The heir before Alexander

The words stayed in the air long after Catherine Vale stopped speaking.

The heir before Alexander.

Elena stared at the photograph in her hands.

Jonathan Vale stood at the center of it, younger than she had imagined, wearing a dark suit with the strange crown symbol stitched onto his sleeve. Beside him stood Catherine, Amelia, and several members of the Blackwood family.

But there was something else.

Someone had been cut out of the photograph.

Not torn away completely.

The edges were still visible.

Someone had deliberately removed a person from the picture.

“Who was standing beside Jonathan?” Elena asked.

Catherine's expression hardened.

“My sister.”

“Amelia?”

Catherine nodded.

Elena looked at the photograph again. “Then why remove her?”

“Because Amelia knew too much.”

Adrian stepped closer. “About Jonathan?”

“About everything.”

A sudden noise came from outside the warehouse.

Everyone froze.

Lily immediately moved closer to Elena.

Charles reached for the door.

“Don't,” Adrian warned.

Charles ignored him.

He slowly opened the warehouse door and looked outside.

Nothing.

Only the empty road and the wind moving through the weeds.

Then his phone rang.

Charles looked at the screen.

His face changed.

“Who is it?” Elena asked.

Charles didn't answer.

The phone rang again.

He finally picked up.

“Hello?”

A man's voice came through.

Even from where Elena stood, she could hear the coldness in it.

“You have something that belongs to me.”

Charles frowned.

“Who is this?”

“You know exactly who I am.”

The call ended.

Charles lowered the phone.

Catherine watched him carefully.

“You recognized the voice.”

Charles said nothing.

“Charles,” Catherine demanded.

He looked at her.

“It was the man who has been controlling everything.”

Elena's stomach tightened.

“Jonathan's son?”

Charles shook his head.

“I don't know.”

“But you called someone Grandfather,” Lily suddenly said.

Everyone turned toward her.

Lily looked at Charles innocently.

“When?”

“At the warehouse.”

Charles went pale.

“You heard that?”

Lily nodded.

“You said, ‘Grandfather will be angry.’”

Silence filled the room.

Catherine slowly turned toward Charles.

“Where did you hear his voice?”

Charles looked at Lily.

“I didn't know she was listening.”

“That wasn't my question,” Catherine said.

Charles swallowed.

“He contacted me months ago.”

Elena stepped forward.

“You've been working for him?”

“I didn't know who he was.”

“You kidnapped Lily.”

“I was ordered to bring her somewhere safe.”

Elena's voice hardened.

“You don't get to call that safe.”

Charles lowered his head.

“I made mistakes.”

“That's an understatement.”

Adrian stepped between Elena and Charles.

“Tell us everything.”

Charles hesitated.

Then he pulled a folded document from inside his jacket.

“I received this after Elena disappeared years ago.”

Elena took it.

The paper was old.

At the top was the crown symbol.

Underneath were several names.

Alexander Blackwood.

Richard Blackwood.

Daniel Bennett.

Amelia Vale.

Catherine Vale.

And Jonathan Vale.

But beneath Jonathan's name was another line.

SUCCESSOR: UNDISCLOSED.

Elena's eyes widened.

“What does that mean?”

Catherine stared at the document.

“It means Jonathan's successor was never officially named.”

Adrian looked at Charles.

“Then how does someone claim the inheritance?”

Charles gave a bitter smile.

“They don't need to claim it.”

He pointed at Lily.

“They need the bloodline.”

Elena's heart stopped.

“Lily?”

Charles nodded.

“The agreement wasn't designed to give the inheritance to one person.”

Catherine's face became pale.

“It was designed to identify the rightful bloodline.”

“And that's why they need Elena,” Charles said.

Elena looked at Adrian.

A terrible realization began forming.

If Jonathan was the rightful heir before Alexander, then Alexander's entire empire might have been built on something that never belonged to him.

And if Jonathan had a living descendant...

The Blackwood fortune could belong to someone else.

A loud crash came from outside.

The warehouse windows shattered.

Elena pulled Lily down instinctively.

Adrian grabbed them both and moved behind a concrete pillar.

Another crash followed.

Catherine shouted, “Everyone stay down!”

Charles ran toward the back entrance.

“Charles!” Adrian yelled.

But Charles disappeared through the doorway.

A few seconds later, silence returned.

Then Elena heard footsteps.

Slow.

Measured.

Coming from inside the warehouse.

She held Lily tightly.

Adrian stood in front of them.

A figure emerged from the darkness.

He was tall, dressed in black, with his face partially hidden beneath the shadow of his coat.

Catherine stared at him.

“No…”

The man stopped.

Then he smiled.

“Hello, Catherine.”

Catherine took a step backward.

“You're dead.”

The man laughed softly.

“That is what your family wanted everyone to believe.”

Elena stared at him.

“Who are you?”

The man looked directly at her.

Then at Lily.

His smile disappeared.

“I am the man who should have inherited everything.”

Catherine whispered his name.

“Jonathan's son…”

The man nodded.

“Finally.”

He looked at Elena.

“You understand.”

Then he raised the document in his hand.

“The Blackwood empire was never Alexander's.”

His eyes moved to Lily.

“It belongs to us.”

And before anyone could respond, the warehouse lights went out.