Chapter 14: The Last Loyal Man
Amelia did not confront Thomas immediately.
That was the first difference between the woman she had been seven years ago and the woman standing in the Blackwood tower now.
The old Amelia would have demanded answers.
She would have followed emotion.
She would have searched for the truth with her heart first.
The new Amelia searched with evidence.
Because she had learned something painful.
People could love you.
People could protect you.
People could even sacrifice themselves for you.
And still hide the most important truth.
Thomas stood by the window, watching Chicago beneath him.
The city looked peaceful from above.
It always did.
From a distance, every problem appeared smaller.
Every enemy looked weaker.
Every secret seemed buried forever.
Amelia walked toward him.
Slowly.
"You knew."
Thomas did not turn around.
"About what?"
She placed her phone on the table.
Nathan's message remained visible.
Thomas Reed.
The old man's expression did not change.
That was the answer.
"You knew Nathan was involved."
"Yes."
"You knew Daniel was manipulating him."
"Yes."
"You knew my father was hiding things."
Thomas finally turned.
"Yes."
Three answers.
Three cuts.
Amelia stared at him.
"Then tell me one thing."
"What?"
"Were you ever on my side?"
The question affected him more than she expected.
For the first time, Thomas looked wounded.
"Always."
She almost smiled.
"That's what everyone says."
Thomas walked toward the desk.
He opened an old drawer.
Inside was a small wooden box.
He placed it in front of her.
"I kept this for ten years."
Amelia looked at it.
"What is it?"
"Something your mother left behind."
Her breathing slowed.
Another secret.
Another hidden piece.
She opened the box.
Inside was a small key.
And a letter.
Not a copy.
Not a recording.
An original letter.
Her mother's handwriting.
Amelia unfolded it.
The first line immediately caught her attention.
Thomas, if you are reading this, then Arthur has failed again.
She looked up.
Thomas looked away.
"She wrote this to you?"
"No."
"Then why do you have it?"
"Because she trusted me."
Amelia continued reading.
I know Arthur believes hiding the truth is the same as protecting people. He learned that from his father.
A pause.
But secrets do not disappear. They wait.
Amelia felt her throat tighten.
Her mother had understood everything.
Long before everyone else.
Thomas, if Amelia ever discovers the truth, do not stop her. Let her choose.
The final sentence made Amelia freeze.
She is not meant to inherit our family's power. She is meant to decide whether that power deserves to survive.
She lowered the letter.
For the first time, she understood.
Her mother had never wanted her to become the next Arthur Blackwood.
She wanted her to become something different.
Someone who could end the cycle.
"What is the key for?"
Thomas looked at the wooden box.
"The original Blackwood archive."
"Where?"
"Under the old estate."
Amelia remembered the abandoned house.
The house where she found the recording.
"There is another room?"
Thomas nodded.
"A room only your mother knew about."
Before Amelia could ask more, every screen in the office turned on.
A live broadcast appeared.
Nathan Cole stood in front of reporters.
The man who had once loved cameras.
Now he looked exhausted by them.
"I have evidence regarding Daniel Voss and the Blackwood internal network."
Amelia froze.
Thomas looked at the screen.
"He is confessing."
"No."
Amelia watched carefully.
"He is not."
Nathan wasn't confessing.
He was choosing his battlefield.
Nathan continued.
"For years, I believed I was building my own success."
His voice cracked slightly.
"I was wrong."
Reporters shouted questions.
Nathan ignored them.
"I was manipulated."
The screen changed.
Documents appeared.
Financial records.
Emails.
Contracts.
Then Daniel's name appeared.
But there was another name attached.
A name Amelia had never expected.
Victor Hale.
The same name from the old documents.
The founder.
The dead man.
A ghost from the past.
Nathan looked into the cameras.
"The person controlling Daniel Voss is not Daniel Voss."
Silence.
Even the reporters stopped shouting.
Nathan continued.
"He has been following instructions from someone who has been controlling Blackwood assets for years."
Amelia stepped closer to the screen.
"Who?"
Nathan looked down.
Then said:
"The Blackwood family's original trustee."
Thomas went still.
Amelia noticed.
"Thomas?"
He didn't answer.
The screen displayed the name.
And Amelia felt the room disappear.
Thomas Reed.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Amelia slowly turned.
Thomas was still standing there.
But something had changed.
Not surprise.
Not fear.
Acceptance.
"You were the trustee?"
Thomas closed his eyes.
"Yes."
Her voice became colder.
"Explain."
Thomas looked at the city.
"I was appointed by Victor Hale before Arthur inherited control."
The words felt unreal.
"How long?"
"Thirty-five years."
Amelia stepped back.
"You controlled everything?"
"No."
Thomas looked at her.
"I protected everything."
"By manipulating everyone?"
A painful silence.
"Yes."
The elevator doors suddenly opened.
Arthur walked in.
He looked at Thomas.
Not angry.
Not shocked.
Just tired.
"You finally told her."
Thomas nodded.
"I had to."
Arthur looked at Amelia.
"I wanted to tell you."
She laughed.
"You wanted to."
Her eyes filled with disappointment.
"But you never did."
Arthur accepted the accusation.
Because it was true.
Then the building shook.
Not physically.
Digitally.
Every screen flashed red.
A warning appeared.
BLACKWOOD FOUNDATION DATA BREACH DETECTED.
Thomas immediately moved toward the system.
"What happened?"
A voice came through the speakers.
A woman's voice.
Calm.
Cold.
Familiar.
Everyone froze.
"Hello, Amelia."
She knew that voice.
She had heard it before.
But impossible.
Because the person speaking...
Was supposed to be dead.
The screen displayed a woman's face.
A woman Amelia recognized.
A woman from the photograph.
The woman who looked like her mother.
But wasn't.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled.
"I think you already know."
Amelia stared.
The answer arrived in a whisper.
"My name is Clara Blackwood."
The missing sister.
The forgotten daughter.
The person erased from family history.
Clara looked directly into the camera.
"And Amelia..."
A pause.
"I am your real mother."
May you like
The screen went black.
End of Chapter 14
