Chapter 6 - The Night Everything Fell Apart
The screen went black.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The image of Victoria disappeared, but her last words remained inside my head.
"Hello, brother."
Not Adrian.
Not Mr. Blackwood.
Brother.
I looked at Marcus.
The man who had stood beside my family for fifteen years.
The man who had protected me.
The man who had lied to me.
"Who was that?" I asked.
Marcus didn't answer.
That was the first time I saw something I never expected from him.
Fear.
Not the fear of being exposed.
The fear of something worse.
The fear of what would happen next.
"Marcus."
He looked at me.
"Adrian, you need to leave this house."
I almost smiled.
"After everything I've learned tonight, that's your advice?"
"You don't understand."
"No."
I stepped closer.
"I understand perfectly."
My voice became colder.
"Everyone around me knew the truth except me."
Marcus looked away.
"Your father made choices to keep you alive."
"My father is dead."
The words came out sharper than I intended.
"But somehow, everyone still uses his name whenever they want to justify lying to me."
Emily stood silently near the wall.
She looked between us.
She had spent months carrying this secret alone.
Now the people who knew the truth were finally standing in the same room.
And none of us knew who to trust.
I looked back at the screen.
"Who was the person behind Victoria?"
Marcus didn't respond.
"Tell me."
His silence was enough.
I walked toward him.
"Was it Richard?"
Marcus's expression changed.
A small reaction.
But enough.
"Richard is alive," I said.
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The answer felt like a knife.
Because deep down, I had hoped I was wrong.
My uncle had always been the person everyone respected.
The calm businessman.
The family advisor.
The man who helped me rebuild after my father's death.
But if Marcus was telling the truth...
Richard wasn't protecting the Blackwood name.
He was destroying it from the inside.
"What happened to Victoria?"
Marcus looked at the hidden screen.
"She found Lily."
My eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"Years ago, Victoria took Lily away because she knew Richard would never stop searching for her."
"Then why was she hiding?"
Marcus looked at me.
"Because Richard wasn't the only danger."
I waited.
"Who else?"
Marcus hesitated.
Then Emily spoke.
"The person controlling Richard."
Everyone turned toward her.
I frowned.
"You knew?"
Emily shook her head.
"Not everything."
She stepped closer.
"But I knew Richard wasn't working alone."
I looked at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her eyes filled with guilt.
"Because every person who tried to expose the truth disappeared."
The room went quiet.
"Who disappeared?"
Emily looked down.
"My mother."
That was the first time she had mentioned her family.
"My mother was the one who found Lily after she vanished."
I stared at her.
"You said Lily was your adopted sister."
Emily nodded.
"My mother raised her for a while."
"Then what happened?"
Her voice became softer.
"Someone found them."
The answer came slowly.
"Who?"
Emily looked at Marcus.
Then at me.
"The Blackwood family."
The next hour changed everything I believed.
Marcus finally told us the truth.
Not all of it.
But enough.
Eight years ago, after Lily disappeared, my father had secretly moved her away from everyone connected to the Blackwood family.
He trusted almost nobody.
Not his brother.
Not his business partners.
Not even his closest friends.
The only people he trusted were Victoria and Emily's mother.
Because they had no reason to fight over his empire.
They only wanted to protect a child.
But Richard discovered the truth.
And when he did, everything changed.
He wanted Lily found.
Not because he loved her.
Because Lily was proof.
Proof that my father had another heir.
Proof that Richard's plans could be destroyed.
Proof that the empire he wanted would never fully belong to him.
"Where is Lily now?" I asked.
Marcus looked at Emily.
She looked terrified.
"I don't know."
"You knew she was alive."
"Yes."
"But you don't know where she is."
Emily shook her head.
"The last message I received was two years ago."
"What did it say?"
She closed her eyes.
Then whispered:
"Don't let Adrian find out until it's safe."
I froze.
"She knew my name?"
Emily nodded.
"She always knew who you were."
That was the hardest part.
All these years, somewhere in the world, there was someone connected to me.
Someone who shared my blood.
Someone who knew I existed.
And I had no idea.
My phone suddenly rang.
Everyone looked at it.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
This time, nobody spoke first.
Then a child's voice came through.
A young girl's voice.
"Are you Adrian?"
My entire body froze.
I looked at Emily.
Her face went pale.
"Lily?"
The voice on the phone became quiet.
Then:
"Emily told me you would come."
I couldn't breathe.
"Where are you?"
A pause.
Then the girl whispered:
"I don't know."
My hand tightened around the phone.
"What do you mean?"
"I've been moved."
My eyes darkened.
"By who?"
The little girl didn't answer immediately.
Then she whispered:
"The man who says he is my father."
My blood ran cold.
"Lily, listen to me. Tell me where you are."
A sound came from the background.
A door opening.
Someone walking closer.
The girl's voice became frightened.
"I have to go."
"Lily."
A whisper.
"Adrian..."
"Yes?"
"Don't trust the man who comes looking for me."
The call ended.
I stood there completely still.
Because whoever had Lily had just made one mistake.
They had contacted me.
And now I knew she was alive.
The security system suddenly activated.
Every monitor in the mansion turned on.
Marcus looked toward the hallway.
"That's impossible."
"What?"
"The cameras."
I looked at the screens.
Every camera feed showed the same thing.
The front entrance.
A black vehicle had stopped outside the mansion.
A man stepped out.
Tall.
Well-dressed.
Calm.
Even from the security footage, I recognized him.
My uncle.
Richard Blackwood.
He looked directly into the camera.
Like he knew we were watching.
Then he walked toward the front door.
Marcus whispered:
"He shouldn't be here."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
Marcus's face turned pale.
"Because Richard has been dead for three years."
The front door opened.
Someone stepped inside.
And the voice that followed was the same voice I had heard on the phone.
"Adrian..."
May you like
The man smiled.
"I think it's time we talked about your sister."
