Chapter 1 - LET ME PLAY ITThe first note fell into the ballroom like a drop of blood.
Then another.
And another.
Within seconds, the laughter that had filled the Blackwood mansion disappeared.
Chloe sat alone at the Steinway, her tiny fingers moving across the keys with impossible confidence.
She was nine years old.
Her dress was faded.
Her shoes were scuffed.
And yet the music coming from her hands belonged in another world.
A world of concert halls, royal theaters, and sold-out performances.
Victor Blackwood stared at her.
For twenty years, he had tried to forget that melody.
He had heard it when his daughter was seventeen.
He had heard it the night she vanished.
He had heard it in his nightmares ever since.
The song was called Winter's Promise.
Only one person had ever played it.
Amelia Blackwood.
His daughter.
His only child.
The girl who disappeared twenty years ago after an argument that Victor still regretted.
Guests began whispering.
“That's impossible.”
“Who taught her?”
“Is that really Amelia's composition?”
Victor couldn't move.
Then Chloe stopped playing.
She looked directly at him.
“My mother taught me.”
The billionaire's glass slipped from his fingers.
It shattered on the marble floor.
Nora stood frozen beside the servants' entrance.
Her face had gone completely white.
Victor turned toward her.
“You.”
Nora swallowed.
Victor walked slowly down the staircase.
“What did you say your name was?”
“Nora, sir.”
He stopped several feet away.
“And your daughter's name?”
Nora's lips trembled.
“Chloe.”
Victor looked at the little girl again.
Something about her eyes disturbed him.
Not because they were strange.
Because they were familiar.
Too familiar.
Exactly like Amelia's.
Before he could say another word, the ballroom doors burst open.
His chief security officer, Marcus Reed, hurried inside.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
Victor didn't answer.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
Marcus looked toward Chloe.
Then toward Nora.
“The old family archive has been opened.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“What archive?”
“The one you've kept sealed for twenty years.”
Silence.
Marcus continued.
“And someone removed Amelia's original birth records.”
Victor's stomach tightened.
“Who?”
Marcus handed him a photograph.
It showed a security camera from the basement.
A figure in black clothing stood before the archive room.
The person's face was hidden.
But Victor recognized the coat.
His own brother wore one exactly like it.
Richard Blackwood.
Victor's younger brother.
A man who had spent twenty years insisting Amelia was dead.
Victor slowly looked toward Richard, who stood near the fireplace.
Richard was smiling.
But his eyes were not.
They were fixed on Chloe.
And for the first time that night, Victor understood something terrifying.
The girl had not simply walked into the gala.
Someone had brought her there.
And whoever did it had known exactly what song she would play.
Victor turned back toward Chloe.
“Come here.”
Nora immediately stepped between them.
“No.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Because I know what happens when powerful men become curious.”
Victor took another step.
Chloe suddenly grabbed her mother's hand.
Then she whispered something.
Victor couldn't hear it.
“What did she say?” he demanded.
Nora stared at him.
“She said we should leave.”
Victor's voice dropped.
“You aren't leaving.”
The ballroom doors slammed shut.
Every security guard in the mansion stepped forward.
Chloe looked at them.
Then calmly looked at Victor.
And smiled.
“You locked the wrong person inside.”
Victor's blood went cold.
“Who?”
Chloe pointed toward Richard.
“Your brother.”
Every face in the ballroom turned.
May you like
Richard's smile vanished.
And somewhere beneath the mansion, an alarm began to ring.
