CHAPTER SIX:THE HIDDEN ENEMY
360 Words
Amara couldn't sleep.
Vanessa's warning echoed in her mind.
"The Kingsley family doesn't just break promises... They break people."
She stood by the window of the guest room, watching the lights of the estate shimmer in the darkness.
A gentle knock interrupted her thoughts.
"Come in."
The door opened, and Adrian stepped inside.
"I wanted to apologize."
Amara folded her arms.
"For Vanessa?"
He nodded.
"I didn't know she would be here tonight."
"She knew about the contract."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"That's impossible."
"She said it herself."
Silence settled between them.
Only a handful of people knew the truth—the two of them, Adrian's lawyer, his personal assistant Raymond, and the board chairman.
Someone had leaked the secret.
---
The next morning, Adrian called an emergency meeting in his private office.
Raymond, the family lawyer Mr. Bennett, and his chief of security were already waiting.
"The contract has been exposed," Adrian said.
The room fell silent.
"I want to know who leaked it."
Raymond frowned.
"The files were locked."
"They were."
Adrian looked at each of them.
"So someone unlocked them."
---
Meanwhile, Amara wandered into the estate's vast library.
She ran her fingers across the shelves until an old photograph caught her attention.
It showed a much younger Adrian, smiling beside a woman with kind eyes.
On the back of the frame were the words:
Forever My Daughter – Eleanor Kingsley.
"That was his mother."
Amara turned.
An elderly housekeeper stood in the doorway.
"She died when Mr. Adrian was only sixteen."
"I'm sorry."
The housekeeper sighed.
"After she passed away, he became a different person."
Before Amara could ask another question, a loud crash echoed from downstairs.
She hurried into the hallway.
The mansion was in chaos.
A priceless family portrait had been torn from the wall.
Across the shattered glass, written in bright red paint, were four chilling words:
THE BRIDE MUST LEAVE.
The servants gasped.
Amara's heart pounded.
Adrian stared at the message without speaking.
Then he turned to the security guards.
"Lock every gate."
His voice was cold.
"No one enters."
"No one leaves."
Somewhere inside the mansion...
The enemy was already watching them.
- Writer
