Chapter 8 - Darkness swallowed the house.Eleanor heard doors slamming.
Footsteps.
Shouts.
Then silence.
Luca pulled her against the wall.
“Don't move.”
A flashlight appeared.
Samuel.
“Security has lost power.”
Eleanor looked toward Richard.
“Where is he?”
“Alive.”
“For now?”
Samuel nodded.
“Bullet entered the shoulder.”
Luca looked at Charles.
“How did they get inside?”
Charles said nothing.
Eleanor noticed his expression.
“You know.”
Charles stared at the darkness.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because there is another entrance.”
“Where?”
Charles pointed toward the floor.
Beneath the dining table was a hidden panel.
They opened it.
A staircase descended.
Again.
Eleanor laughed bitterly.
“This house has more secrets than rooms.”
Charles didn't respond.
They entered the tunnel.
Halfway down, Eleanor found blood on the wall.
Fresh.
“Someone came this way.”
Luca crouched.
“Yes.”
He touched the blood.
“Not ours.”
They continued.
At the bottom was a chamber.
Inside sat a woman tied to a chair.
Eleanor stopped.
“Mom.”
Her mother raised her head.
“You shouldn't have come.”
Eleanor rushed toward her.
Luca grabbed her.
“Wait.”
A tiny red light blinked beneath the chair.
Explosive device.
Everyone froze.
Samuel examined it.
“Pressure trigger.”
Charles stared.
“He wants us all here.”
Eleanor looked at her mother.
“Who?”
Her mother whispered:
“Alexander.”
The name seemed to echo.
Eleanor swallowed.
“Why does he want me?”
“Because you inherited everything.”
“I don't own anything.”
Her mother shook her head.
“You own the controlling trust.”
“Why is that important?”
“Because the trust owns Blackwell.”
Eleanor stared.
“What?”
Her mother nodded.
“Your grandfather created Blackwell.”
Charles finally spoke.
“And your uncle stole it.”
Eleanor's mind raced.
“So my father's company was built on stolen assets.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother hid those assets inside my trust.”
“Yes.”
“And now everyone wants the trust.”
Her mother looked at Luca.
“Not everyone.”
Eleanor followed her gaze.
Luca stood silent.
Her mother continued.
“Your father's family doesn't want the company.”
“What do they want?”
“You.”
Eleanor's stomach dropped.
“Why?”
“Because Marco needs your blood to validate the original succession documents.”
Luca stepped closer.
“Documents?”
His mother looked at him.
“Your grandfather left a clause.”
“What clause?”
“If Adrian's line survived, ownership could be challenged.”
Eleanor frowned.
“Adrian's line?”
Her mother nodded.
“Adrian had another child.”
Eleanor looked shocked.
“Who?”
Her mother looked at Luca.
“Luca.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“You are Adrian's son.”
Luca stared.
“My father was Marco.”
“He raised you.”
“That isn't the same thing.”
Eleanor suddenly understood why the room had been full of secrets.
Why Luca had been connected to Adrian.
Why Marco had hidden the truth.
Why Elena had feared the Moretti family.
Luca looked at Eleanor.
“So we're cousins?”
Her mother shook her head.
“No.”
She took a breath.
“You are half-brother and sister.”
Eleanor's entire body went cold.
“No.”
Her mother began crying.
“Adrian was your biological father, Eleanor.”
“And Marco?”
“Your father, Luca, was Adrian's brother.”
Luca stared.
“So Eleanor and I share Adrian's blood.”
“Yes.”
“But you said Adrian wasn't her father.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because someone was listening.”
Suddenly the explosive device beeped.
Ten minutes.
Then nine.
Luca cursed.
“We're leaving.”
They moved quickly.
Eleanor refused.
“Mom stays.”
“We can't disarm it.”
“Then we cut the chair free.”
They dragged Elena away from the device.
A door slammed.
A man stepped into the tunnel.
Tall.
Silver-haired.
Calm.
Alexander Vale.
Eleanor had seen his face in the family photograph.
He smiled.
“Hello, niece.”
Luca raised his gun.
Alexander laughed.
“You won't shoot me.”
“Try me.”
Alexander looked at Eleanor.
“You've spent six years thinking your father didn't count you.”
He smiled.
“Tonight you'll discover something worse.”
Eleanor stared.
“What?”
Alexander's smile disappeared.
“You were never supposed to inherit the company.”
He held up a document.
“You were supposed to inherit the world.”
The timer reached three minutes.
Then Alexander pressed a button.
The door behind him sealed shut.
May you like
“Good luck.”
And the countdown dropped to two minutes.
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