Chapter 38: The Shooter in the Dark

The gunshot echoed through the estate like thunder.

Victoria jerked forward, staggering as her hand flew to her shoulder. Blood seeped between her fingers. The necklace dropped from her grip, clattering to the floor.

Lena screamed.

Mrs. Ward gasped.

Alexander lunged instantly.

“Victoria!” he shouted, grabbing her before she collapsed.

But Victoria slapped his hands away, breath sharp and strained. “Don’t touch me.”

Another bullet cracked against the stone wall near the window.

“GET DOWN!” Alexander roared.

He pushed Lena behind a heavy wooden column, shielding her with his body as glass rained down around them.

Mrs. Ward dropped to the floor, crawling for cover. Victoria fled sideways, clutching her shoulder, pressing herself against the wall to avoid being in the shooter’s line of sight.

“Alex!” Lena cried. “Who’s shooting?!”

He peered out just long enough to see a shadow moving near the trees.

His face changed.

Not fear.

Not confusion.

Recognition.

“Damn it,” Alexander hissed. “It’s not Dylan.”

Lena grabbed his arm. “Then who?!”

His jaw tightened. “Someone far worse.”

Another gunshot tore through the window, barely missing Alexander’s head.

He ducked, cursing. “They’re trying to kill Victoria.”

Victoria let out a low, pained laugh. “Of course they are. I betrayed them, remember?”

Alexander glared at her. “Who is it?”

Victoria’s eyes flicked to Lena, dark and warning. “Someone you didn’t tell her about.”

Alexander froze.

Lena watched him. “Alex… what is she talking about?”

Victoria pressed her hand harder to her wound. “Your lover has been keeping more secrets, little girl.”

Alexander snarled, “Shut up, Victoria.”

But it was too late.

The seed had been planted.

Lena’s chest tightened painfully.

Mrs. Ward finally reached the control panel hidden behind a wall painting and slammed her palm onto a red button. Steel shutters slammed down over all windows with a heavy clang, sealing the house again.

The gunfire stopped instantly.

Whoever was outside retreated into the trees.

For now.

Alexander exhaled shakily. “We need to move. Now.”

But Victoria slid down the wall, leaving a smear of blood behind her. Her face had gone pale, her breath thin.

“Alex,” she whispered, “he found me.”

He crouched beside her, examining the wound. “The bullet grazed you. You’ll live.”

Victoria shot him a deadly glare. “Don’t pretend you care.”

“I don’t,” he said coldly. “But I need you alive until I know what you stole.”

Victoria let out a shaky laugh. “Always so direct.”

Lena stepped forward, trembling. “You said the file was hidden in the necklace. Is that true?”

Victoria blinked up at her slowly—her eyes tired but sharp.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Your mother hid it for you.”

Lena’s throat closed. “Why me?”

Victoria studied her for a long moment. “Because she knew you’d grow up with a conscience.”

Alexander stiffened. “Meaning what?”

Victoria smirked through the pain. “Meaning you wouldn’t hide the truth the way your father did.”

Lena’s heart pounded. “What’s in the file?”

Victoria looked straight into her soul.

“Names,” she whispered. “Transactions. Evidence of what the Split Circle did—and who helped them.”

“Who?” Lena whispered.

Victoria’s eyes flicked to Alexander.

He went still.

Terrifyingly still.

Victoria smiled faintly. “You already know the answer.”

Lena’s blood ran cold. “No… no, I don’t.”

But Victoria ignored her.

She looked at Alexander. “You think you’re better than your father, but you’ve inherited every one of his enemies.”

Alexander’s voice was low, steady, and deadly. “Is the shooter one of them?”

Victoria nodded weakly. “One of the Circle’s hunters.”

Mrs. Ward gasped. “They sent a hunter after you? After us?”

Alexander’s expression darkened. “Hunters are sent only when the Circle wants someone erased.”

Victoria winced. “Or silenced.”

“But why now?” Lena asked. “Why shoot you now?”

Victoria tilted her head—not at Lena, but at the camera in the corner of the room.

Lena followed her gaze.

Mrs. Ward looked too.

Alexander’s body stiffened.

Victoria smiled slowly. “Because someone inside this house… told them where to find me.”

Silence fell like a stone.

Lena’s mouth went dry. “Someone… inside…?”

Victoria whispered, “Yes. Someone you trust.”

Mrs. Ward shook her head in disbelief. “Impossible. There are only three of us here besides you.”

Victoria’s gaze slid across each of them.

“No,” she said softly. “Four.”

A chill ran down Lena’s spine.

“Who?” she whispered.

Victoria’s eyes rested on Mrs. Ward.

The room went cold.

Mrs. Ward went pale. “Victoria, don’t lie. You know I would never—”

Victoria smiled viciously. “Oh please. Who else has access to the estate codes? Who else can disable the cameras? Who else knows every secret in this house?”

Alexander stood slowly, placing himself between Lena and Mrs. Ward.

He didn’t speak.

He didn’t accuse.

But the tension in his body was unmistakable.

Mrs. Ward raised her hands in panic. “Alexander—no. You know me. You know I’d die before I betrayed your family.”

Victoria’s voice was cold and soft. “Then why was the hunter already here before you arrived?”

Mrs. Ward’s breath caught.

Lena’s heart cracked.

Alexander whispered, “Mrs. Ward… tell me it’s not true.”

Mrs. Ward trembled, tears filling her eyes. “Alexander, I would never hurt you. You’re like my son.”

Victoria’s voice sliced the air like a knife.

“And that,” she said, “is exactly why she’s the perfect traitor.”