Chapter 12 - THE MAN WHO DIED TWENTY YEARS AGOVictor stared at Richard.
“My father is dead.”
Richard nodded.
“He was supposed to be.”
Victor felt dizzy.
“Where is he?”
Richard said nothing.
The detective returned.
Richard handed over the folder.
“Tomorrow morning, Victor will be transferred.”
“To where?”
“The old Blackwood facility.”
Victor understood.
The facility beneath Red Ridge.
He was being taken into the center of the conspiracy.
The next morning, Victor was transported.
But the convoy was attacked.
Three vehicles surrounded the armored truck.
Gunfire erupted.
The guards were overwhelmed.
The prison doors opened.
Victor stepped out.
Richard stood there.
“You're free.”
Victor stared.
“This was your plan?”
Richard nodded.
“You had to see him.”
The two men entered an underground chamber.
At the end stood a man in a wheelchair.
Older.
Gray-haired.
But unmistakable.
Victor stopped breathing.
His father.
Edward Blackwood.
Alive.
Edward smiled.
“Victor.”
Victor's hands shook.
“You're dead.”
“I became useful that way.”
Victor stepped forward.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I let everyone believe it.”
“Why?”
“Because I discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
Edward pointed toward a massive screen.
Thousands of musical patterns filled it.
“This family has been hiding information inside music for generations.”
Victor stared.
“And Mother?”
“She helped.”
“Evelyn?”
“An employee.”
“Richard?”
“My protection.”
Victor looked at Richard.
Edward continued.
“Amelia was supposed to become the next keeper.”
“She refused.”
“She loved you too much.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“She hated me.”
“No.”
Edward shook his head.
“She feared what would happen to you.”
Victor looked away.
“What do you want from Chloe?”
Edward's face became serious.
“She can decode everything.”
“Everything?”
“Yes.”
“The Blackwood accounts.”
“Yes.”
“The criminal network.”
“Yes.”
“The names of everyone involved.”
“Yes.”
Victor whispered:
“Then why haven't they killed her?”
“Because once she decodes the final sequence, they can erase every trace.”
Victor stared.
“Final sequence?”
Edward nodded.
“Your mother hid it.”
“Where?”
“In the first song Amelia ever wrote.”
Victor remembered.
Winter's Promise.
Edward continued.
“But there is another part.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“What?”
“Someone must play it.”
Victor understood.
“Chloe.”
Edward nodded.
Then the screen changed.
A live video appeared.
Chloe sat at a piano.
She looked terrified.
Nora stood behind her.
And Evelyn stood beside them.
Evelyn smiled at the camera.
“Hello, Victor.”
Victor lunged toward the screen.
“Let them go!”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Play the final sequence.”
Victor looked at Edward.
“What happens if she does?”
Edward's face went pale.
“She'll expose everyone.”
Victor nodded.
“That's the point.”
Edward whispered:
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the system doesn't simply expose people.”
Victor stared.
“What does it do?”
Edward answered:
“It activates the inheritance.”
The lights flickered.
Edward looked at Chloe's image.
“And once activated…”
He stopped.
Victor demanded:
“Once activated, what?”
May you like
Edward whispered:
“The Blackwood empire chooses its next owner.”
