CHAPTER 11 — The Enemy Within
CHAPTER 11 — The Enemy Within
The room was silent.
No one spoke after Victor's final words.
The call...
The gunshot...
The location.
Escalante Global Headquarters.
Mariana felt a chill run down her spine.
For years, she had believed her family's company was the safest place in the world.
Now it had become a crime scene.
Marcus was already moving.
"All security teams, listen carefully."
His voice echoed through the tactical radio.
"Seal every entrance."
"No one leaves the building."
"Lock down all executive floors."
Within seconds, confirmation came from every team.
But before Marcus could issue another order—
A nervous voice interrupted.
"Sir..."
"The executive elevator is moving."
Marcus frowned.
"Who authorized it?"
"No one."
Victor immediately pulled up the building's security system.
One elevator.
Heading upward.
Floor 12...
18...
24...
31...
No access card had been used.
Someone had bypassed the system.
Marcus turned toward Mariana.
"They're still inside."
Twenty minutes later...
The convoy arrived at Escalante Global Headquarters.
Police cars already surrounded the entrance.
Employees stood outside in small groups, whispering anxiously.
No one knew exactly what had happened.
Only that something was terribly wrong.
Mariana entered the lobby.
Every employee instinctively stepped aside.
The atmosphere was tense.
Marcus approached the security desk.
"What happened?"
The chief guard swallowed.
"We heard one gunshot."
"Then the cameras on the executive floor went offline."
Victor's expression darkened.
"Offline?"
"They were disabled manually."
The private elevator opened.
Marcus drew his pistol.
Two security officers moved ahead.
The executive hallway was completely empty.
Too quiet.
Then...
They saw it.
A trail of blood.
Leading toward the legal department.
Victor ran.
The conference room door stood half open.
Inside...
Edward Grayson lay on the floor.
Still breathing.
Barely.
Blood stained his white shirt.
A single gunshot wound.
Marcus immediately checked the room.
"Clear."
Victor knelt beside Edward.
"Edward!"
Edward's eyes slowly opened.
He recognized Victor.
"You came..."
Victor pressed a hand against the wound.
"Stay with me."
Edward weakly grabbed Victor's sleeve.
"They..."
Victor leaned closer.
"Who?"
Edward struggled to breathe.
"The Chairman..."
Mariana stepped beside him.
"Who is the Chairman?"
Edward looked directly into her eyes.
His lips trembled.
"You've..."
"...already met..."
He coughed violently.
"...him."
Before he could say another word—
The heart monitor attached by emergency responders emitted one long, continuous tone.
Edward Grayson was dead.
Silence filled the room.
Victor slowly closed his friend's eyes.
They had worked together for nearly twenty years.
Now...
The last witness had died without revealing the name.
Or had he?
Mariana replayed his final sentence.
"You've already met him."
Not...
"He."
Not...
"She."
Just...
"Him."
Meanwhile...
Forensic investigators began examining Edward's office.
One technician called out,
"Mr. Hale!"
Victor walked over.
"What is it?"
The technician pointed toward Edward's desk.
"There's no computer."
Victor frowned.
"What?"
"The docking station is here."
"Cables are still connected."
"But the laptop is gone."
Marcus immediately understood.
"The killer didn't come to silence Edward."
"He came for the files."
Mariana slowly looked around the office.
Everything appeared untouched.
Except...
One bookshelf.
A single law book sat slightly crooked.
She walked toward it.
Carefully pulled it forward.
Click.
A hidden compartment opened.
Victor looked surprised.
Inside...
A small digital recorder.
Still blinking.
Recording.
Marcus carefully pressed PLAY.
Edward's voice filled the room.
The recording had started nearly twenty minutes before the attack.
Edward: "I don't have the documents anymore."
A second voice answered.
Calm.
Deep.
Male.
Unknown Man: "Then tell me where Mariana is."
Everyone froze.
Mariana recognized something about the voice.
Not the words.
The tone.
It felt familiar.
Edward spoke again.
"I'm done protecting you."
The unknown man laughed softly.
"No."
"You've been protecting yourself."
A chair scraped across the floor.
Then—
Another voice entered.
Female.
"You've become careless."
Mariana's eyes widened.
Margaret.
It was unmistakably Margaret.
Victor looked at Marcus.
"There were two of them."
Marcus nodded.
"A man."
"And Margaret."
The recording continued.
Edward shouted,
"I kept my promise to Richard!"
The unknown man answered,
"You should have kept your mouth shut."
A loud bang.
Glass shattered.
Then...
A gunshot.
The recording ended.
Marcus immediately turned to the forensic team.
"Enhance the male voice."
"We need identification."
The technicians got to work.
Meanwhile...
Victor carefully searched the hidden compartment.
His fingers touched something else.
A folded piece of paper.
He opened it.
Only four words.
Check the Foundation.
Mariana frowned.
"The Foundation?"
Victor suddenly looked at Alejandro.
Alejandro's expression changed.
"No..."
"What?"
"The Escalante Children's Foundation."
Silence.
Victor whispered,
"Richard served on its board."
"So did Margaret."
Mariana slowly realized the implication.
If the Foundation had been used...
Then the conspiracy wasn't just stealing companies.
It had been moving money through a charity trusted by thousands.
Just then...
Marcus received a message through his earpiece.
His face hardened.
"Miss Escalante."
"What is it?"
"The accounting department found something."
"What?"
"A transfer."
Victor looked up.
"How much?"
Marcus answered quietly.
"Five hundred million dollars."
The room fell silent.
"When?"
"Exactly..."
He checked the timestamp.
"...eight minutes after Edward was shot."
Mariana's voice became ice cold.
"Where did it go?"
Marcus looked directly at her.
"It was transferred..."
"...from one of Escalante Global's emergency reserve accounts."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
"Impossible."
Marcus continued.
"And the transfer..."
"...was personally authorized."
Mariana frowned.
"By whom?"
Marcus slowly turned the tablet around.
On the screen...
The digital authorization signature appeared.
It was perfect.
Every detail matched.
The system had accepted it without question.
The signature read:
Mariana Escalante.
Mariana stared at the screen.
"I never signed that."
Victor's face darkened.
"No..."
"You didn't."
Someone had just forged the only signature powerful enough to steal half a billion dollars from the Escalante empire.
And whoever had done it...
May you like
Had access to everything.
End of Chapter 11
