Chapter 3 – “The Enemy Inside the Walls”
The words stayed with me long after Vincent left the library.
Someone inside my family wants you dead.
Not an enemy outside the walls.
Not a stranger from the auction.
Not some unknown criminal hiding in the shadows.
Someone inside.
Someone close enough to enter Vincent Costa’s fortress.
Someone who knew exactly where to find the one person Vincent had spent fifty million dollars to protect.
Me.
I sat alone in the library, staring at the envelope on the desk.
My fingers traced the edges.
A warning.
A threat.
A message.
Every answer I found only created ten more questions.
My entire life had been built on a lie.
My father wasn't a failed accountant.
He was a man who moved millions.
He knew the Costa family.
He knew Adrian Costa.
And somehow, after disappearing, he left me behind with a warning about the very man who had saved me.
Or maybe trapped me.
I didn't know anymore.
That was the worst part.
I didn't know who the enemy was.
I didn't know who to trust.
The door opened.
I expected Vincent.
Instead, a man I had never seen before entered.
He was tall, older, maybe in his sixties.
Silver hair.
Expensive suit.
A calm smile that immediately made my instincts scream.
"Miss Hayes."
I stood.
"Who are you?"
He looked amused.
"Straight to the point."
"I asked who you are."
He smiled.
"Sebastian Costa."
The name meant something.
Not because I knew him.
Because of Vincent's reaction when he later entered the room.
Sebastian walked toward me.
"I apologize for the circumstances of our meeting."
I didn't move.
"Do you apologize for kidnapping me?"
His smile faded slightly.
"I had nothing to do with the auction."
"Really?"
"No."
He looked at the envelope.
"But I understand why you would assume everyone here is your enemy."
Before I could respond, the library doors opened again.
Vincent entered.
And the temperature in the room changed instantly.
His eyes moved from Sebastian to me.
Then back to Sebastian.
"What are you doing here?"
Sebastian smiled.
"Checking on family."
"You don't have family here."
A dangerous silence followed.
I looked between them.
The tension was immediate.
Personal.
Not business.
Sebastian leaned back.
"You still blame me."
Vincent's expression didn't change.
"I blame you for many things."
Sebastian laughed softly.
"Still carrying that anger after all these years."
I looked at Vincent.
"What is he talking about?"
Neither answered.
That bothered me more than anything.
Secrets.
Everyone in this mansion had them.
Sebastian looked at me.
"Your father was smarter than anyone gave him credit for."
Vincent's voice became sharp.
"Leave."
Sebastian ignored him.
"He knew the Costa family was collapsing from the inside."
Vincent stepped forward.
"I said leave."
"And he knew exactly who was responsible."
The room went silent.
I looked at Sebastian.
"Who?"
Sebastian smiled.
"There is the question."
Vincent's eyes darkened.
"Enough."
Sebastian turned toward him.
"You think protecting her will erase the past?"
"No."
Vincent's voice was cold.
"But killing you would make tonight easier."
Sebastian smiled.
"There he is."
The monster everyone fears."
Then he looked at me.
"Ask yourself something, Miss Hayes."
"Why did Vincent find you before anyone else?"
I frowned.
"What?"
"Why did the most powerful man on the East Coast suddenly discover the missing daughter of William Hayes?"
I looked at Vincent.
He didn't answer.
Sebastian continued.
"Because perhaps he didn't rescue you."
"Perhaps he found you because he needed something your father left behind."
I felt my stomach tighten.
That was exactly what I had suspected.
But hearing someone else say it made it worse.
Vincent's voice cut through the room.
"Get out."
Sebastian smiled.
"Ask him about Adrian."
The name made Vincent freeze.
Just slightly.
But I noticed.
Everyone noticed.
Sebastian walked toward the door.
Then stopped.
"Oh, and Vincent?"
"What?"
Sebastian looked over his shoulder.
"You're protecting the wrong person."
The door closed.
Silence.
I turned to Vincent.
"Who was he?"
"No one you need to worry about."
I laughed.
"No one?"
I walked toward him.
"Your uncle walks into your house, accuses you of using me, mentions your dead brother, and threatens me."
"And your response is 'no one'?"
His jaw tightened.
"Sebastian Costa is a manipulator."
"Is he lying?"
Vincent didn't answer.
Again.
That was becoming a habit.
"Is he lying?"
"No."
The honesty surprised me.
"About what?"
"About me needing something from you."
My chest tightened.
"So it's true."
"Yes."
"You bought me because of my father."
"Yes."
The answer hurt more than I expected.
I looked away.
"Then why pretend?"
"I never pretended otherwise."
"You told me you saved me."
"I did."
"No."
I shook my head.
"You bought me."
Vincent stepped closer.
"And I saved you."
"Those two things can exist at the same time."
I hated that he was right.
Because that was the problem.
Nothing about Vincent Costa was simple.
He wasn't a hero.
He wasn't a villain.
He was something much more dangerous.
A person.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
The mansion was quiet.
Too quiet.
I had learned that quiet in Vincent's world didn't mean safety.
It meant someone was moving silently.
I got out of bed.
The door wasn't locked.
I froze.
Every night since arriving, the lock had clicked.
Tonight?
Nothing.
Someone wanted me to leave.
Or someone wanted me to think I could.
I slowly opened the door.
The hallway was empty.
I walked carefully.
I wasn't trying to escape.
Not yet.
I needed answers.
I needed to know what Vincent was hiding.
I followed the sound of voices.
They came from downstairs.
The security room.
The door was slightly open.
I looked inside.
Vincent stood with several men.
On the screen were security images.
One showed the mansion entrance.
Another showed the forest.
Another showed...
My room.
I stepped back.
Then I heard my name.
"Norah is becoming suspicious."
It was one of Vincent's men.
Vincent didn't answer.
Another man spoke.
"We should move her to the safe location."
"No."
Vincent's answer was immediate.
"Why?"
"Because whoever is watching us expects that."
I listened carefully.
Someone was watching.
Someone knew everything.
Then another voice spoke.
A voice I recognized.
Sebastian.
I froze.
He wasn't gone.
His image appeared on a screen.
A video call.
"You're making the same mistake Adrian made."
Vincent stared at the screen.
"Don't compare me to my brother."
"I am comparing you because you are repeating his weakness."
"What weakness?"
Sebastian smiled.
"Believing you can save everyone."
Vincent's face hardened.
"Adrian died because of betrayal."
"No."
Sebastian leaned closer to the camera.
"Adrian died because he trusted William Hayes."
My breath stopped.
My father.
Vincent went still.
"What did you say?"
Sebastian smiled.
"Ask yourself why William disappeared the same week Adrian died."
Silence.
Then Vincent said:
"Where are you going with this?"
Sebastian's voice lowered.
"Your father didn't betray you."
I froze.
Wait.
Your father?
My mind stopped.
Vincent's father?
Sebastian continued:
"Your father discovered the truth."
"And William helped him hide it."
I felt dizzy.
There were too many secrets.
Too many lies.
Vincent stepped closer to the screen.
"What truth?"
Sebastian smiled.
"The truth that your family empire was built by someone far worse than criminals."
The screen went black.
The call ended.
I stood frozen.
Then a voice behind me said:
"You shouldn't be listening."
I turned.
Vincent stood there.
My heart jumped.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I said:
"You knew."
His face remained unreadable.
"Knew what?"
"That your father wasn't innocent."
Silence.
That was enough.
I stepped closer.
"My father wasn't your enemy."
Vincent looked away.
"You don't understand."
"No."
My voice shook.
"I understand perfectly."
"You spent ten years hating the wrong person."
His eyes snapped to mine.
"Be careful."
"Why?"
"Because the truth you want may destroy everything."
I looked at him.
"Maybe everything deserves to be destroyed."
For a moment...
The anger disappeared.
And I saw something underneath.
Pain.
Real pain.
Vincent Costa wasn't protecting a secret.
He was protecting a wound.
Then suddenly, every light in the mansion went out.
The security alarms screamed.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Vincent immediately grabbed my hand.
Not my wrist.
My hand.
"Stay with me."
I looked at him.
"Is this another excuse to keep me locked away?"
"No."
His eyes met mine.
"This time..."
A gunshot echoed through the house.
Vincent pulled me behind him.
"This time they're not trying to scare you."
The sound of footsteps filled the hallway.
Multiple people.
Inside the mansion.
Impossible.
Vincent's men surrounded us.
One of them shouted through the radio:
"Boss!"
"Someone breached the east wing."
Vincent's face turned cold.
"Who?"
A pause.
Then the answer came.
And it changed everything.
"Sir..."
"The person who entered used your security codes."
Vincent went completely still.
Only one kind of person had those codes.
Family.
I whispered:
"Someone inside your walls."
Vincent looked at me.
And for the first time...
I saw something I never thought I would see in his eyes.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
Then a final message appeared on the security monitor.
A photograph.
A person standing outside the mansion.
A person Vincent knew.
A person I had never met.
Underneath the image were five words:
"I found William Hayes' daughter."
Vincent stared at the screen.
His voice was barely audible.
"No..."
I looked at him.
"Who is it?"
He didn't answer.
Because the person on the screen was someone he thought had died ten years ago.
Someone connected to my father's disappearance.
Someone connected to Adrian Costa's murder.
Someone who knew the truth.
Vincent whispered:
May you like
"My brother's killer."
And then the mansion doors opened.
