Chapter 9 - The Countdown“Seven.”
The number echoed through the chamber.
Nathan attacked the electronic lock.
“Give me ten seconds.”
“We don't have ten seconds!” Celeste shouted.
“Six.”
Helena pulled Isabella toward a hidden panel.
“There is another exit.”
“Five.”
They opened it.
A narrow ventilation passage waited behind the wall.
“Four.”
Arthur crawled toward it.
“Three.”
Nathan looked at the chamber.
“I'll stay.”
Isabella grabbed him.
“No.”
“Two.”
A red warning light flashed.
“One.”
The chamber exploded in a thunderous burst of fire.
The blast knocked everyone to the ground.
Smoke filled the corridor.
Isabella woke seconds later.
Her ears rang.
“Mom!”
Helena was alive.
Celeste pulled her from the wreckage.
Nathan had disappeared.
Isabella panicked.
“Where's Nathan?”
No answer.
Then they heard a groan.
He emerged from behind a stone pillar.
Blood ran down his forehead.
“I'm fine.”
Isabella hugged him despite everything.
For a moment, there was no family war.
No secrets.
Only survival.
Then Helena spoke.
“We have to stop Richard tonight.”
“Where is he?”
“At the estate.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he wants us there.”
Helena looked at Celine, who was barely conscious.
“Alexander isn't working alone.”
Isabella froze.
“Who else?”
Helena looked toward Celeste.
“Someone inside this family.”
Celeste shook her head.
“Who?”
Helena's expression was tragic.
“Richard's youngest brother.”
Isabella stared.
“Alexander?”
“No.”
Helena whispered the name.
“Gabriel.”
Isabella didn't recognize it.
“There is no Gabriel.”
“There was.”
Helena explained.
“Your father had another brother. Gabriel disappeared when he was sixteen.”
“What happened?”
“He was blamed for a crime he didn't commit.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“Which crime?”
“The murder of your grandfather.”
Everyone went silent.
Isabella suddenly understood.
“This family has been killing itself for generations.”
Helena nodded.
“And every generation believes it is protecting the family.”
They returned to the estate through a hidden tunnel.
But the ballroom looked completely different.
The guests were gone.
The chandeliers were dim.
Blood stained the marble staircase.
At the center stood Richard.
He held a gun.
Beside him stood Alexander.
Alive.
And between them was someone Isabella had not expected.
Her fiancé's father.
Nathan froze.
“No.”
Richard smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Nathan's face went white.
“You said he died.”
Alexander laughed.
“We all lied.”
Isabella turned to Nathan.
“What is happening?”
Nathan looked broken.
“My father disappeared when I was a child.”
Richard stepped forward.
“He didn't disappear.”
He pointed the gun at Nathan.
“I killed him.”
The mansion went silent.
May you like
Then Richard looked directly at Isabella.
“And tonight, I intend to finish what I started nine years ago.”
