Chapter 4: The Enemy Inside The Courtroom
The person standing in the doorway was not a stranger.
It was someone I had spent three weeks sitting across from in court.
Someone who had smiled politely.
Someone who had shaken my hand.
Someone who had helped convince the world that Victor Hale was guilty.
Assistant District Attorney Lauren Whitmore.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Lauren stood in the doorway wearing a black coat, her expression calm and almost disappointed.
Like she had expected to find me there.
Daniel stepped in front of me.
“Lauren.””
Her eyes moved toward him.
“Daniel.””
The way they said each other’s names told me everything.
They knew each other.
Not professionally.
Personally.
I tightened my grip on the folder.
“You.””
Lauren looked at me.
“Emily, this isn’t what you think.””
I almost laughed.
“Someone broke into Daniel Cross’s house, and you’re standing at the door.””
Her face remained calm.
“I came here because I knew you would eventually find him.””
Daniel’s voice was sharp.
“You shouldn’t have come.””
Lauren ignored him.
Instead, she looked directly at me.
“Do you know what happens when you start digging into things you don’t understand?””
I stared back.
“You tell me.””
She took a step forward.
“You lose everything.””
Daniel moved closer.
“Don’t listen to her.””
Lauren looked at him.
“You’re still pretending you’re the hero?””
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because they carried history.
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
“You know why I did what I did.””
“Yes,” Lauren said quietly.
“Because you thought exposing Victor would fix everything.””
The room went silent.
I looked between them.
“What are you talking about?””
Neither answered.
I stepped forward.
“No more secrets.””
My voice was louder than I expected.
“I spent months defending a man who lied to me. I watched my reputation get destroyed because of his crimes. Then he attacked me in front of cameras.””
I pointed at the folder.
“I’m done being the person everyone manipulates.””
Lauren studied me.
Then something unexpected happened.
Her expression softened.
“Emily, you think you’re fighting Victor Hale.””
She shook her head.
“You’re fighting the people who allowed him to exist.””
I felt a chill.
“Then tell me who they are.””
She looked at Daniel.
He looked away.
That hesitation angered me.
“Both of you know something.””
Lauren sighed.
“Daniel found evidence years ago.””
She walked slowly into the room.
“Evidence that Victor wasn’t operating alone.””
I looked at Daniel.
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
He didn’t answer.
“Why?””
His silence lasted too long.
Finally, he spoke.
“Because every person who tried to expose Victor before ended up destroyed.””
I stared at him.
“That doesn’t explain why you hid it from me.””
Daniel looked down.
“Because I thought protecting you meant keeping you away.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to decide that.””
A sound came from outside.
A car engine.
Everyone froze.
Lauren immediately moved toward the window.
Her face changed.
“They’re not alone.””
Daniel looked at her.
“How many?””
She didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Daniel grabbed the folder.
“We need to move.””
I looked at him.
“Move where?””
“Somewhere Victor can’t see.””
Lauren gave a bitter smile.
“There is nowhere Victor can’t see.””
The three of us left through the back entrance.
The cold air hit my face as we moved into the alley.
I followed Daniel and Lauren, but my mind was racing.
The courtroom.
The evidence.
The trial.
Everything suddenly looked different.
Because if Lauren was involved, then every moment of the trial had to be questioned.
I stopped walking.
“Wait.””
Daniel turned.
“What?””
I looked at Lauren.
“You knew.””
She didn’t speak.
“You knew there were problems with the evidence.””
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“What are you talking about?””
I stepped closer.
“During the trial, three documents disappeared from the evidence list.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Emily.””
“No.””
I couldn’t stop.
“I noticed it after the verdict.””
I looked at Lauren.
“The missing documents were financial records from Westbridge Holdings.””
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
And that was enough.
“You knew.””
Lauren looked away.
“I suspected.””
My heart sank.
“You suspected?””
I laughed bitterly.
“I built my entire defense around the evidence I was allowed to see.””
I pointed at her.
“You knew there was more.””
She looked at me.
“Emily, if I had revealed everything then, people would have died.””
The sentence stopped me.
“What?””
Lauren looked toward the street.
“Victor doesn’t threaten people directly.””
She lowered her voice.
“He creates accidents.””
Daniel nodded.
“She’s telling the truth.””
I stared at both of them.
“So the trial…”
Lauren interrupted.
“The trial was never meant to destroy Victor.””
I frowned.
“What?””
She looked at me.
“It was meant to make him think he was winning.””
I felt confused.
“Why?””
“Because guilty people make mistakes when they believe they survived.””
Daniel finished the sentence.
“Victor’s conviction was a trap.””
I looked at the folder.
“And I was the bait?””
Neither answered.
I already knew.
The realization made me angry.
“You used me.””
Daniel looked hurt.
“No.””
“Yes.””
I stepped back.
“You let me defend him. You let me stand beside him. You let him trust me.””
Lauren shook her head.
“We didn’t know he would choose you.””
“But he did.””
My voice became quiet.
“And now I’m involved.””
Nobody spoke.
Because it was true.
The next several hours were spent in a small safe location outside the city.
A place Lauren had access to.
I hated that I needed her.
But I needed answers more.
Daniel spread documents across the table.
“Victor’s operation has three layers.””
He pointed.
“Public companies.””
“Fake companies.””
“And private accounts.””
I looked at the records.
“What’s the purpose of the private accounts?””
Lauren answered.
“Control.””
I looked at her.
“Explain.””
She sat down.
“Victor paid people who could influence decisions.””
“Judges?””
She didn’t answer.
That was an answer.
“Officials?””
Another silence.
“Investigators?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Everyone has a price.””
I stared at the documents.
Then I saw something.
A familiar name.
I picked up the page.
“No.””
Daniel looked at me.
“What?””
I pointed.
“This person.””
Lauren leaned closer.
Her face changed.
“That’s impossible.””
“Who is it?””
Neither answered.
I looked between them.
“Who?””
Daniel slowly spoke.
“The person who approved the first investigation into Victor Hale.””
I looked at the signature.
A name.
A name that had been hidden in every document.
A name connected to the beginning of everything.
Then my phone vibrated.
I looked down.
Unknown number.
One message.
My blood ran cold.
Because the message contained a photo.
A photo of me.
Taken minutes earlier.
Outside the safe house.
Underneath it were six words.
*YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT ALONE.*
I looked up.
Daniel saw my face.
“What happened?””
I turned the phone around.
Nobody spoke.
Then Lauren whispered something that made my stomach drop.
“He found us.””
Daniel grabbed the documents.
“Not just us.””
He looked at me.
“Emily…”
His voice became serious.
“He knows what you discovered.””
My phone vibrated again.
Another message.
This time, no photo.
Just a sentence.
*ASK LAUREN WHY SHE REALLY LET VICTOR GO TO PRISON.*
I slowly lifted my eyes.
Lauren was staring at the screen.
May you like
And for the first time since I met her…
She looked afraid.
