Chapter 9 - THE WARWe drove for nearly an hour without speaking.
My mother sat beside me.
I kept staring at her.
Part of me wanted to hug her.
Another part wanted to scream.
“You lied to me my entire life.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated Dad.”
She looked away.
“Yes.”
I stared through the window.
“Did anyone ever love me without using me?”
Silence.
Then my mother reached for my hand.
“I did.”
I pulled away.
“That isn't enough.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
Marcus sat in the front.
Adrian was beside him.
He looked exhausted.
We finally entered an underground facility beneath an abandoned train station.
My mother walked straight to the center.
“Everyone out.”
Nobody moved.
She looked at me.
“You stay.”
The room emptied.
She placed a small metal case on the table.
“This contains the real Ledger.”
I looked at it.
“Not the digital one?”
“No.”
She opened the case.
Inside was a black book.
Old.
Handwritten.
Pages filled with names.
Dates.
Payments.
Orders.
Executions.
I turned one page.
Then another.
Then I saw a name that made me stop breathing.
Julian Ashford.
Beneath it:
STATUS: DOUBLE AGENT.
I looked at my mother.
“My father worked against Blackwell.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did everyone think he founded it?”
“To protect you.”
I flipped another page.
There was my name.
PRIMARY HEIR: DAUGHTER OF ELENA ASHFORD.
My mother closed the book.
“There's one page missing.”
“Which page?”
“The one naming the current leader.”
“Alexander?”
“No.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Alexander is not the leader.”
“Then who is?”
My mother looked at me.
“You already know him.”
I thought of Marcus.
Adrian.
The lawyer.
Vanessa.
My mind raced.
Then the door opened.
Adrian entered.
“I found something.”
He handed my mother a folder.
She opened it.
Her expression changed.
“What?”
She turned the papers toward me.
There were surveillance photographs.
My father.
Alexander.
Marcus.
And one other person.
A woman.
I recognized her.
Vanessa.
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
My mother said nothing.
I looked at Vanessa's photograph.
It had been taken eight years ago.
She was standing beside Alexander.
But she wasn't pregnant.
She was holding a Blackwell insignia.
I turned toward Adrian.
“You knew.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
My mother read the final report.
Then whispered:
“She isn't a victim.”
“What?”
“She is Blackwell's new director.”
The room became silent.
I suddenly understood everything.
Vanessa hadn't been seducing Adrian.
She had been infiltrating him.
The pregnancy.
The humiliation.
The affair.
Every part of it had been designed.
She needed me angry.
She needed Adrian desperate.
She needed my father exposed.
And she needed the Ledger activated.
I felt sick.
“Where is she?”
Adrian looked at the security screen.
“She left ten minutes ago.”
My mother immediately grabbed the radio.
“Lock the station.”
A voice replied:
“Too late.”
The lights went out.
A recording began playing.
Vanessa's voice.
“Thank you for opening the door.”
I stared at the darkness.
Then every monitor turned on.
Vanessa appeared.
She was no longer crying.
No longer frightened.
She smiled.
“You always were the easiest one to manipulate.”
Adrian stepped toward the screen.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere you can't reach me.”
“What do you want?”
“What I've always wanted.”
“The Ashford Trust.”
My mother stepped forward.
“You'll never get it.”
Vanessa smiled.
“That's where you're wrong.”
She held up a small device.
“The Trust isn't connected to the Ledger.”
She looked at me.
“It's connected to the heir.”
My blood went cold.
She pressed a button.
My phone buzzed.
A notification appeared.
TRANSFER REQUEST INITIATED.
I stared.
“No.”
Vanessa laughed.
“Your father taught you to protect your family.”
She leaned toward the camera.
“But he forgot to teach you one thing.”
“What?”
“Never give the enemy your blood.”
The ring on my finger began vibrating.
My mother grabbed my hand.
“Take it off!”
I tried.
It wouldn't move.
The screen flashed.
HEIR AUTHENTICATION: 87%
I looked at my mother.
“What is happening?”
She whispered:
“She's activating the transfer.”
“Can we stop it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“There is only one way.”
“What?”
My mother stared at me.
“You have to destroy the ring.”
I looked at the ring.
“And the Ledger?”
“Will be destroyed with it.”
“All the evidence?”
“Yes.”
“Then Blackwell survives.”
My mother shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at Adrian.
“Not if he does what his father never expected.”
Adrian stared at her.
“What?”
“You can enter Blackwell's system.”
He laughed.
“I don't know how.”
“You do.”
She placed the ring's key in his hand.
“You've been inside it for three years.”
Adrian stared at the device.
Then he suddenly understood.
“My marriage.”
My mother nodded.
“You were never sent to control my daughter.”
“You were sent to open the door.”
Adrian looked at me.
“And now,” my mother said, “you have to decide whether he'll close it.”
The countdown appeared.
00:04:59
Vanessa's voice returned.
“Four minutes, sweetheart.”
“Choose.”
May you like
“Save your parents…”
“…or save your empire.”
