Chapter 9 - Ethan ran into the corridor.“Amelia!”
Security flooded the floor.
The emergency exits had been sealed.
Elevators locked.
Victor was gone.
The fake Lily was gone.
And Amelia had vanished in less than thirty seconds.
Ethan slammed his fist into the elevator door.
Marcus arrived breathless.
“We lost her.”
“Find Victor.”
“He disabled the cameras.”
“Then find the fake girl.”
Marcus looked confused.
“Which girl?”
Ethan stared at him.
“There are two.”
He suddenly stopped.
“Wait.”
Marcus looked at him.
“The real Lily.”
Ethan turned.
She was gone too.
His blood ran cold.
Someone had taken his daughter.
Again.
Seven years of searching.
Seven years of grief.
He had found her.
And in one minute, she had been taken away.
Then his phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A video file.
He opened it.
Lily sat in a dark chair.
Her hands were tied.
Beside her stood the fake girl.
And behind them was Victor.
Amelia was nowhere visible.
Victor looked into the camera.
“Choose carefully, Ethan.”
He held up two photographs.
One showed Lily.
The other showed Amelia.
“You have thirty minutes.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
“What do you want?”
Victor answered directly.
“The Blackwood trust.”
“You already have control of the board.”
“Not ownership.”
“What are you planning?”
Victor smiled.
“You will sign the trust transfer.”
“And then?”
“Then I give you your family back.”
Ethan knew it was a lie.
Victor did not negotiate.
He eliminated threats.
The fact that Amelia and Lily were still alive meant he needed something.
A document.
A signature.
Or a legal loophole.
Ethan replayed the video.
Something caught his eye.
Behind Victor was a stone wall.
On it was a brass clock.
Roman numerals.
He knew it.
Blackwood Manor.
The old estate chapel.
Marcus recognized it too.
“You think he took them there?”
“No.”
Ethan zoomed in.
The brass clock showed 3:17.
Marcus frowned.
“So?”
Ethan remembered Amelia.
“The fire started at 2:17.”
Marcus looked at him.
“One hour later.”
Ethan stared at the clock.
“Victor is telling us where to go.”
“Why would he?”
“Because he expects us to come.”
They left immediately.
The old chapel had been abandoned for decades.
When Ethan arrived, the doors stood open.
Inside, candles burned.
On the altar sat a box.
A note rested on top.
FOR ETHAN.
He opened it.
Inside was the original trust document.
Not a copy.
Not a draft.
The original.
His father’s signature.
The entire board had been operating from a modified version.
Ethan read one paragraph.
Then stopped.
The trust did not say that control passed to Victor if Ethan had no surviving child.
It said:
CONTROL SHALL PASS TO THE FIRST RECOGNIZED HEIR OF ETHAN BLACKWOOD, OR TO THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT HEIR.
Ethan looked up.
“That changes everything.”
Marcus nodded.
“But why give us this?”
A speaker clicked on.
Victor’s voice filled the chapel.
“Because I want you to understand why I did it.”
Ethan turned.
“Where are they?”
“In the house where your father kept his secrets.”
“Enough games.”
Victor continued.
“Your father had another child.”
Ethan froze.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Victor laughed.
“Your brother.”
Ethan looked at Marcus.
“Adrian.”
Victor’s voice softened.
“Adrian never died.”
The chapel doors slammed shut.
Then gasoline began pouring beneath them.
May you like
Victor spoke one final sentence.
“Welcome back to the Blackwood fire.”
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