Chapter 11: The Inheritance of Shadows
The word "cousin" echoed through the underground chamber.
Victoria stared at Arthur Blackwood as though he had spoken in another language.
"My... cousin?"
Arthur nodded slowly.
"His name is Julian Blackwood."
The lantern light flickered across his weathered face.
"My younger brother, Edward, had only one child."
"Julian."
Daniel frowned.
"The man behind the mask?"
"Yes."
Arthur's voice carried neither anger nor fear.
Only regret.
Detective Collins lowered his notebook.
"So this has been a family conflict?"
Arthur looked at him.
"It stopped being a family conflict twenty years ago."
"What is it now?"
"A criminal empire."
Silence settled over the chamber.
Arthur continued.
"Edward believed wealth was power."
"Robert Hayes believed power was money."
"They were useful to each other."
"Until greed became larger than loyalty."
Victoria whispered,
"My father..."
Arthur gently corrected her.
"Robert."
She closed her eyes.
It would take time to stop calling him Father.
Daniel leaned against the stone wall.
"So Robert kidnapped Victoria."
"Edward financed it."
Arthur nodded.
"Yes."
"And Julian?"
Arthur's face darkened.
"He inherited Edward's ambition."
Detective Collins spoke.
"Our investigation suggests Julian has operated under multiple aliases."
Arthur smiled faintly.
"Far more than multiple."
"He erased himself years ago."
Victoria slowly rose to her feet, favoring her injured ankle.
"I don't understand."
"If he already controls everything..."
"Why does he still want me?"
Arthur didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward the ancient iron door behind them.
Then back at Victoria.
"Because of your grandfather."
Daniel frowned.
"What does he have to do with this?"
Arthur's eyes softened.
"My father built Blackwood Holdings from nothing."
"He feared that one day his children would destroy each other over money."
"So..."
"He changed his will."
Mr. Brooks, who had finally descended into the chamber with the rescue team, adjusted his glasses.
"What kind of will?"
Arthur answered quietly,
"One that no lawyer could execute until the rightful heir was found."
The attorney's expression changed.
"You mean..."
Arthur nodded.
"My father's estate was placed into a hereditary trust."
Daniel looked confused.
"Explain."
Arthur took a slow breath.
"If Victoria was alive..."
"Everything eventually passed to her bloodline."
"If she was dead..."
"The trust would transfer elsewhere."
Victoria stared at him.
"How much are we talking about?"
Arthur met her eyes.
"Approximately..."
"...nine point four billion dollars."
The number hung in the air.
Even Detective Collins blinked.
No one spoke.
Not because of greed.
Because it suddenly explained everything.
The kidnapping.
The lies.
The murders.
Robert Hayes hadn't stolen a child.
He had stolen an inheritance.
Victoria looked down at her trembling hands.
"My whole life..."
She whispered.
"...was because of money."
Arthur's answer was heartbreaking.
"No."
"You were."
"The money merely gave evil people a reason."
Daniel watched her carefully.
A week ago, hearing the words nine billion dollars might have changed everything.
Now...
Victoria didn't smile.
She didn't ask questions.
She simply looked exhausted.
Detective Collins broke the silence.
"If Julian wants the inheritance..."
"Why not kill Victoria?"
Arthur looked toward him.
"Because he already tried."
Victoria froze.
"...What?"
Arthur nodded.
"When you were fourteen."
Fragments exploded inside Victoria's mind.
A burning house.
Smoke.
Someone pulling her through a window.
Robert shouting.
A man wearing black gloves.
She gasped.
"I remember..."
Arthur stepped closer.
"What do you remember?"
She pressed her fingers against her temples.
"There was a fire."
"Robert carried me."
"We ran."
"There was..."
She stopped suddenly.
"A boy."
Arthur's eyes widened.
"What boy?"
"He was..."
She struggled to focus.
"He was standing outside."
"He watched the house burn."
"He smiled."
Daniel exchanged a glance with Collins.
Arthur closed his eyes.
"Julian."
Detective Collins wrote the name down.
"So he's been following her since childhood."
Arthur nodded.
"Always."
"He wanted Victoria alive..."
"Until he discovered where the trust was hidden."
Daniel frowned.
"The trust isn't with a bank?"
Arthur smiled.
"My father hated banks."
Mr. Brooks looked intrigued.
"Then where?"
Arthur slowly turned toward the ancient iron door that had opened by itself.
"Behind that door."
Everyone looked toward it.
The heavy stone passage stretched into darkness.
Arthur spoke quietly.
"My father built this vault beneath the original Blackwood estate."
"When the Hawthorne family purchased the land decades later..."
"They never knew it existed."
Eleanor, who had just reached the chamber with assistance from the rescue team, looked genuinely surprised.
"So my mansion was built over your family's estate."
Arthur inclined his head.
"It appears fate enjoys strange architecture."
Detective Collins gestured toward the officers.
"Search the tunnel."
Before anyone could move...
A young officer ran down from the staircase, breathing hard.
"Sir!"
Collins turned.
"What is it?"
"We received the forensic report from Robert Hayes's farmhouse."
"And?"
The officer swallowed.
"There was fresh DNA at the scene."
Collins frowned.
"Julian's?"
"No, sir."
"Then whose?"
The officer looked toward Victoria.
"It belongs to..."
He hesitated.
"...a woman."
Victoria frowned.
"What woman?"
The officer read directly from the report.
"The DNA matches a person officially declared dead..."
"...twenty-two years ago."
Arthur's grip tightened around his cane.
"No..."
The officer looked at him.
"The match is..."
He checked the file again.
"...Evelyn Blackwood."
Victoria stopped breathing.
"My..."
Arthur whispered,
"Your mother."
Silence consumed the chamber.
Daniel stared at the report.
"That's impossible."
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"No..."
He looked toward Victoria with tears in his eyes.
"If this report is correct..."
"...your mother didn't die searching for you."
He paused.
His voice barely held together.
"She may still be alive."
At that exact moment...
A gunshot echoed from deep within the ancient tunnel beyond the iron door.
Then a woman's scream tore through the darkness.
One word.
One name.
Filled with desperation.
"Victoria!"
The entire chamber froze.
Victoria's heart nearly stopped.
She knew that voice.
Even though she hadn't heard it since she was two years old.
Somehow...
May you like
She knew.
End of Chapter 11
