CHAPTER 8 — THE NIGHT THE HUNTERS CAME
CHAPTER 8 — THE NIGHT THE HUNTERS CAME
The second crash against the front door was louder.
The wooden frame shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Nobody moved.
For a few seconds, the entire room held its breath.
Because everyone understood what was happening.
The past had found them.
Eleanor Whitmore stood frozen near the table.
The woman who had spent years hiding from the shadows of the Sterling empire suddenly looked like someone who knew those shadows had finally caught up.
“They’re here.”
Her voice trembled.
Alexander looked toward the door.
“Who?”
Eleanor didn’t answer immediately.
She looked at him.
And in her eyes, Alexander saw something he had never seen before.
Fear.
Not ordinary fear.
The fear of someone who had spent years knowing exactly what powerful people were capable of.
“People who work for Victoria.”
The room became colder.
Lauren immediately stepped closer to Alexander.
“What are we going to do?”
Alexander didn’t answer.
He was thinking.
Businessman.
Father.
Son.
All three parts of him were fighting at once.
The businessman wanted information.
The son wanted answers.
But the father…
The father only wanted his family safe.
Another crash.
The door began splitting.
Richard looked through the window.
“There are two vehicles outside.”
“How many people?”
“At least four.”
Alexander looked at Eleanor.
“Do you have another exit?”
She nodded slowly.
“Through the kitchen.”
“Then we leave.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“No.”
Alexander frowned.
“What?”
“If I leave, they will keep hunting me.”
“And if you stay?”
A sad smile appeared on Eleanor’s face.
“Then they know exactly where I am.”
Alexander stared at her.
“You’re not staying behind.”
For years, Eleanor had protected the truth alone.
But tonight…
She was no longer alone.
A third crash.
The lock broke.
The door opened slightly.
Alexander moved immediately.
“Now.”
They rushed toward the kitchen.
The small house suddenly felt like a maze.
Lauren followed close behind.
Richard protected the rear.
Eleanor grabbed a small box from the kitchen counter.
Alexander noticed.
“What is that?”
“The last evidence.”
He looked at the box.
“What’s inside?”
“The reason Victoria was willing to destroy everything.”
Before he could ask more…
A voice echoed from the living room.
“Eleanor.”
Everyone froze.
A man.
Calm.
Controlled.
Not angry.
That made it worse.
“Come out.”
The voice continued.
“You’ve been hiding long enough.”
Alexander looked at Richard.
“Who is he?”
Richard whispered:
“I don’t know.”
Eleanor’s face changed.
“I do.”
She swallowed.
“Marcus Vale.”
Alexander frowned.
The name sounded familiar.
Then he remembered.
Marcus Vale.
A former Sterling Holdings security director.
A man who disappeared shortly after Jonathan Sterling’s death.
A man Victoria trusted completely.
“You’re saying he works for her?”
Eleanor nodded.
“He always did.”
The kitchen door opened quietly.
They stepped outside into the rain.
But before they could move…
A flashlight appeared.
A figure stood in the backyard.
Marcus.
Tall.
Middle-aged.
Expressionless.
“You really made this difficult, Eleanor.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
Marcus looked at him.
Then smiled slightly.
“So the son finally learned.”
Alexander’s eyes hardened.
“Learned what?”
“That his perfect family was never perfect.”
The words irritated Alexander.
“You don’t know anything about my family.”
Marcus laughed quietly.
“I know more than you.”
Lauren stepped forward.
“You helped Victoria.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Mrs. Sterling.”
Lauren’s face tightened.
“You destroyed our lives.”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“Your lives were destroyed because powerful people make difficult choices.”
Alexander stared.
“You sound exactly like my mother.”
Marcus smiled.
“Because she was right.”
The answer was disgusting.
Alexander felt his anger rising.
“You think what she did was right?”
Marcus looked toward the house.
“Your father was going to ruin everything.”
Alexander froze.
“There it is.”
He stepped closer.
“The same excuse.”
Marcus continued:
“Jonathan Sterling was brilliant.”
“But he was weak.”
“He cared too much about morality.”
Alexander’s voice became cold.
“And Victoria didn’t?”
“No.”
Marcus answered.
“She understood reality.”
The rain fell harder.
Alexander stared at him.
“You helped cover up my father’s death.”
Marcus said nothing.
That silence was enough.
Then Alexander spoke.
“You were there.”
Marcus looked at him.
“The night he died.”
Another silence.
“You were there.”
Marcus finally smiled.
“You’re more like your father than you realize.”
Alexander moved forward.
But Richard stopped him.
“Not here.”
Because Marcus wasn’t alone.
More lights appeared in the distance.
More people.
They were surrounded.
Marcus looked at Alexander.
“Give me Eleanor.”
“No.”
“Then you’ll make this worse.”
Alexander laughed.
“You threatened my daughter.”
Marcus’s expression changed slightly.
“You know about that?”
Alexander’s eyes became dangerous.
“You thought I wouldn’t find out?”
For the first time, Marcus looked uncertain.
Only briefly.
But Alexander saw it.
“You don’t work for Victoria anymore, do you?”
Marcus froze.
Lauren looked confused.
Alexander continued.
“You’re afraid of her.”
A pause.
“You’re not here to protect her.”
“You’re here because she knows something about you.”
Marcus’s face hardened.
“Careful.”
Alexander smiled coldly.
“Your boss taught me something.”
“What?”
“People always reveal their weakness when they’re afraid.”
The two men stared at each other.
Then suddenly…
A gunshot exploded through the night.
Everyone dropped.
The bullet hit the wooden fence.
Chaos erupted.
Marcus looked shocked.
“Everyone move!”
Not toward Alexander.
Not toward Eleanor.
Away.
Because another group had arrived.
A different group.
Richard shouted:
“There are more people!”
Alexander grabbed Lauren’s hand.
“Stay behind me.”
They moved through the darkness.
Eleanor held the evidence box tightly.
Then a car appeared at the end of the road.
The headlights illuminated everything.
And behind the wheel…
Was someone Alexander never expected to see.
Victoria Sterling.
She stepped out of the vehicle.
Perfectly dressed.
Calm.
Almost peaceful.
As if she wasn’t standing in the middle of a war she created.
Alexander stared.
His own mother had come personally.
Victoria looked at him.
Then at Eleanor.
Then at the box in her hands.
And for the first time…
She stopped pretending.
“You should have stayed away from the past, Alexander.”
The rain poured between them.
Alexander answered:
“You should have told me the truth thirty years ago.”
Victoria looked at him sadly.
“You still don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
Her eyes moved toward Eleanor.
“I wasn’t protecting my power.”
Alexander waited.
“I was protecting you.”
Everyone went silent.
Because Victoria’s expression wasn’t arrogance.
It was desperation.
And then she said the sentence nobody expected.
“Your father wasn’t killed because he discovered my crimes.”
Alexander froze.
“Then why?”
Victoria looked directly at him.
“Because he discovered someone else’s.”
The world seemed to stop.
Alexander stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Victoria took a step closer.
“Jonathan was not investigating me.”
“He was investigating the person who betrayed him.”
Alexander’s heart raced.
“Who?”
Victoria looked at Eleanor.
Then at the box.
And whispered:
“The person who caused your father’s death…”
“Was standing beside him that night.”
Eleanor’s face turned pale.
Alexander looked between them.
Because suddenly…
The woman who had been the victim for thirty years…
Might not have been telling the entire truth.
The last witness.
The hidden evidence.
The family betrayal.
Everything was changing again.
And Alexander realized something terrifying.
Finding the truth was only the beginning.
Because now he had to discover…
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Who was lying?
TO BE CONTINUED…
