Chapter 14 - THE ENEMY INSIDE
The room seemed to shrink. Robert stood in the doorway, blocking our only exit. He didn’t look surprised to see us. He looked… satisfied.
"You found the journal," he said calmly. "I was afraid I’d missed a page. Good eyes, Emily. Just like your father."
Emily’s voice was tight, terrified but steady.
"You’re alive. Everyone thought you died."
"I did die," Robert said, taking a slow step into the room. "For a little while. It was convenient. It gave me time to become someone else. To get close. To wait."
"Wait for what?" Emily demanded.
"For your father to die. For the inheritance to sit there, waiting for a child to come of age. For Daniel and Evelyn to become greedy… and easy to manipulate." He smiled again. "They thought they were using me. I let them think that. It made everything so much simpler."
Emily gripped my hand so hard it hurt.
"Daniel and Evelyn… where are they?"
Robert’s expression hardened.
"Gone. They made mistakes. They panicked. They tried to bargain. People who bargain with me do not survive."
Emily went pale.
"Thomas?"
"Was in my way," Robert said simply. "Just as Daniel and Evelyn were. Just as… you and Noah are."
He took another step forward.
"Your father was a clever man. Too clever. He suspected me long before he died. But he made one mistake. He thought hiding everything behind a child would protect it. He forgot that children grow up. And until then… the guardian controls everything."
Emily stood straighter.
"You will never get guardianship. Thomas filed documents. There are records. Proof."
"Records can be altered," Robert said smoothly. "Documents can be rewritten. Witnesses can… disappear. By the time anyone realizes what has happened… it will be too late. I will be Noah’s legal guardian. I will control everything. And you… will be gone."
He gestured toward the door.
"Come with me. There is no need for this to be difficult."
Emily looked at the window. It was dark outside. We were on the second floor. Too high to jump.
Then she looked at the heavy iron poker resting beside the fireplace. Slowly, carefully, she reached behind her back. Her fingers closed around it.
"You will not touch my son," she said. Her voice was quiet, but it shook the air.
Robert paused. He looked at her, then at the poker.
"Do not be foolish, Emily. Put it down. I do not want to hurt you. But I will… if you force me."
"I am not going anywhere with you," Emily said. "And neither is Noah."
Robert sighed.
"Then I suppose… I must make you."
He stepped forward quickly. Emily swung the poker. It cracked against the bookshelf, sending volumes crashing down. Robert ducked, grabbing her wrist. She twisted free, shoving him backward. He stumbled, catching his balance.
"Run!" Emily shouted. "Noah—RUN!"
I bolted for the door. Robert lunged. Emily threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist, dragging him down.
"GO, NOAH! GO!"
I didn’t want to leave her. But I saw her face—desperate, terrified, fierce—and I ran. I burst out of the study, down the hall, toward the stairs. Behind me I heard shouting. Scuffling. A heavy crash.
"EMILY!" I screamed.
"NOAH! KEEP RUNNING!" her voice came, faint and strained.
I didn’t stop. I flew down the stairs, my heart hammering so hard I thought it would burst. I had to get out. I had to find help. I had to save her.
But as I reached the front door, it swung open.
Standing there was a police officer.
Relief flooded through me.
"HELP!" I cried. "Please! Help us! There’s a man—"
The officer stepped inside. He looked down at me. His expression didn’t change.
Then he looked back toward the stairs.
May you like
"Got them," he said.
And I realized, with a cold, sinking feeling in my chest… that he was speaking to Robert.
