Chapter 17 - THE UNCLE WHO NEVER DIEDThe man stepped into the room.
Victor whispered:
“Thomas.”
Thomas Blackwood smiled.
“My nephew.”
“You're dead.”
“So everyone believed.”
Victor stared at his family.
How many dead people were actually alive?
Thomas looked at Chloe.
“And that must be the famous child.”
Chloe hid behind Amelia.
Thomas smiled.
“You look like your grandmother.”
Amelia stepped in front of Chloe.
“Stay away from her.”
Thomas laughed.
“Still protective.”
Victor raised his voice.
“You're the mastermind.”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Thomas pointed toward the ceiling.
“The system.”
Victor frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
Thomas explained.
“The Blackwood system isn't a computer.”
Victor stared.
“What is it?”
“A network.”
“A network of people.”
Thomas smiled.
“People who believe the family must survive at any cost.”
Victor looked at Edward.
At Richard.
At Amelia.
At Elizabeth.
Every person had been manipulated.
Thomas continued:
“Evelyn isn't my partner.”
“She's my daughter.”
Victor stared.
Evelyn looked at Thomas.
“Father.”
The room went silent.
Evelyn was a Blackwood.
Victor's family tree had been falsified for decades.
Thomas had children.
Those children had infiltrated the company.
The conspiracy wasn't an organization.
It was a dynasty.
Victor looked at Chloe.
“Then why does she have the system?”
Thomas answered:
“Because she's the only person who can destroy it.”
Chloe looked confused.
“How?”
Thomas pointed at the piano.
“Play the final chord.”
Amelia immediately shouted:
“No!”
Everyone looked at her.
Thomas smiled.
“Your mother told you never to play it.”
“Yes.”
“Because she knew what would happen.”
Victor demanded:
“What happens?”
Thomas answered:
“The Blackwood system dies.”
Victor looked at Chloe.
“Then do it.”
Amelia shook her head.
“If she plays it, every protected account will be destroyed.”
Victor said:
“Good.”
“Every Blackwood company.”
“Good.”
“Every trust.”
“Good.”
“Everything.”
Victor looked at Chloe.
“I'd rather lose an empire than lose another daughter.”
Chloe sat down.
Her fingers hovered over the keys.
Thomas watched.
Evelyn watched.
Victor held Amelia's hand.
Chloe pressed one key.
Nothing happened.
She pressed another.
The room remained silent.
Then she played the final chord.
Every screen shattered.
The computers shut down.
The lights died.
Phones stopped working.
Stock markets froze.
For three seconds, the world went silent.
Then every Blackwood account disappeared.
Every hidden identity.
Every secret company.
Every encrypted file.
Gone.
The dynasty had collapsed.
But then Chloe screamed.
Victor rushed to her.
“What happened?”
She pointed at the piano.
A small drawer had opened beneath the keys.
Inside was a letter.
It was addressed to Victor.
He opened it.
Only one sentence appeared.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOUR FATHER LIED ABOUT THE BABY.
Victor stared.
“What baby?”
Amelia went pale.
Thomas smiled.
And Richard suddenly whispered:
“Not Chloe.”
Victor looked up.
“Then who?”
May you like
Richard answered:
“Your mother's first child.”
