Richard looked at the ceiling.
“At the person who convinced all of us to destroy each other.”
Everyone froze.
Marcus’s expression changed.
“Someone else?”
Richard nodded.
“Yes.”
“Someone who has been moving pieces for years.”
Khloe felt cold.
“Who?”
Before Richard could answer…
The lights in the underground room turned on.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Father.”
Everyone turned.
Daniel.
His voice.
Everywhere.
Richard’s expression changed.
For the first time…
He looked concerned.
Daniel laughed.
“I knew you would come here.”
Marcus looked around.
“Where are you?”
“Above you.”
A pause.
“In my house.”
Richard’s face hardened.
“Your house?”
Daniel laughed.
“Yes.”
“Because everything you built…”
“Everything you stole…”
“Everything you controlled…”
“Now belongs to me.”
The mansion screens activated.
Daniel appeared.
Standing in the main hall.
Holding the original inheritance document.
The real one.
Everyone froze.
Khloe looked at Marcus.
“How?”
Marcus didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know.
Daniel smiled.
“You were looking for the vault.”
“You were looking for the truth.”
“But you never realized…”
“The truth was never hidden.”
He lifted the document.
“It was given to me.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“By who?”
Daniel smiled.
And then the camera moved.
Revealing someone standing beside him.
Someone nobody expected.
Someone Khloe trusted.
Someone who had been helping them.
Someone who had guided them toward the truth.
Everyone froze.
Because the person beside Daniel…
Was Alexander.
But not the Alexander standing beside them.
The screen showed another Alexander.
Standing next to Daniel.
Smiling.
Daniel spoke:
“Meet the man who has been protecting my family all along.”
Khloe felt her blood run cold.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The location leak.
The access codes.
The missing documents.
The perfect timing.
Alexander had not been forced.
At least…
Not the Alexander on the screen.
Marcus looked at the man beside him.
Then at the screen.
Two Alexanders.
One truth.
One lie.
And nobody knew which one was real.
Daniel smiled.
“Welcome to the final stage.”
“You spent your entire life searching for the traitor.”
A pause.
“But you were looking at the wrong person.”
The screen went black.
And the mansion doors locked automatically.
The trap had closed.
But Daniel had made one mistake.
He believed the only people capable of betrayal…
Were the ones who wanted power.
He forgot about the people who wanted justice.
And Khloe Thorne was about to prove the difference.
CHAPTER 19-THE POINT OF NO RETURN
The doors locked.
The sound echoed through Thorne Manor like a final warning.
CLACK.
One by one.
Every entrance.
Every exit.
Every hidden passage.
Sealed.
Daniel Thorne had planned everything.
The timing.
The location.
The people.
Even the moment when hope would disappear.
That was how Daniel operated.
He did not destroy people immediately.
He allowed them to believe they still had a chance.
Then he removed it.
Slowly.
Perfectly.
Marcus stared at the screen that had just gone black.
Two Alexanders.
One beside him.
One beside Daniel.
Impossible.
Except everything about the Thorne family had been impossible lately.
Richard was alive.
Claire was alive.
Sofia was alive.
Marcus was not a Thorne by blood.
Khloe was the true heir.
And now…
The man Marcus trusted most had apparently betrayed him.
Marcus turned slowly.
The Alexander beside him remained silent.
“Say something.”
Alexander looked at him.
“What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
Alexander’s expression changed.
Pain.
Not fear.
Pain.
“I wish I could.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Are you working with Daniel?”
“No.”
The answer came immediately.
Too quickly.
Marcus noticed.
“Then explain the video.”
Alexander looked down.
“I can’t.”
Khloe watched him.
That answer bothered her.
Not because it sounded guilty.
Because it sounded like someone protecting a secret.
“Why can’t you?”
Alexander looked at her.
“Because if I explain…”
A pause.
“Someone dies.”
Nobody moved.
Marcus stared.
“Who?”
Alexander didn’t answer.
Khloe stepped forward.
“Alexander.”
His eyes met hers.
And she saw something.
The same fear she had seen earlier.
The fear of a parent.
The fear of losing someone.
Not the confidence of a traitor.
“Your daughter?”
Alexander closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Marcus’s anger faded slightly.
“What is Daniel holding over you?”
Alexander whispered:
“The truth.”
A silence.
“Daniel knows something about Emma.”
“What?”
Alexander looked at Marcus.
“Emma is not my biological daughter.”
Nobody spoke.
The revelation shocked everyone.
Alexander continued.
“My wife adopted her.”
“Years ago.”
“She was abandoned.”
“She had no family.”
Khloe felt a chill.
“Who was she?”
Alexander looked away.
“That is what Daniel knows.”
Marcus frowned.
“Explain.”
Alexander took a breath.
“Emma’s real identity.”
A pause.
“She is connected to Sofia.”
Everyone froze.
Isabella stepped forward.
“What?”
Alexander nodded.
“Emma was found near where Sofia disappeared.”
“No.”
Isabella shook her head.
“That’s impossible.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Isabella…”
“Daniel knows.”
The room became silent.
Because once again…
