Episode Ten
840 Words
The Hidden Enemy
The estate went into lockdown at exactly 2:17 a.m.
Within minutes, guards occupied every hallway, every staircase, and every entrance.
No one was allowed in.
No one was allowed out.
Amara stood near the window of her room, watching security vehicles move across the grounds below.
The estate looked less like a home and more like a military base preparing for battle.
A knock sounded at her door.
Before she could answer, it opened.
Lucien stepped inside.
His expression was unreadable.
"You should be asleep."
Amara folded her arms.
"And you should stop expecting me to sleep after every life changing revelation."
To her surprise, a faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
It vanished almost immediately.
"We found the source of the call."
Her stomach tightened.
"The traitor?"
"Not yet."
The answer disappointed her.
"But we know where the call was placed."
"Where?"
Lucien's eyes darkened.
"The west wing."
Amara frowned.
"What's in the west wing?"
"Administrative offices. Security monitoring. Staff quarters."
Which meant dozens of people could be involved.
Maybe more.
A terrible thought occurred to her.
"What if the traitor isn't working alone?"
The room fell silent.
The fact that Lucien didn't immediately dismiss the possibility made her nervous.
Very nervous.
"That's exactly what I'm worried about," he admitted.
Amara sank onto the edge of the bed.
The situation felt impossible.
Someone inside the estate was feeding information to Nikolai.
Someone who knew security protocols.
Someone who knew how Lucien operated.
Someone close enough to avoid suspicion.
"Who do you trust the most?" she asked.
Lucien looked at her.
Then away.
"As of tonight?"
His voice was cold.
"No one."
The answer broke something inside her.
Not because it was cruel.
Because it sounded honest.
Lonely.
A man who trusted no one had probably been betrayed too many times.
Before she could say anything, another knock interrupted them.
Adrian entered.
He looked exhausted.
His blond hair was a mess, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.
"You need to see this."
Lucien took the folder Adrian handed him.
The moment he opened it, his expression hardened.
"What is it?" Amara asked.
Neither man answered immediately.
Lucien finally held up a photograph.
Amara took it.
Her pulse quickened.
It showed a woman leaving a café earlier that week.
A familiar woman.
Marta.
"No."
Amara looked up.
"That can't be right."
Adrian sighed.
"We tracked several suspicious calls."
"And?"
"They all lead back to meetings Marta never reported."
Shock washed through the room.
Marta?
The woman who had welcomed her.
The woman who seemed to care about Lucien.
It didn't make sense.
Lucien stared at the photograph.
His face remained unreadable.
But his eyes told another story.
Pain.
Disappointment.
Anger.
"Maybe there's another explanation," Amara said.
Adrian looked unconvinced.
"There usually isn't."
Amara hated how quickly everyone seemed ready to believe the worst.
"This doesn't prove she's a traitor."
"No," Lucien agreed.
"It doesn't."
For a moment, hope flickered.
Then he added quietly,
"But it gives us a reason to ask questions."
The room fell silent again.
A few minutes later, Lucien left to speak with security.
Adrian followed.
Leaving Amara alone once more.
She walked back toward the room with the letters.
The hidden room.
The room filled with pieces of her mother's life.
Something about those letters continued to bother her.
There was something she had missed.
Something important.
After making sure no one was nearby, she slipped inside.
Moonlight spilled across the floor.
The photographs stared back at her from every wall.
Carefully, she opened another letter.
Then another.
And another.
Most contained personal conversations.
Memories.
Warnings.
Advice.
Nothing that explained why Nikolai was obsessed with her.
Nothing that explained why her mother had spent years hiding.
Then she found a sealed envelope tucked between two books.
Unlike the others, this one had never been opened.
Her hands trembled slightly as she broke the seal.
Inside was a single page.
The handwriting belonged to her mother.
Amara began to read.
Her heart nearly stopped.
If you are reading this, then the truth can no longer remain hidden.
There are things about your birth that I never told anyone.
Not even your father.
Amara froze.
A cold feeling settled in her chest.
She continued reading.
The danger surrounding you did not begin with Marco Rossi.
It began long before him.
The paper shook in her hands.
What did that mean?
Before she could read another line, a loud crash echoed from somewhere in the estate.
Amara jumped.
The sound was followed by shouting.
Then gunfire.
Her blood ran cold.
Gunfire.
Inside the estate.
Not outside.
Inside.
The door burst open.
Adrian appeared.
Breathing hard.
His face pale.
"Amara."
Fear surged through her.
"What happened?"
His answer sent ice through her veins.
"Marta's been attacked."
The letter slipped from her fingers.
And in that moment, Amara knew one thing with absolute certainty.
The traitor had just made their next move.
And whoever was behind it would kill to keep their secrets buried.
- Writer
