Chapter 10 - Jonathan ran.The corridor stretched endlessly through the warehouse.
“SOFIA!”
No answer.
He reached the loading dock.
Rain hammered the concrete.
Empty.
Mara arrived seconds later.
“She was here.”
Jonathan looked around.
“No.”
He saw tire tracks.
A black SUV disappearing into the storm.
He pulled out his phone.
Every security camera had gone offline.
He called the police.
No signal.
Someone had jammed the entire area.
Mara grabbed his arm.
“Jonathan.”
He turned.
“She took Sofia.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“She took both girls.”
They rushed back inside.
Lydia was gone.
Richard was gone.
The mysterious woman was gone.
Only Celeste remained.
She sat on the floor.
Blood was running from her forehead.
Jonathan knelt.
“Where are they?”
Celeste looked at him.
“You need to understand.”
“Where?”
She whispered,
“They're taking Emma to the estate.”
“What estate?”
“My family's old property.”
Jonathan stood.
“Where?”
Celeste stared.
“Blackwood.”
Jonathan knew the name.
It had been abandoned for decades.
People said no one lived there.
Celeste continued.
“There's a house beneath the house.”
Jonathan frowned.
“A hidden level?”
“A sanctuary.”
“For what?”
Celeste hesitated.
“Children.”
Jonathan froze.
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
Mara whispered,
“Celeste.”
Celeste looked at her.
“I didn't know.”
“You knew enough.”
“I thought I was protecting Emma.”
Jonathan snapped,
“You stole her mother.”
Celeste began crying.
“I thought if I kept her, they'd stop looking.”
“They?”
Celeste said nothing.
Jonathan grabbed her shoulders.
“Who are they?”
Celeste finally answered.
“The Hale family.”
Jonathan froze.
“My family.”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“Your father wasn't the mastermind.”
Jonathan stared.
“Then who was?”
Celeste pointed toward the ceiling.
“Your mother.”
Jonathan's face went blank.
“My mother died eight years ago.”
Celeste nodded.
“She left instructions.”
“To kill Emma?”
Celeste shook her head.
“To hide her.”
Jonathan didn't understand.
“Why?”
Celeste reached into her dress and pulled out a key.
“She knew what the inheritance really was.”
Jonathan took it.
A small brass key.
Engraved with one word.
LANTERN.
He looked at Celeste.
“What does this open?”
“The vault beneath Blackwood.”
“And what's inside?”
Celeste whispered,
“Records.”
Jonathan stared.
“That's all?”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“Names.”
“Whose names?”
“Every child in the program.”
Mara went pale.
“What program?”
Celeste shut her eyes.
“The children who were moved between powerful families.”
Jonathan felt sick.
“How many?”
“Dozens.”
Silence.
Mara whispered,
“They were buying children.”
Celeste nodded.
“Sometimes.”
Jonathan looked at the key.
“And Emma?”
“She was the most important.”
“Why?”
“Because your father believed she carried the original bloodline.”
Jonathan frowned.
“But you said both girls were heirs.”
“They are.”
“Then why only Emma?”
Celeste looked at him.
“Because Emma is the key to opening the vault.”
Jonathan stared.
“She's six.”
“I know.”
“Why would a vault need a child?”
Celeste shook her head.
“It doesn't.”
She looked toward the key.
“It needs her DNA.”
Jonathan's face tightened.
“Then we have to get there first.”
They reached Blackwood just before sunrise.
The estate loomed above the trees like a dead kingdom.
Broken windows.
Overgrown gardens.
A rusted gate.
Jonathan used the key.
A hidden panel opened in the foyer.
Behind it was a staircase.
They descended.
The walls were lined with photographs.
Hundreds.
Children.
All with names.
Dates.
Numbers.
Mara stopped.
One photograph showed a newborn.
Another showed the same child at five.
Then another.
At ten.
Jonathan stared.
“These children were monitored.”
Celeste nodded.
“Since birth.”
At the end of the corridor stood a steel door.
Above it was the symbol of a lantern.
Jonathan inserted the key.
The door opened.
Inside was a massive archive.
Computers.
Boxes.
Medical equipment.
And in the center of the room, two empty chairs.
One still had Emma's ribbon.
The other held Sofia's bracelet.
Jonathan closed his eyes.
“They were here.”
A screen suddenly turned on.
Richard's face appeared.
“Jonathan.”
Jonathan stepped forward.
“If you hurt them…”
Richard smiled.
“They're unharmed.”
“Bring them back.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“When you open the vault.”
Jonathan glanced at Celeste.
“What vault?”
Richard smiled.
“The one your father died protecting.”
The screen changed.
A timer appeared.
00:59:59
Jonathan stared.
“What happens at zero?”
Richard's smile vanished.
“The girls are separated permanently.”
Jonathan's blood turned cold.
“How?”
Richard answered,
“One will be sent away.”
“And the other?”
Richard looked directly into the camera.
“She'll never leave Blackwood.”
The timer began counting down.
May you like
59:58.
And somewhere beyond the archive walls, a child started screaming.
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