Chapter 12: The Voice in the Dark
The scream echoed through the ancient tunnel.
"Victoria!"
Then...
Silence.
Not the comforting kind.
The suffocating kind.
Every person in the chamber stood frozen.
Victoria's eyes filled with tears before she even realized she was crying.
"I know that voice..."
She whispered it more to herself than to anyone else.
Arthur Blackwood tightened his grip on his cane.
His hands trembled for the first time.
"No..."
"After twenty-two years..."
"It can't be..."
Detective Collins immediately took control.
"Entry team with me."
"Two officers stay here."
"The rest, secure the tunnel."
Flashlights snapped on.
Weapons were drawn.
Daniel looked toward Victoria.
"Can you walk?"
She glanced at her swollen ankle.
"It hurts."
He crouched in front of her.
"Get on."
She stared at him.
"What?"
"I'm not asking twice."
For a long moment she didn't move.
Then, silently, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Despite everything between them...
He carried her.
The tunnel stretched deep beneath the estate.
Stone walls glistened with moisture.
The air smelled old.
Forgotten.
The deeper they walked, the stranger the architecture became.
The rough cellar stone gave way to polished black granite.
Gold trim still decorated sections of the walls despite decades underground.
Arthur looked around quietly.
"My father built this passage..."
"When I was a boy."
Daniel frowned.
"It looks like part of a mansion."
"It was."
They rounded a corner.
Everyone stopped.
A massive iron gate blocked the passage.
Above it...
The silver raven appeared once more.
But beneath it was another carving Daniel hadn't seen before.
"Blood opens what greed cannot."
Mr. Brooks adjusted his glasses.
"A lock without a key?"
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Not without a key."
"Without blood."
Detective Collins stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
Arthur looked toward Victoria.
"My father was... eccentric."
"He believed no document should ever decide the future of a family."
"So he designed something impossible to forge."
Victoria stared at the gate.
"You mean..."
Arthur nodded.
"It only opens for a direct Blackwood descendant."
Before anyone could respond...
A slow clap echoed from beyond the gate.
One.
Two.
Three.
The sound bounced through the tunnel.
Then the familiar voice returned.
Calm.
Mocking.
"Very good, Uncle Arthur."
"You remembered."
Daniel stepped in front of Victoria again.
"Julian."
Soft laughter answered him.
"So eager."
"So predictable."
Detective Collins raised his weapon.
"Show yourself."
"Gladly."
A light flickered on behind the gate.
A tall figure stepped forward.
This time...
There was no raven mask.
The man removed it himself.
He appeared to be in his mid-thirties.
Sharp jawline.
Dark hair.
Cold gray eyes.
He wore an immaculate black suit as though attending a board meeting rather than hiding beneath an ancient estate.
He smiled pleasantly.
"Victoria."
"It's nice to finally meet my cousin."
Victoria stared.
"You..."
"You killed Robert."
Julian shrugged.
"He stopped being useful."
No emotion.
No hesitation.
As casually as discussing the weather.
Arthur looked at his nephew with quiet sorrow.
"Edward would be ashamed."
Julian laughed.
"My father taught me everything."
"You taught me the rest."
Arthur frowned.
"I never taught you."
"You taught me that weak people lose."
Daniel had met ruthless executives before.
Powerful politicians.
Corporate sharks.
None of them unsettled him like Julian Blackwood.
Because Julian wasn't angry.
He wasn't excited.
He simply believed he was right.
Collins spoke firmly.
"Julian Blackwood."
"You're under arrest."
Julian smiled.
"For what?"
"Murder."
"Which one?"
The detective's jaw tightened.
Julian looked at Victoria again.
"I've spent years searching for you."
She whispered,
"Why didn't you kill me?"
He tilted his head.
"I needed you alive."
"For the vault."
Arthur's expression hardened.
"You'll never reach it."
Julian smiled.
"I already have."
He snapped his fingers.
A hidden section of the wall slid open.
Two armed men stepped out.
Between them...
A woman.
Her wrists were bound.
Her silver-streaked dark hair hung across her face.
She looked exhausted.
Bruised.
Weak.
Victoria stopped breathing.
The woman slowly lifted her head.
Green eyes.
The same green eyes Victoria saw every morning in the mirror.
Arthur whispered,
"Evelyn..."
The woman's lips trembled.
"My baby..."
Victoria felt her knees buckle.
Daniel caught her before she fell.
"Mom..."
The word escaped her without thought.
The woman burst into tears.
"Victoria..."
Twenty-four years.
Gone in a single heartbeat.
Arthur covered his face.
He had buried his niece decades ago.
Now...
His sister-in-law stood alive before him.
Broken.
But alive.
Detective Collins immediately aimed at Julian.
"Release her."
Julian smiled.
"I was about to."
He pushed Evelyn forward.
She stumbled several steps.
Then stopped.
Something wasn't right.
Daniel noticed first.
"Collins..."
The detective narrowed his eyes.
A thick black vest lay beneath Evelyn's torn jacket.
Wires.
Blinking red lights.
His blood ran cold.
"Everyone back!"
Julian laughed.
"Excellent eyesight."
Victoria screamed.
"NO!"
Evelyn sobbed uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm so sorry..."
Julian spoke almost gently.
"The vest contains enough explosives to bring down what's left of this tunnel."
Arthur's face darkened.
"You monster."
Julian shrugged.
"I prefer strategist."
Collins kept his weapon trained.
"What do you want?"
Julian's smile faded.
"For Victoria..."
"To open the vault."
Arthur shook his head.
"If she refuses?"
Julian looked at Evelyn.
"Then mother and daughter finally share the same grave."
Victoria cried,
"I'll do it!"
Daniel turned sharply.
"No."
She looked at him through tears.
"I won't lose her again."
Julian nodded approvingly.
"That's exactly what I hoped you'd say."
He gestured toward the ancient iron gate.
"Go ahead, cousin."
"Let's see what Grandfather left us."
Victoria limped toward the gate.
Arthur suddenly shouted,
"WAIT!"
Everyone looked at him.
His face had gone completely pale.
"I remember something..."
Julian frowned.
"What?"
Arthur whispered,
"My father told me..."
"If the wrong heir opens the vault..."
He looked directly at Victoria.
"...the entire inheritance burns."
Julian's smile disappeared for the first time.
"What did you say?"
Arthur took one slow breath.
Then revealed the secret he had forgotten for over two decades.
"There are..."
May you like
"...two heirs."
End of Chapter 12
