
Instead, he got out.
"Come with me."
She followed him inside.
The building was almost empty.
Only security personnel remained.
They entered his office.
Adrian locked the door.
That immediately made Amara uncomfortable.
"What is going on?"
He placed her phone on the desk.
"Someone is trying to scare you."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
She stared at him.
"You expect me to believe that?"
His eyes met hers.
"Yes."
"Because you're Adrian Vale?"
"No."
His voice lowered.
"Because if I knew who it was, they would not have sent another message."
Amara became quiet.
That answer made sense.
But it also created more questions.
"Why me?"
Adrian looked away.
That hesitation told her everything.
"You know something."
"I know people connected to me have enemies."
"That isn't an answer."
He walked toward the window.
For a moment, he looked less like a billionaire and more like someone carrying a heavy burden.
"Years ago, my family was destroyed because of a secret."
Amara listened carefully.
"My father trusted the wrong people. My mother paid the price."
His voice became colder.
"Since then, everyone who gets close to me becomes a target."
Amara's expression softened.
"Is that why you keep everyone away?"
Adrian didn't answer.
She already knew.
---
The next morning, Amara arrived at work to find the atmosphere different.
People were whispering.
Phones were buzzing.
Something had happened.
Sophia immediately approached her.
"Did you see the news?"
Amara frowned.
"What news?"
Sophia showed her phone.
A headline appeared.
VALE CORPORATION CEO LINKED TO FAMILY SCANDAL AFTER YEARS OF SILENCE
Amara read the article.
It talked about Adrian's family.
His father's company collapse.
Rumors.
Accusations.
A hidden inheritance dispute.
The article wasn't just reporting.
It was attacking.
"Who published this?"
Sophia shook her head.
"Nobody knows."
Amara looked toward Adrian's office.
For the first time, she understood.
This wasn't just about business.
Someone was trying to destroy him.
---
Later that day, Adrian called her into his office.
"You're leaving Vale Corporation."
Amara froze.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Why?"
"Because this is becoming dangerous."
She stared at him.
"You are firing me?"
"No."
His voice softened slightly.
"I'm protecting you."
Amara almost laughed.
"Protecting me by deciding my future for me?"
"This isn't a game, Amara."
"I know."
She stepped closer.
"And neither am I."
Adrian looked at her.
Nobody spoke to him like that.
Nobody challenged him.
But Amara did.
"You hired me because you needed someone you could trust."
A pause.
"Now you're pushing me away because things are difficult."
His expression changed.
"You're not afraid?"
"I am."
The honesty surprised him.
"But being afraid doesn't mean running away."
For several seconds, Adrian said nothing.
Then he quietly asked:
"Why?"
Amara frowned.
"Why what?"
"Why do you care?"
The question caught her off guard.
She didn't have an answer.
Maybe because she saw the lonely man behind the powerful image.
Maybe because she understood what it felt like to lose everything.
Or maybe because she was beginning to care more than she should.
"I don't know."
Her voice was softer.
"But I know I don't abandon people when things get hard."
Something shifted in Adrian's eyes.
Something he quickly hid.
---
That evening, Adrian received a call.
The voice on the other end was familiar.
"You should have listened."
Adrian's grip tightened around the phone.
"Who are you?"
A quiet laugh.
"You really don't recognize me?"
Silence.
Then the voice spoke again.
"Ask Amara Ellis why she never told you about her connection to your family."
Adrian froze.
"What?"
The call ended.
For the first time in years...
Adrian Vale felt uncertain.
Because if what he had just heard was true...
Amara Ellis wasn't just an innocent employee.
She was connected to the secret that destroyed his family.
And she had been hiding it from him.
- Writer
