Chapter 20 - The Camera Still WatchingLate that night, Valerie walked alone through the courtyard.
The moon reflected across the fountain.
She stopped beside the white roses.
Her phone vibrated.
A secure notification appeared.
UNIDENTIFIED ACCESS ATTEMPT — ESTATE SECURITY NETWORK.
Valerie's smile disappeared.
She looked toward the dark gates.
Another notification appeared.
SOURCE: UNKNOWN.
Then a final message.
YOU WERE NOT THE ONLY ONE WATCHING.
Valerie slowly lifted her eyes toward the mansion.
Inside, Beatrice was asleep.
Safe.
Protected.
The nightmare was over.
Or at least, she had believed it was.
Valerie opened the message.
There was no name.
No photograph.
Only a single sentence:
"Victoria wasn't working alone."
Valerie stared at the screen.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then she smiled—not with fear, but with the calm confidence of a soldier who had already survived worse things than secrets.
She slipped the phone into her pocket.
Behind her, the white roses moved gently in the night wind.
The family had survived.
The fortune had been restored.
The cage was gone.
May you like
But somewhere beyond the gates, someone was still watching.
And Valerie Sterling had just realized that the next battle might already have begun.
