Chapter 6 - MOTHERI couldn't move.
My mother was alive.
Twenty years of grief had been built on a lie.
Every birthday.
Every anniversary.
Every time my father told me she was watching over me.
It had all been fiction.
“Mom?”
She smiled weakly.
“I'm sorry.”
I rushed toward the screen.
“What did they do to you?”
She looked at Marcus.
He lowered his eyes.
“You know him?”
My mother nodded.
“He saved me.”
I stared at Marcus.
“Then why did Dad tell me not to trust him?”
My mother looked afraid.
“Because your father doesn't know the whole story.”
“What story?”
She looked directly at me.
“Your father didn't betray me.”
“Then who did?”
Her eyes moved toward Adrian.
I turned.
Adrian looked terrified.
“My father,” he whispered.
I frowned.
“Your father?”
“He was one of the six.”
Everything clicked.
Adrian's father had been part of Blackwell.
The man I had trusted with my entire marriage had been carrying his father's secret.
But my mother wasn't finished.
“Adrian doesn't know everything,” she said.
I stared at the screen.
“Then why did you want him near me?”
She closed her eyes.
“Because we needed someone Blackwell trusted.”
“Adrian?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“I didn't know.”
“You knew enough.”
He looked devastated.
Then my mother said:
“There is one more thing.”
The screen flickered.
“The child Vanessa is carrying…”
She stopped.
My heart sank.
“My child?”
“No.”
Vanessa started shaking.
My mother continued.
“That baby belongs to Adrian's father.”
Adrian stepped backward.
“That's impossible.”
My mother looked at him.
“No.”
She spoke softly.
“Your father isn't dead either.”
Adrian's face became expressionless.
“What?”
“Your father has been alive for fifteen years.”
He staggered.
“He's been controlling Blackwell from the shadows.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“That's why I disappeared.”
Adrian stared at him.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father would have killed you.”
Adrian sank into a chair.
I watched him.
For the first time, he looked like a frightened child.
Then my mother spoke again.
“Listen carefully.”
I stepped closer to the screen.
“The Ledger isn't money.”
“It's not just names.”
“It contains proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“The original Blackwell agreement.”
She took a breath.
“The agreement names every founder.”
“And one of them…”
Her voice cracked.
“Is your father.”
I froze.
“My father?”
She nodded.
“Julian Ashford was never simply a businessman.”
“He was one of the founders.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“He couldn't be.”
“He joined Blackwell to destroy it from inside.”
I looked at Marcus.
He nodded.
“Your father has spent twenty years trying to undo what he helped create.”
I closed my eyes.
The entire world felt upside down.
Then Vanessa screamed.
Everyone turned.
She had collapsed.
Blood was running down her leg.
Adrian rushed toward her.
“Vanessa!”
She grabbed his shirt.
“Help me.”
He looked at me.
For a moment, hatred disappeared.
All I saw was fear.
“Call a doctor.”
Marcus immediately moved.
But before anyone could leave, the doors exploded inward.
Armed men stormed the room.
Gunfire erupted.
Marcus pulled me behind a steel desk.
Adrian dragged Vanessa to the floor.
The lights went out.
Screams echoed through the facility.
Someone shouted:
“GET THE GIRL!”
I felt a hand grab me.
I fought violently.
Then heard Marcus yell:
“RUN!”
I broke free.
A gunshot cracked.
Marcus fell.
“Marcus!”
He hit the floor.
I ran toward him.
“Don't stop!” he shouted.
I froze.
More men entered.
One of them pointed a gun directly at me.
He smiled.
“You look just like your mother.”
I couldn't breathe.
Then a shot rang out.
The man collapsed.
Behind him stood Adrian.
Blood covered his hands.
He was holding a gun.
“Move!”
I stared at him.
“You saved me.”
He looked at me.
“I've been trying to save you since the day we met.”
Then the building shook.
An explosion rocked the floor.
Marcus screamed:
“They're destroying the servers!”
I looked toward the main vault.
The data was being erased.
“The Ledger.”
Marcus struggled to stand.
“It's not in the servers.”
“Then where is it?”
He looked at me.
“Inside your mother's ring.”
I grabbed the ring.
It suddenly began to glow.
A tiny blue light appeared.
Then a hidden holographic screen rose from its surface.
A voice spoke.
“DNA verification required.”
I stared.
“Whose DNA?”
Marcus looked at me.
“Yours.”
I touched the ring.
The screen changed.
IDENTITY CONFIRMED.
May you like
Then one final message appeared.
WELCOME, HEIR OF BLACKWELL.
