CHAPTER 7: THE ENEMY WITHIN
Betrayal is different from an attack.
An attack comes from someone standing in front of you.
You see the threat.
You prepare.
You defend.
But betrayal comes quietly.
It enters through a door you left open.
It wears a familiar face.
And that is what makes it dangerous.
I stared at the name on Daniel’s phone.
For several seconds, I refused to believe what I was seeing.
Not because the evidence was unclear.
Because the person connected to the Prescott family was someone I had trusted.
Someone who had been beside me during some of the hardest years of my life.
Someone who knew my family.
Someone who knew Emily.
“Tell me this is wrong.”
Daniel remained silent.
That was his answer.
“Daniel.”
“I checked everything twice.”
I looked away.
“Who else knows?”
“Nobody.”
“Good.”
He studied my face.
“Victoria…”
I knew what he was going to say.
“Do not ask me if I am okay.”
He stopped.
Because he knew better.
I was not okay.
But being okay was never the requirement.
The mission continued.
The person connected to the Prescott family was Colonel James Whitmore.
A former military colleague.
Someone I had served with for more than fifteen years.
James had been one of the few people I trusted after leaving active duty.
He had attended my husband’s funeral.
He had watched Emily grow up.
He had stood beside me when I returned from difficult deployments.
And now…
his name was appearing in financial records connected to Margaret Prescott.
At first, I thought there had to be another explanation.
Maybe he had been investigating them.
Maybe he had another reason.
Maybe there was information we did not have.
But Daniel had found something worse.
Payments.
Multiple transfers.
From Prescott-owned companies.
Straight into an account connected to James.
Not enough to prove everything.
But enough to ask questions.
That night, I visited James.
I did not bring security.
I did not bring Daniel.
I went alone.
Because sometimes people reveal more when they think they still have control.
James opened the door with a surprised expression.
“Victoria?”
He smiled.
“What brings you here?”
I looked at him.
“We need to talk.”
His smile disappeared slightly.
“Is something wrong?”
I stepped inside.
The house looked exactly as I remembered.
Photos.
Military awards.
Family memories.
A life built on trust.
I hated that I was standing there questioning it.
“James.”
He looked at me.
“Did you ever communicate with Margaret Prescott?”
A pause.
Too long.
Only a second.
But enough.
“Yes.”
His answer came carefully.
“I have known the Prescott family for years.”
I watched his reaction.
“And did they pay you?”
The room went silent.
James froze.
Just briefly.
But he did.
“Victoria…”
“That was not an answer.”
He looked away.
A mistake.
A soldier avoids looking away when answering difficult questions.
Someone hiding something does.
“Who told you?”
I felt something inside me break.
Not anger.
Disappointment.
“Does it matter?”
James sighed.
“You do not understand.”
“No.”
My voice became colder.
“I understand exactly.”
He walked toward the window.
“Margaret approached me because she was worried about Ethan.”
I said nothing.
“She said Emily was unstable.”
There it was.
The same story.
The same weapon.
“She asked me to help protect the family.”
“Protect?”
I almost laughed.
“Is that what you call it?”
James turned.
“You do not know the whole situation.”
“I know my daughter was in a hospital bed.”
His face changed.
“Victoria…”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You watched Emily grow up.”
His eyes lowered.
“You knew her.”
Silence.
“And you believed them over her?”
James looked ashamed.
That was the first honest emotion I saw from him.
“I thought I was preventing things from getting worse.”
I stared at him.
“By helping them silence her?”
He had no answer.
The next morning, I told Daniel everything.
He listened quietly.
Then he said:
“He may not be the person controlling everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“He could be a piece of the system.”
I understood.
The Prescott family did not operate alone.
They collected people.
Lawyers.
Officials.
Business partners.
Anyone willing to trade integrity for influence.
“They build protection around themselves.”
Daniel nodded.
“Exactly.”
“And James?”
“He may know more than he admitted.”
I looked toward the courthouse.
“Then we make him tell us.”
The next court session began with unexpected news.
Richard Caldwell requested a private discussion with the judge.
Nobody knew why.
Until the judge returned.
“Due to new information submitted to this court, proceedings will be temporarily delayed.”
The courtroom erupted in whispers.
Elizabeth immediately turned to us.
“What happened?”
Daniel checked his phone.
Then his expression changed.
“Victoria.”
“What?”
He showed me a message.
A news article had just been published.
The headline made my stomach tighten.
“Military Colonel Accused of Fabricating Family Allegations Against Wealthy Business Family.”
Again.
Another attack.
But this time it was different.
Because the article included private information.
Information that only a few people knew.
The hospital details.
Emily’s statement.
Our legal strategy.
My meetings with investigators.
Someone had leaked everything.
Someone close.
Someone with access.
I looked across the courtroom.
The Prescott family sat calmly.
Too calmly.
They knew.
That evening, Emily called me.
Her voice sounded afraid.
“Mom?”
I immediately answered.
“What happened?”
“I saw the news.”
I closed my eyes.
“Emily…”
“They are saying horrible things.”
“Listen to me.”
“I feel like everyone is looking at me like I am the problem.”
I sat down.
The strongest people can still have moments where they feel exhausted.
“Emily.”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember when you were eight years old?”
A pause.
“What?”
“You made a drawing for me before my deployment.”
A small laugh came through the phone.
“The one with the terrible handwriting?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
I smiled.
“‘Mom, come home. You are stronger than the bad guys.’”
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“I remember.”
“You believed that about me.”
A pause.
“But now I need you to believe it about yourself.”
Emily breathed slowly.
“I’m trying.”
“That is enough.”
Later that night, Daniel uncovered something else.
Something that connected everything.
He called me at midnight.
“Victoria.”
I knew immediately.
“What did you find?”
“The leak.”
My heart tightened.
“Who?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then:
“James Whitmore.”
I closed my eyes.
The betrayal finally had a face.
But Daniel continued.
“There is more.”
“What?”
“He was not working for Margaret because of money.”
“Then why?”
A pause.
“Because Margaret threatened him.”
I frowned.
“Threatened him with what?”
Daniel’s voice became quiet.
“With the truth about something he did years ago.”
I stood.
“What truth?”
“We are still investigating.”
I looked out the window.
The enemy was not just outside.
It was inside.
But now I understood something.
James was not the architect.
He was another person trapped by the Prescott machine.
And machines do not collapse by attacking the surface.
You find the mechanism.
You break the parts holding it together.
The next morning, I received a message from James.
Only one sentence.
“I need to tell you everything before it is too late.”
Attached was a location.
A meeting place.
And a warning.
“Come alone.”
I stared at the message.
Every instinct told me this could be a trap.
But another instinct told me something else.
James Whitmore was finally ready to speak.
And whatever secret he carried…
May you like
could destroy the Prescott family forever.
End of Chapter 7
