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*Chapter 14: Enemies Within the Gates
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**"The sharpest knife is the one already inside your house."**
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### The Morning After Blood
Sunlight tried to sneak into the mansion through the high glass windows, but the air was still heavy — not with silence, but with something thicker: **distrust**.
Sher sat at the grand dining table, bandaged arm resting on the polished surface, eyes fixed on Hana who was silently munching on toast across from him — like she hadn't tackled an armed intruder five hours ago.
"Why aren't you reacting?" he asked, voice low.
"To what?"
"To the fact that someone just tried to assassinate you."
She took a sip of orange juice and said flatly, "It's not the first time."
He slammed his palm on the table. "This is not *normal*, Hana."
She raised a brow. "Neither is marrying a guy who wears suits to breakfast."
Sher stood, circling the table to lean down beside her. "If anything happens to you, I'll destroy this entire city."
"I know." She gave a small smile. "That's why I'm still breathing."
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### Unseen Eyes, Silent Spies
Felix was gone. After transferring the drive into Sher's hands, he vanished like smoke — no trace, no goodbye. But his last words echoed:
> "There's someone close. Someone trusted. And they're not on your side."
Sher didn't want to believe it. The Wolter estate had the tightest security systems, the most loyal staff… or so he thought.
But Mira — the AI assistant — confirmed that the mansion's internal logs were tampered with *from the inside*.
Only four people had access to that level of clearance:
Sher.
Hana.
Klein.
And **Housekeeper Juna**.
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### The Perfect Maid
Juna had worked with the Wolter family since Sher was a teenager. She made his tea with the exact amount of ginger he liked. She stitched his battle suits when they were torn. She'd once bandaged his shoulder after a rooftop mission and whispered, "You'll always be safe here."
But now… he had doubts.
"Run a loyalty scan," Sher ordered Mira.
Mira hesitated. "Sir… Housekeeper Juna has manually overridden biometric tracking 12 times in the past 60 days."
Hana, now peeking over his shoulder, let out a low whistle. "Wow. Someone's been busy."
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### Hana's Little Plan
"Let me handle it," Hana said, eyes glinting with mischief.
Sher frowned. "You're not baiting yourself again."
"No. This time, I'm baiting *her.*" She stretched, smiling wickedly. "Time to play heartless wife with a talent for chaos."
"You do that every day anyway."
"Exactly. But now with *extra* spice."
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### The Confrontation
That evening, Hana entered the main kitchen dramatically, tossing a fake burned letter into the trash and muttering, "Ugh, Sher's going to flip if he sees this."
Juna, arranging the cutlery, paused mid-motion.
Hana glanced at her. "Oh, don't mind me. Just trying to hide evidence. You know, the usual."
Juna gave a polite smile. "Is everything alright, Mrs. Wolter?"
"You tell me," Hana said, walking closer, voice soft but sharp. "You've been watching us long enough."
Silence.
Then — without warning — Juna lunged with a concealed plasma knife.
But Sher had already been waiting outside the door.
He moved like a shadow, disarming her in seconds, pinning her to the marble.
Hana stood calmly behind them, arms folded. "Told you I was great bait."
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### Truth Spilled Like Blood
Juna's confession was quiet, tearless.
"I didn't want to do it. But my brother… Cenric has him. He said he'd kill him if I didn't sabotage your files, track your wife, send your movements."
Sher's jaw clenched.
"She's just a girl!" Juna snapped. "You're the heir! You were never meant to love someone like her!"
"Don't talk like you know me," Sher growled.
Hana stepped forward, meeting Juna's eyes. "You think I'm the problem. But I'm the reason he still has a heart."
She turned to Sher. "Don't kill her. She's not the mastermind. Just another puppet."
Sher looked at Hana for a long moment… then nodded. "Exile her. With protection for her brother."
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### Aftermath
Later that night, Hana sat on the balcony railing — legs dangling over a 70-story drop, of course.
Sher joined her, holding two mugs of something sweet and steaming.
"You really had to risk your life again?"
"I didn't," she said. "You were the one hiding behind the pantry door."
Sher handed her the drink and asked, "Why do you do all this for me?"
She took the cup, avoided his eyes.
"I told you, didn't I? I didn't do it for you. I just hate losing."
"Liar."
She smirked. "You love liars."
"I love *you*."
For a moment, her expression cracked.
But she masked it with a sip and muttered, "You're such a dramatic husband."
He smiled into his cup. "And you're such a heartless wife."
She nudged him gently. "Still not divorcing me?"
"Never."
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