chapter 12: the traitor within
639 Words
The vault door slowly creaked open.
No one spoke.
The chilling message left behind by the hacker echoed in everyone's minds.
You found one daughter. You will never find the other.
Adrian turned to William.
"Lock down the entire estate."
William nodded immediately.
"No one enters."
"No one leaves."
Within minutes, security guards surrounded every entrance to Ashford Estate.
Every servant, employee, and family member was gathered inside the grand hall.
Ava looked around at the frightened faces.
Some looked confused.
Others seemed genuinely terrified.
But one person remained perfectly calm.
Emily.
She stood beside Victoria with her arms folded, wearing an amused smile.
"This is ridiculous," she said.
"Do you really think one of us is a criminal?"
William stepped forward.
"The hacker could only access our private security system with help from someone inside this estate."
The room fell silent.
Daniel began handing out electronic access reports.
"Every movement inside the mansion was recorded."
Lucas examined the list carefully.
"Most of the staff were asleep."
"Martha was in the kitchen."
"The gardeners were outside."
"The security team never left their posts."
He frowned.
"Only one person's key card entered Father's office after midnight."
Everyone looked toward the report.
Emily's smile disappeared.
"What?"
Lucas slowly raised his eyes.
"The card belongs to you."
Victoria immediately stepped in.
"My daughter would never do such a thing."
Emily snatched the report from Lucas.
"This has to be fake!"
"I was asleep!"
William remained calm.
"The security cameras also recorded someone wearing a black hood entering the office."
Emily laughed nervously.
"So now you're accusing me because of a blurry video?"
Before anyone could answer, Martha hurried into the hall.
"Mr. Ashford!"
"I found this."
She placed a gold bracelet on the table.
Ava immediately recognized it.
Emily wore it every day.
Emily's face turned pale.
"Someone stole that from my room!"
William looked closely at the bracelet.
"It was found inside your father's office."
Emily shook her head repeatedly.
"No..."
"This is a setup."
Adrian remained silent for several moments.
Finally, he spoke.
"Search Emily's room."
Emily gasped.
"You can't be serious!"
Lucas sighed.
"If you're innocent, you have nothing to fear."
Two security guards disappeared upstairs.
The hall became painfully quiet.
After several minutes, they returned carrying a small black laptop.
Daniel switched it on.
The screen immediately displayed encrypted files.
William typed a password.
To everyone's surprise...
It unlocked.
Inside were dozens of confidential Ashford company documents.
Financial records.
Private family information.
Copies of Ava's missing DNA report.
The entire room froze.
Emily stared at the screen in horror.
"I've never seen that laptop before."
Victoria grabbed her daughter's arm.
"Tell them the truth!"
"I am!"
Emily cried.
"I don't know where that came from!"
Just then, the lights flickered.
Every television inside the mansion suddenly turned on by itself.
A masked figure appeared on every screen.
The voice was distorted.
"Poor Emily."
"She's being blamed for crimes she didn't commit."
Everyone watched in stunned silence.
The masked stranger chuckled.
"The real traitor..."
"...is standing in that room."
Ava slowly turned to look around.
Every person in the hall looked at someone else.
Fear spread through the mansion like wildfire.
The masked figure continued.
"You've all been searching for the second Ashford heir."
"But you've made one terrible mistake."
The stranger removed one black glove.
On the back of the hand was a familiar birthmark.
A crescent-shaped mark.
Exactly like the one Ava had on her wrist.
Adrian staggered backward.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The masked figure smiled.
"It took you twenty-two years to find one child."
"You'll never catch the other."
The screen suddenly went black.
The mansion fell into complete silence.
Then Adrian whispered the words that made everyone's blood run cold.
"The second heir has been watching us all along."
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