Chapter 10: The Man Who Stayed Too Long
Amelia stared at the tablet.
Thomas Reed.
The name looked impossible.
For thirty years, Thomas had been the man standing beside her father.
Not behind him.
Not beneath him.
Beside him.
He was the person who organized Arthur's meetings.
The person who handled the family's most sensitive documents.
The person Amelia trusted when she didn't understand the world her father lived in.
And now...
His name was attached to the destruction of everything.
"No."
The word escaped before she could stop it.
Arthur said nothing.
That frightened her more than anger would have.
Her father always had an answer.
Always had a strategy.
Always had another move.
But now he simply stood there.
Looking at the screen.
Looking at the name of the man who had been his closest ally.
"How?" Amelia asked.
Thomas was not in the room.
Only his betrayal was.
Arthur finally spoke.
"I don't know."
She looked at him.
"You don't know?"
His eyes hardened slightly.
"Thomas has access to information only three people have."
"Who?"
"Me."
A pause.
"You."
"And Thomas."
Amelia felt cold.
"Then either he betrayed us..."
"Or someone wants us to believe he did."
The answer bothered her.
Because it sounded exactly like something her father would say.
They found Thomas twenty minutes later.
Not hiding.
Not running.
He was sitting alone inside the old archive room.
The same place where Amelia had discovered her mother's letter.
The same place where secrets lived longer than people.
When the door opened, Thomas looked up.
He wasn't surprised.
That was the first thing Amelia noticed.
The second thing was worse.
He looked tired.
Not guilty.
Tired.
Arthur stepped inside.
"Explain."
Thomas looked at him.
After thirty years of loyalty, there was no fear in his eyes.
Only disappointment.
"You finally asked."
Arthur's expression darkened.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you spent years believing you were the only person protecting this family."
Thomas stood slowly.
"You were wrong."
Amelia watched between them.
Something was happening.
Something older than Nathan.
Older than Daniel.
A war that had started long before she knew the rules.
"Did you leak the files?"
Arthur's voice was controlled.
Thomas looked at him.
"Yes."
The answer landed heavily.
Amelia felt her chest tighten.
No denial.
No excuse.
Just acceptance.
"Why?"
Thomas looked toward Amelia.
"Because someone had to stop you."
Her eyebrows narrowed.
"Stop me?"
"Yes."
Thomas sighed.
"You were about to repeat your father's greatest mistake."
Arthur's expression changed.
"Careful."
"No."
Thomas's voice became stronger.
"For once, someone needs to say it."
The old man's hands trembled slightly.
"Arthur Blackwood built an empire by protecting his family."
He looked at Amelia.
"But he forgot that protection without trust becomes another kind of prison."
Silence.
The words hurt because they were true.
Amelia looked at Thomas.
"Then why destroy the company?"
Thomas shook his head.
"I didn't."
He turned the tablet around.
The evidence on the screen changed.
The leaked files.
The investigation.
The public scandal.
"Look closer."
Amelia stepped forward.
The documents had been modified.
Small changes.
Almost invisible.
But she noticed.
Numbers.
Dates.
Names.
Someone had altered parts of the information.
The leak wasn't designed to expose Blackwood.
It was designed to make Blackwood look guilty.
Thomas pointed at the screen.
"I released a controlled version."
Arthur frowned.
"You altered the evidence."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the original evidence would have destroyed us."
The room went silent.
Amelia looked at Thomas.
"Someone else already had access."
Thomas nodded.
"Exactly."
A new question appeared.
If Thomas wasn't attacking them...
Who was?
The answer came before anyone spoke.
Nathan.
Amelia immediately rejected it.
"No."
Both men looked at her.
She surprised herself.
She had spent days believing Nathan was the center of everything.
But now...
Something didn't fit.
"Nathan is ambitious."
She continued.
"He's arrogant. He's selfish."
A pause.
"But he's not the architect."
Arthur watched her carefully.
"You believe him?"
"No."
Amelia looked at the documents.
"I believe someone is using him."
At that moment, Amelia's phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
A video file.
Her heart tightened.
She opened it.
The screen showed Nathan.
Sitting in a dark room.
His face looked exhausted.
No expensive suit.
No confidence.
No arrogance.
Just a man who finally understood he had lost control.
Then Nathan spoke.
"Amelia."
She froze.
The video continued.
"I know you hate me."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"You should."
He looked down.
"But there is something you need to know."
A pause.
"The reason I entered your life..."
Amelia held her breath.
"...wasn't because of your family."
The room went silent.
Nathan continued.
"At least, not at first."
Arthur stepped closer.
"What is this?"
Nobody answered.
Nathan's voice became quieter.
"I was approached by Daniel Voss."
A pause.
"He gave me a choice."
The video flickered.
"Destroy Blackwood..."
"Or watch someone else destroy me."
Amelia stared.
"Someone else?"
Nathan looked directly into the camera.
As if he knew she would watch.
"Amelia, the person behind everything..."
His expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
"...is someone inside your family."
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Not Arthur.
Not Thomas.
Not Amelia.
Because one sentence had changed the entire game.
The enemy wasn't outside the walls.
They had been inside all along.
Arthur slowly turned toward Amelia.
"Your brother."
She froze.
"What?"
Arthur looked away.
"Your brother knew about Nathan."
Amelia felt the world shift.
Her older brother.
The person who had always supported her.
The person who had encouraged her to leave home.
The person who told her she deserved a life away from the Blackwood name.
"No."
Arthur's silence answered.
Amelia stepped back.
"Where is he?"
Thomas looked at the security monitor.
His face changed.
"Arthur..."
Everyone turned.
On the screen was a live camera feed from the Blackwood headquarters lobby.
A man stood there.
Waiting.
Amelia knew him immediately.
Her brother.
Ethan Blackwood.
But he wasn't alone.
Standing beside him...
Was Daniel Voss.
May you like
And Ethan was smiling.
End of Chapter 10
