CHAPTER 6: THE ENEMY INSIDE THE WHITMORE FAMILY
The words on the screen burned brighter than the darkness surrounding them.
WELCOME HOME, UNCLE CHARLES.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody breathed.
Because everyone in the room understood the meaning behind those words.
The person who had been attacking them...
Was not a stranger.
Was not an outsider.
Was someone who knew the Whitmore family.
Someone who knew their secrets.
Someone who knew exactly where to hurt them.
Charles Whitmore stared at the message.
His face remained calm.
But his hands tightened slowly.
A reaction almost nobody would notice.
Almost.
Except Nora.
She had spent six years watching people hide emotions.
She knew what fear looked like.
And for the first time...
She saw it on Charles.
"Uncle?"
Nora whispered.
"Who would call you that?"
Charles didn't answer.
His eyes stayed fixed on the screen.
The message disappeared.
Then another line appeared.
YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME. NOW I WILL TAKE EVERYTHING FROM YOU.
The security team immediately moved.
"Trace the signal!"
"Lock down every entrance!"
"Nobody leaves the property!"
The mansion became a fortress.
But Charles remained still.
Because the attack wasn't outside.
It was already inside his memories.
Twenty-five years ago.
Whitmore Manor.
A much younger Charles stood in the same room.
But back then...
There were more people around him.
His family.
His brother.
His nephew.
His father.
The Whitmore name had always represented power.
But power created hunger.
And hunger created betrayal.
Charles remembered one person.
His younger brother.
Richard Whitmore.
The man who smiled beautifully.
The man everyone trusted.
The man who always stood beside Charles.
And the man who secretly hated him.
Richard believed the company should have been his.
He believed Charles stole the future that belonged to him.
But Charles never imagined how far that resentment would go.
Until Alexander Voss discovered the truth.
Present day.
Alexander sat inside the mansion's private medical room.
A doctor cleaned the wound on his shoulder.
Nora stood nearby.
She couldn't stop looking at him.
The man in front of her was a stranger.
But he was also Lucy's father.
The person whose existence had been hidden from her.
"You knew about Lucy?"
Alexander looked at her.
"Every day."
Nora's expression hardened.
"Every day?"
"Then why didn't you come?"
Pain crossed his face.
"Because I couldn't."
"Why?"
Alexander looked toward the door.
"Because they were watching me."
"Who?"
He didn't answer.
Charles entered the room.
"I know who."
Everyone turned.
Charles walked in holding an old file.
He placed it on the table.
"The Voss investigation."
Alexander's face changed.
"You kept it."
"I kept everything."
Nora looked between them.
"What investigation?"
Charles opened the file.
Inside were dozens of reports.
Photographs.
Financial records.
Names.
At the top was one sentence:
OPERATION: SILENT BLOODLINE
Nora frowned.
"What is that?"
Charles looked at Lucy's sleeping room.
"It was a plan to eliminate every person connected to Alexander Voss."
Nora felt sick.
"Eliminate?"
Charles nodded.
"They wanted his company."
"They wanted his research."
"They wanted his information."
Alexander added quietly:
"And they wanted my daughter."
A few hours later...
Daniel watched the news from a hidden apartment.
The headline filled the screen.
WHITMORE FAMILY INVOLVED IN UNKNOWN SCANDAL AFTER SECRET HEIR REVEALED
Daniel stared.
Secret heir.
The words made him angry.
Because everything he had spent years trying to obtain...
Was never even his.
He poured himself a drink.
Then his phone rang.
The same private number.
He answered.
"You."
The voice remained calm.
"You sound disappointed."
"You ruined my life."
"No."
The voice replied.
"You ruined your own life when you got emotional."
Daniel clenched his teeth.
"You promised me control."
"I promised you an opportunity."
"You failed."
Daniel walked across the room.
"Who are you?"
A pause.
Then:
"You still don't understand."
"You were never the player."
"You were the pawn."
Daniel froze.
"Tell me who you are."
The voice laughed.
"You already met me."
The call ended.
Daniel stared at the phone.
Then slowly...
His face changed.
Because a terrible thought entered his mind.
Someone close.
Someone familiar.
Someone he trusted.
Inside the Whitmore mansion...
Charles stood in his office with Nora.
"You need to hear the truth."
Nora looked exhausted.
"I have heard enough secrets to last a lifetime."
"I know."
Charles looked down.
"But this one involves Lucy."
That immediately got her attention.
"What?"
Charles opened another folder.
Inside was a photograph.
A baby.
Lucy.
But beside her was another child.
A little boy.
Nora frowned.
"Who is that?"
Charles looked serious.
"Your daughter has a brother."
Nora stared.
"What?"
Alexander, standing behind them, went silent.
Nora looked at him.
"You knew?"
Alexander looked away.
"I didn't know if he survived."
Her voice shook.
"What are you talking about?"
Charles answered.
"Before Lucy was born..."
"Alexander had twins."
The room became silent.
"Twins?"
Charles nodded.
"A boy and a girl."
Nora looked at the picture.
"Where is he?"
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was terrifying.
Finally Alexander spoke.
"They took him."
Nora covered her mouth.
"Who?"
Alexander's eyes became filled with anger.
"The same people who tried to erase Lucy."
Charles looked at the photograph.
A name was written on the back.
A name that had been hidden for years.
Noah Voss.
That night...
Lucy woke up.
She walked quietly into the hallway.
"Mommy?"
No answer.
She continued walking.
Then she saw someone standing near the window.
A man.
Watching the garden.
Lucy froze.
The man slowly turned.
The little girl recognized him.
Her eyes widened.
Because she had seen him before.
In her dreams.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled sadly.
"I'm someone who has been looking for you for a very long time."
Lucy stepped back.
"Are you bad?"
The man looked hurt.
"No."
A tear appeared in his eye.
"I'm your brother."
Lucy froze.
"My brother?"
The man nodded.
Then he whispered:
"And I came back..."
"Because they are coming for you."
Suddenly...
The mansion alarm exploded.
Security lights turned on.
Charles' voice echoed through the house.
"EVERYONE GET AWAY FROM THE WINDOWS!"
A gunshot shattered the glass.
Nora screamed.
Charles ran toward Lucy.
But when he arrived...
The hallway was empty.
The mysterious man was gone.
And on the floor...
Was a small photograph.
A photograph of Lucy and Noah as babies.
With one sentence written on the back.
May you like
THE FIRST CHILD WAS NEVER LOST.
HE WAS TAKEN.
