Chapter 5 - His Mother's GraveCassian had not spoken about his mother in years.
Not to his men.
Not to his partners.
Not even to himself.
She had died when he was sixteen.
At least, that was what he had always believed.
Her grave stood on family land beneath an old oak tree.
Cassian had visited it every year on her birthday.
Now Elena was telling him the grave might contain no body at all.
“My father buried the coffin himself,” Cassian said.
“Did you see the body?”
“No.”
“Then you don't know.”
Cassian slammed his fist against the table.
“You expect me to believe my mother was kidnapped seventeen years ago and everyone around me lied?”
“Yes.”
Marcus looked uncomfortable.
Cassian turned toward him.
“What do you know?”
Marcus swallowed.
“Nothing.”
“Think.”
Marcus looked down.
“There was a period after your father's death when several financial accounts disappeared.”
Cassian frowned.
“What accounts?”
“Private trust funds.”
“Who controlled them?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Your mother.”
Cassian stared.
Elena took the encrypted chip from her pocket.
“Those accounts were never closed.”
Cassian looked at her.
“They were redirected.”
“To where?”
“A network registered through shell corporations in Europe and Asia.”
“And the beneficiaries?”
Elena met his eyes.
“You.”
Cassian went silent.
“What does that mean?”
“That someone has been protecting you for seventeen years.”
Cassian laughed bitterly.
“My mother?”
“Possibly.”
“Or my enemies.”
Before anyone could answer, gunfire erupted outside.
Marcus sprinted to the window.
“Vehicles.”
“How many?”
“Four.”
Cassian reached for his weapon.
Elena stopped him.
“Wait.”
She listened.
“What?”
“Those aren't vehicles.”
Marcus frowned.
She closed her eyes.
“Drones.”
A swarm of armed drones rose above the trees.
The manor's defenses opened fire.
The sky flashed.
Cassian pulled Elena down.
“Get inside.”
“I am inside.”
“You know what I mean.”
A drone shattered through the window.
Elena grabbed a metal tray and smashed it sideways.
The drone spun.
Cassian shot it.
It crashed into the carpet.
Another exploded outside.
Then another.
Marcus shouted.
“Security system is down!”
Elena turned.
“Again?”
Cassian looked at her.
“You have a theory?”
“Someone is testing our response.”
“For what?”
She glanced at the dead drone.
“For a larger attack.”
A red light began blinking.
Elena froze.
“Move!”
She shoved Cassian backward.
The drone exploded.
The blast threw Elena into the wall.
Cassian hit the floor.
When he opened his eyes, his ears were ringing.
Smoke filled the room.
“Elena?”
No answer.
He stood.
“ELENA!”
Something moved behind the curtains.
Cassian raised his weapon.
A hand appeared.
Then Elena crawled from beneath a shattered table.
Blood ran from her forehead.
She looked at him.
“You're difficult to kill.”
Cassian stared.
“You're bleeding.”
“So are you.”
He touched his cheek.
Blood.
Neither smiled.
Then Elena noticed something on the floor.
A small metal pendant.
She picked it up.
Her fingers trembled.
Cassian recognized it.
He had seen it once before.
Around his mother's neck.
Elena whispered.
“She was here.”
Cassian looked toward the broken window.
“Who?”
Elena closed her hand around the pendant.
“Your mother.”
May you like
Then the power went out again.
And somewhere in the darkness, someone began clapping.
