Chapter 30: The Real Culprit

Elena’s P.O.V
“Emanuel…” I whispered as realization struck me.
I didn’t think anyone would’ve heard me but everyone turned to look at me at that moment.
“Emanuel?” Knight frowned. “What about him?”
“I’ve seen him before.” I told everyone in the room. “I couldn’t remember until now but it was at the fashion show where I first met Knight. I ran into him when I was coming up the stairs from the storage.”
“That’s impossible! Are you sure about that?” Knight asked incredulously.
“Was Emanuel there with you that night?” It was Landon who asked that question. “Who did you attend the fashion show with?”
“I-I…yes.” Knight finally admitted. “Emanuel went to the show with me but he left halfway through since there was some trouble at his office.”
“Did you validate the point?” Landon asked Knight before turning to Adam. “Bring up all the security camera footages from the fashion show. I want all the videos checked and rechecked from start to finish. First find out exactly what happened at 10.30 PM, the time when Elena went backstage and then check out other footages to see where Emanuel had gone or if he had left the venue at all.”
“That’s bullshit!” Knight snapped. “Emanuel is my brother-in-law! He would never do anything like this!”
“And my sister would?” Leo stepped in between Knight and Landon, grabbing onto his collar. “Because what? She wanted to get pregnant and tie you down or was she after your riches? You should be rotting in jail on multiple charges, but the only person who’s saving you right now, is my sister.”
“Leo, please.” I placed a hand on his shoulders. “Can we focus on the task at hand?”
“Got the footage.” Adam announced. “Leo? You wanna stay behind?”
“Yes.” Leo nodded immediately, letting go of Knight to turn towards the screen. “Landon, go take Elena to the cafeteria. Knight and I will go through the footage and call you when we find anything.”
“Sure thing.” Landon came forward and held out his hand for me. I looked at Knight to see his reaction, but his face was a stony mask, his body rigid. I placed my hand in Landon’s and we exited the room together.
“Are you alright?” Landon asked once we were outside and he let go of my hand.
I took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m sorry…for the other day. I called you rash but in reality, every single thing that Knight had done till now was a series of rash decisions.” The entire situation was so stupid and yet so dire that I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. “He fucked Ava on a whim without even knowing her background. Then he slept with me and made a video of it without even asking me if I was involved in his scandal. Then he suddenly wants me to be in his life after he found out about my pregnancy. Then he thinks asking for my hand in marriage will be the right thing for our baby and for us. And now he thinks he can force me into a marriage by bringing our parents into the mix.”
Landon stayed quiet for some time before answering. “The biggest advantage in your case is that your parents are Samira Macaluson Thornton and Jaxon Thornton. If you were an ordinary girl, then Knight might just have won and your life would’ve been changed forever.”
Landon was right. And the realization had me staggering to a halt. Because Knight hadn’t known who my parents were when he slept with me or at the fashion show when we met again. Knight had indeed thought I was some helpless young woman with no backup and no one to turn to. Someone he could control without any remorse.
“Elena? Are you okay?” Landon was beside me in an instant.
“Yes…I-” I pressed a finger to my temples. “I’m okay.”
“Come on.” Landon urged and wrapped his arms around me for support.
Instead of taking me to the cafeteria, he instead took me to one of the guest rooms on the top floor and ordered food in from the cafeteria. I was feeling a lot better after I had a couple sandwiches and a small hazelnut frappe. And Landon was right; resting helped a lot as well. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until Landon was nudging me awake from a deep slumber. I hadn’t realized when I had fallen asleep.
“How long was I out?” I asked him groggily.
“About an hour and twenty minutes.” He told me. “I would’ve preferred you kept resting but Adam just found something. We need to head back to the control room.”
I nodded and got off the bed and went straight to the bathroom to freshen up. Once I was done, Landon and I went straight to the control room and Adam told us the results immediately. “It’s Emanuel.”
“How…?” I asked.
“We went through the footages of the show that night.” It was Leo who answered while Knight stood beside him silently, his face a stony mask. “We checked each and every camera on set at the given time and then we found it. Emanuel never left the venue. He just detoured back to the basement storage unit where he probably set up the camera and then, right when you exited, he bumped into you and then disappeared once again for a short while, only to come in right after Knight left with Ava to retrieve the camera. We just confirmed with Knight that he had already asked to meet Ava in the basement even before the show started and Emanuel had been aware of the exchange.”
I looked at Knight but he didn’t meet my eyes. Instead he just hung his head in shame. I wanted to tell him that it was too late for that and what he had done was about to ruin both our lives, but what was the point? He knew his mistake and pointing it out once again won’t do any of us any help.
“What do we do now?” I asked everyone in the room.
“We need to go question Emanuel before he plans an escape.” Landon told us from beside me.
“Indeed, and we must do it fast because Emanuel just got visitors in his hotel room from press reporters.”
We all turned to see my father enter the room right then. Everyone was happy to see him except for Knight, whose expression turned stony. “You had us monitored?”
My father didn’t answer him, just gave him a look. Knight immediately lowered his gaze, realizing that being monitored wasn’t as big a crime as recording a private moment on a spy cam.
“We need to go find him then.” Landon stood up from the chair he was in, as did Leo.
“We will, but first Knight needs to tell us exactly where he had kept the files?” Dad raised an eyebrow at him.
“Inside a laptop with no internet connection and no way to get hacked.” He said.
“Was it encrypted? Firewall protected?” It was Adam who asked that.
“No…I…thought…” Knight gulped. “It was password protected.”
“You thought that having no internet will protect your data?” Adam raised his eyebrows. “If anything, someone with a degree or diploma in computer science could easily overwrite the password and get everything out without any problems.”
“Where was your laptop until now?” Landon asked. “Could Emanuel have had access to it?”
Knight visibly paled. “It was in my home. And Emanuel has the security code to all my houses.”
“And he had plenty of opportunity to grab the laptop or download the file while you were away.” Leo stated.
“Let’s go.” Dad ordered everyone. “Landon, Leo, escort Elena and stay with her at all times. Knight, you’re coming too. I already have two of my men stationed outside the hotel to make sure no one escapes.”
“Thank you.” I told dad, for including me in the mission when his instincts would’ve been to keep me safe and tucked away.
“You need this.” He told me while giving me a hug and kissing my forehead.
I took strength from his embrace, knowing that I was going to need it for the rest of what was to come next. And then…the mission was on.