Chapter 11 - The Daughter Written In Blood
Someone was standing inside Sadie's bedroom.
Adrian stopped at the doorway.
For one second, everything disappeared.
The mansion.
The secrets.
The lies.
The years he had spent searching for answers.
All he saw was Sadie's room.
The broken lamp on the floor.
The open window.
The empty bed.
"Sadie."
His voice was different.
Not the voice of a mafia boss.
Not the voice of a man feared by everyone.
A father's voice.
But there was no answer.
He stepped inside.
The room was cold.
The curtains moved with the wind coming through the open window.
Someone had been here.
Recently.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
Elena.
Clara.
Marcus.
Everyone had followed.
But Adrian didn't look back.
"Where is she?"
Nobody answered.
Then Clara noticed something on the bed.
A small piece of paper.
She picked it up.
Her face changed.
"What is it?"
Clara didn't answer immediately.
Adrian took the paper.
Three words were written.
"Come find me."
His blood ran cold.
Because he recognized the handwriting.
Sadie.
But beneath the words was another message.
Written by someone else.
"Only one daughter returns."
Elena covered her mouth.
"No."
Adrian looked at her.
"You know this."
Her silence confirmed it.
"Elena."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was afraid this would happen."
"What would happen?"
She looked at the empty room.
"That Marcus would force the truth out."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"The truth about what?"
Elena looked at Clara.
Then at him.
"The truth about the night they were born."
Nobody spoke.
Again.
Another secret.
Another piece missing.
Adrian had spent his entire life surrounded by people who believed they were protecting him.
But every secret had only created more damage.
"Enough."
His voice echoed.
"No more."
Everyone looked at him.
"No more hiding."
He looked at Elena.
"No more protecting me from the truth."
Then Clara.
"No more protecting Sadie from the truth."
Finally Marcus.
"And no more games."
Marcus smiled.
"You still think you are in control."
Adrian turned toward him.
"No."
A pause.
"I know exactly what I am."
Marcus studied him.
"And what is that?"
Adrian looked toward Sadie's empty bed.
"Someone who is done losing people."
For the first time, Marcus looked uncertain.
Only for a moment.
But it was there.
Adrian noticed.
And he used it.
"Where is she?"
Marcus said nothing.
Adrian stepped closer.
"You took her."
"No."
Marcus smiled.
"Someone else did."
The answer made Adrian stop.
Someone else.
Not Marcus.
Not directly.
Then who?
A guard suddenly appeared at the doorway.
"Mr. Blackwood."
Adrian turned.
"What?"
The guard looked nervous.
"We found something in the security room."
"What?"
The guard handed him a tablet.
A security recording.
Time stamp.
Thirty minutes earlier.
The footage showed Sadie's hallway.
She was walking toward her room.
Then a person appeared behind her.
Adrian leaned closer.
The person was wearing a hood.
But the way they walked...
The way they moved...
He knew.
No.
Impossible.
The figure stopped behind Sadie.
Sadie turned.
The camera angle changed.
The person's face became visible for one second.
Adrian froze.
Because the person who took Sadie...
Was someone he trusted.
"Play it again."
The guard did.
Again.
And again.
Nobody spoke.
Clara looked shocked.
Elena looked terrified.
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Because he knew.
Adrian turned slowly.
"Daniel."
Daniel didn't move.
"How long?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Adrian..."
"How long have you been working for them?"
The pain on Daniel's face answered before his words did.
"I never worked for Marcus."
"Then why were you the one who took her?"
The room went silent.
Daniel looked at Elena.
Then Clara.
Then Adrian.
"I was trying to protect her."
Adrian's expression became cold.
"You kidnapped her to protect her?"
"No."
Daniel shook his head.
"I was trying to get her away before they reached her."
"Who?"
Daniel hesitated.
And Adrian immediately understood.
There was someone worse.
Someone even Marcus feared.
"Who is above Marcus?"
Daniel looked toward the window.
"The person who created him."
The words made everyone silent.
Marcus smiled.
Almost proudly.
"You finally understand."
Adrian looked at his father.
"You were never the leader."
Marcus said nothing.
Because that was the truth.
The Blackwood empire.
The fear.
The power.
The money.
It all belonged to someone else.
Adrian's phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked.
He answered.
A woman's voice spoke.
"Adrian Blackwood."
He froze.
Because he knew that voice.
Not Elena.
Not Clara.
Someone else.
Someone from the past.
Someone he thought he would never hear again.
"Who is this?"
A quiet laugh came through the phone.
"You always were your father's favorite mistake."
Adrian's face changed.
Marcus looked at him.
And for the first time...
Marcus looked afraid.
The woman continued.
"I have your daughter."
Adrian's grip tightened.
"Which one?"
A pause.
Then:
"The one who still believes you can save her."
Sadie's voice suddenly appeared in the background.
"Adrian..."
His entire body went still.
She was alive.
But scared.
The woman whispered:
"Come alone."
Adrian looked around.
"No."
The woman laughed.
"Then you will lose her."
The call ended.
Adrian immediately turned toward Marcus.
"Who is she?"
Marcus didn't answer.
"Who?"
Marcus looked at him.
And for the first time in fifteen years, his father looked like a man who had lost.
"Her name is Isabella."
Adrian stared.
The name meant nothing.
Until Elena whispered:
"No..."
Everyone looked at her.
Elena's face became pale.
"That can't be."
Adrian turned.
"You know her?"
Elena slowly nodded.
"She was the reason I disappeared."
The room went silent.
"Who is Isabella?"
Elena looked at Adrian.
May you like
And whispered:
"Your sister."
