Chapter 10: Welcome Home
The iron door creaked wider.
A cold draft spilled from the darkness beyond, carrying the scent of damp stone and ancient wood.
Daniel instinctively stepped in front of Victoria.
"Stay behind me."
She almost laughed.
Even now...
Even after everything.
He was still trying to protect her.
The footsteps grew louder.
One.
Two.
Three.
At least four people.
Then a single lantern flickered to life.
A tall elderly man emerged from the shadows.
He wore a perfectly tailored charcoal suit despite the underground ruins. His silver hair was neatly combed, and he carried an ebony cane with a silver raven carved into its handle.
He looked to be in his late seventies.
His posture was impeccable.
His expression unreadable.
Behind him stood three armed men dressed in black.
The old man smiled.
"Victoria."
His voice was calm.
Almost grandfatherly.
"It's been a very long time."
Victoria stared.
"I've never seen you before."
The old man chuckled.
"No."
"But I held you before your first birthday."
Her blood ran cold.
Daniel didn't move.
"Who are you?"
The man ignored him.
Instead, he looked at Victoria with unmistakable affection.
"You have your mother's eyes."
Victoria whispered,
"Don't."
He sighed.
"Still stubborn."
"Just like Evelyn."
The mention of her mother's name hit Victoria like a physical blow.
Only family had ever called her mother by her first name.
Daniel narrowed his eyes.
"Answer the question."
The old man finally turned toward him.
"My apologies."
"My name is Arthur Blackwood."
"I'm an old friend of Robert Hayes."
Victoria shook her head immediately.
"That's impossible."
"My father never had friends."
Arthur smiled sadly.
"No."
"He had employers."
Silence.
Daniel felt every muscle in his body tense.
"So you hired him."
Arthur nodded.
"For many years."
Victoria's breathing quickened.
"My father worked for you."
Arthur corrected her gently.
"No."
"He worked against me."
That answer confused everyone.
Arthur slowly walked closer.
His guards remained several steps behind.
"I trusted Robert."
"I gave him opportunities."
"I treated him like family."
"He repaid me by stealing something priceless."
Victoria frowned.
"What did he steal?"
Arthur looked directly into her eyes.
"You."
Daniel blinked.
"What?"
Arthur's expression softened.
"You were never supposed to grow up believing you were Robert Hayes's daughter."
Victoria felt the room spin.
"...What?"
Arthur tapped his cane lightly against the stone floor.
"Robert kidnapped you."
The chamber fell silent.
"No..."
Victoria stepped backward.
"You're lying."
Arthur shook his head.
"I expected that reaction."
He reached inside his coat and withdrew a yellowed photograph.
It showed a grand estate.
Standing on its front steps was a smiling young couple.
Between them...
A toddler no older than two.
The child wore a tiny white dress.
Curly dark hair.
Bright green eyes.
Arthur handed the photograph to Daniel.
On the back, written in elegant handwriting, were the words:
Victoria Blackwood
Second Birthday
Daniel slowly looked up.
The little girl in the picture...
Looked exactly like Victoria.
Victoria grabbed the photograph.
"No..."
"This isn't real."
Arthur quietly removed another item.
A newspaper clipping.
Its headline read:
BLACKWOOD HEIRESS ABDUCTED
The date...
Twenty-six years earlier.
Victoria's age matched perfectly.
Her legs weakened.
She stumbled backward until she hit the stone wall.
"My father..."
Arthur interrupted softly.
"...was never your father."
Daniel looked between them.
"This is insane."
Arthur nodded.
"I agree."
"But insanity doesn't make it false."
Detective Collins finally climbed through the damaged chamber entrance with two officers.
His gun immediately aimed toward Arthur.
"Nobody move!"
Arthur barely acknowledged him.
"Detective."
"You're late."
Collins frowned.
"You know me too?"
Arthur smiled.
"I've known of you for years."
The officers moved to surround the group.
Arthur's three guards quietly lowered their weapons and stepped aside.
Collins blinked.
They weren't resisting.
"Arrest them."
Two officers moved forward.
Arthur calmly extended his wrists.
"I have no intention of running."
Victoria stared in disbelief.
"If you kidnapped me..."
"Why surrender?"
Arthur looked genuinely surprised.
"Kidnapped?"
He smiled sadly.
"My dear..."
"I've spent twenty-four years trying to find you."
The detective stepped closer.
"Enough riddles."
Arthur nodded.
"Very well."
He looked directly at Victoria.
"Robert Hayes worked as head of security for my family."
"Your parents trusted him."
"One winter evening..."
"He disappeared."
"So did you."
Victoria struggled to breathe.
Fragments...
Tiny pieces of memory...
A snowfall.
A lullaby.
A fireplace.
Someone laughing.
None of it belonged to the life she remembered.
Arthur continued.
"Robert demanded twenty million dollars."
"We agreed."
"He took the money."
"And vanished anyway."
Daniel frowned.
"So why wasn't he caught?"
Arthur's smile disappeared.
"Because someone helped him."
Collins immediately asked,
"Who?"
Arthur answered with two words.
"My brother."
Silence.
"My younger brother believed he deserved the family fortune."
"He arranged your kidnapping."
"He intended to inherit everything after your parents broke under grief."
Victoria whispered,
"My parents..."
Arthur lowered his eyes.
"They died searching for you."
The words shattered something inside her.
She covered her mouth as tears streamed freely down her face.
"My mother..."
Arthur nodded.
"Never celebrated another birthday."
"Your father died six years later."
"Heart failure."
"He never forgave himself."
Daniel watched Victoria collapse to her knees.
She wasn't acting.
There were no cameras.
No audience to manipulate.
Only grief.
Pure and overwhelming.
Detective Collins looked at Arthur.
"If everything you said is true..."
"Why wait twenty-four years?"
Arthur's face darkened.
"We didn't."
He looked toward Victoria.
"We found you."
"Three times."
Victoria looked up.
"What?"
Arthur sighed.
"Each time..."
"Robert moved you before we arrived."
Collins frowned.
"You have proof?"
Arthur reached into a leather briefcase carried by one of his guards.
Inside were dozens of investigation files.
Every one labeled:
Operation Sparrow
Photographs.
Private investigators.
Police reports.
Sightings.
DNA requests.
Receipts spanning more than two decades.
Arthur looked exhausted.
"I never stopped looking."
Victoria wiped away her tears.
"If that's true..."
"Why did the masked man want me?"
Arthur's expression changed instantly.
The warmth vanished.
Only caution remained.
"Because he isn't after money anymore."
Daniel noticed.
"You know who he is."
Arthur nodded once.
"I do."
The chamber became still.
Collins stepped closer.
"Then tell us."
Arthur looked directly at Victoria.
His next sentence sent a chill through everyone present.
"The man wearing the raven mask..."
He paused.
"...is the son of the man who ordered your kidnapping."
Another silence.
Then Arthur added quietly,
"And if I'm right..."
May you like
"...he's also your cousin."
End of Chapter 10
