chapter 9: The Enemy Within
815 Words
The explosion shook Blackwood Manor from its foundation.
Glass rained onto the marble floor as smoke swallowed the hallway. The security alarms screamed through the mansion while terrified servants ran for safety.
Damian held Amara tightly against his chest, shielding her from the flying debris.
"Are you hurt?" he asked urgently.
Amara coughed through the smoke and shook her head.
"I'm... I'm okay."
Only then did Damian loosen his grip.
The head of security rushed upstairs with several guards.
"Mr. Blackwood!"
"The fire has been contained."
"What about the bomb squad?"
"They're on their way."
Damian nodded.
"Seal every entrance."
"No one leaves this estate."
"And no one enters."
"Yes, sir."
An hour later, investigators combed through the destroyed bedroom.
The walls were blackened, the windows shattered, and every piece of furniture had been reduced to ashes.
One investigator approached Damian.
"The explosive device was hidden inside the gift box."
"It was professionally made."
"This wasn't the work of an amateur."
"Any fingerprints?"
"None."
"What about security footage?"
The investigator hesitated.
"That's the strange part."
"Every camera on the second floor stopped recording exactly seven minutes before the explosion."
Damian's expression darkened.
"Someone disabled them from inside the security system."
"So..."
He finished the sentence himself.
"The attacker had help."
Meanwhile, Amara sat quietly in the library, wrapped in a blanket.
She couldn't stop replaying the explosion in her mind.
If Damian hadn't reacted so quickly...
She wouldn't be alive.
The library door opened softly.
Helen entered carrying a cup of hot chocolate.
"I thought you might need this."
Amara smiled weakly.
"Thank you."
Helen sat beside her.
"Mr. Blackwood hasn't left the investigation room since the explosion."
"He's blaming himself."
Amara looked toward the window.
"It wasn't his fault."
"He won't see it that way."
Late that evening...
Damian gathered every employee working at Blackwood Manor in the grand ballroom.
More than forty people stood silently in neat rows.
Housekeepers.
Chefs.
Gardeners.
Drivers.
Security guards.
Everyone.
Damian stood at the front of the room.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"Someone inside this house tried to murder my wife."
Silence.
"I'll ask only once."
"If you're involved..."
"Step forward."
No one moved.
Damian nodded slowly.
"I expected that."
He snapped his fingers.
His assistant wheeled in a large television screen.
Security footage began playing.
The staff watched in confusion.
The recording showed the mansion's back entrance.
At exactly 8:43 p.m.
A hooded figure entered carrying a small package.
The timestamp continued.
The figure walked through several hallways before disappearing toward the guest wing.
Then...
The person removed the hood.
Gasps filled the ballroom.
It wasn't a stranger.
It was one of the security guards.
The man immediately turned pale.
"I..."
"I can explain!"
Before anyone could react, he suddenly pulled a handgun from his jacket.
The staff screamed.
He grabbed Helen, pressing the gun against her head.
"No one move!"
Damian didn't flinch.
"Let her go."
"I never wanted this!"
The guard shouted.
"They said they'd kill my family if I refused!"
"Who?"
The man's breathing became frantic.
"I don't know their names."
"They only called him..."
"The Chairman."
Damian's eyes narrowed.
"The Chairman?"
Before the guard could answer—
Bang!
A single gunshot echoed through the ballroom.
Everyone froze.
The guard's eyes widened.
He slowly looked down.
Blood spread across his shirt.
He collapsed to the floor.
Dead.
The bullet hadn't come from inside the room.
It had come through the ballroom window.
A sniper.
Damian ran toward the shattered glass, but the shooter had already disappeared into the darkness.
The only witness who knew the truth...
Was gone.
Later that night...
Damian stood alone in his office.
He replayed the guard's final words over and over.
The Chairman.
There was only one person powerful enough to control assassins, hackers, and corrupt officials without leaving a trace.
Someone whose identity had remained hidden for decades.
His phone rang.
It was Amara.
"Can you come to the library?"
"I found something."
Minutes later, Damian arrived.
Amara was standing beside the fireplace, holding her mother's diary.
"I kept reading."
She handed him an open page.
One sentence had been underlined.
"If anything happens to us, never trust the Chairman. He already owns half the city, and he'll stop at nothing to control the other half."
Damian's expression hardened.
For the first time in years...
He finally had a name.
The same mysterious figure had destroyed Amara's family.
Now he was coming for her.
Damian closed the diary and looked at Amara.
"I've spent fifteen years trying to find him."
He took her hand.
"This time..."
"We're going to bring him down together."
End of Chapter 9.
Cliffhanger: The mysterious "Chairman" has finally been mentioned by name, but his identity remains hidden. As Damian and Amara prepare to fight back, they have no idea that someone even closer to them is secretly reporting their every move.
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