The man in the shadows

The footsteps above them stopped.

Nobody moved.

Margaret stood near the archive door, her face drained of color.

“Elena,” she whispered, “stay behind me.”

Adrian immediately stepped in front of Elena.

“No.”

Margaret looked at him.

“You don't understand who you're dealing with.”

“Then tell me.”

Before Margaret could answer, the chapel doors above slammed open.

The sound echoed through the underground archive.

Charles moved toward the staircase.

Richard grabbed his arm.

“Wait.”

A man's voice came from above.

“Margaret.”

Margaret closed her eyes.

Elena whispered, “Who is he?”

Margaret looked at her.

“Thomas Vale.”

Elena frowned.

“Vale?”

“My husband.”

The name seemed to change the air in the room.

Charles stared at Margaret.

“I thought Thomas Vale died.”

“So did everyone else.”

Adrian looked at Richard.

“You knew?”

Richard shook his head.

“No.”

Margaret stepped toward the stairs.

“Stay here.”

Elena grabbed her arm.

“You disappeared for years. I'm not letting you disappear again.”

Margaret looked into her daughter's eyes.

“You're still the same stubborn girl.”

Elena's eyes filled with tears.

“You don't get to call me that after leaving me for seven years.”

Margaret looked away.

“I know.”

A shadow appeared at the top of the staircase.

A man slowly descended.

He was older, dressed in a dark coat, with a tired face and sharp eyes.

Thomas Vale stopped halfway down.

His eyes moved across the room.

Then they landed on Elena.

For a moment, he said nothing.

“So,” he whispered.

“You're Elena.”

Elena stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

Thomas smiled faintly.

“The man who spent years trying to find your mother.”

Margaret's voice hardened.

“You're not taking her.”

Thomas looked at her.

“I didn't come for her.”

He pointed toward Elena.

“I came for her.”

Adrian immediately moved closer.

“You're not taking anyone.”

Thomas looked at him.

“Adrian Blackwood.”

His expression became almost amused.

“You look exactly like your father.”

Adrian's eyes narrowed.

“You know my father?”

“I know every Blackwood.”

Richard stepped forward.

“What do you want?”

Thomas looked at him.

“The same thing I wanted twenty-eight years ago.”

“What?”

“The truth.”

Richard's expression changed.

Thomas pulled a folded document from his coat.

He tossed it onto the table.

Elena picked it up.

The heading made her heart race.

THE ORIGINAL THREE-FAMILY AGREEMENT.

She opened it.

The signatures were there.

Alexander Blackwood.

Catherine Vale.

Daniel Bennett.

But beneath them was another signature.

Margaret Vale.

Elena looked at her mother.

“You signed this?”

Margaret nodded.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I believed it would protect you.”

Thomas laughed quietly.

“You believed Alexander would keep his promise.”

Margaret turned toward him.

“He promised me.”

“And he broke it.”

Thomas pointed at the document.

“Look at the final clause.”

Elena read it.

Her face changed.

The clause stated that the protected heir would inherit the Blackwood trust only after exposing the truth behind the agreement.

Adrian read over her shoulder.

“Lily.”

Thomas nodded.

“Exactly.”

Elena looked at him.

“Why is everyone obsessed with my daughter?”

“Because Lily is the only person who can unlock everything.”

“What everything?”

Thomas looked at Richard.

“Your family empire.”

Richard's face tightened.

“The trust was never just money.”

Thomas smiled.

“Now you understand.”

He turned toward Elena.

“But there's something you still don't know.”

“What?”

“Your mother didn't disappear because she wanted to.”

Elena's expression hardened.

“I know.”

“No.”

Thomas shook his head.

“You don't.”

He looked at Margaret.

“She disappeared because she was forced to choose between two lives.”

Elena turned toward her mother.

“What does that mean?”

Margaret looked at Thomas.

“Don't.”

Thomas ignored her.

“Your mother was given a choice.”

Elena waited.

“Save Elena,” Thomas said, “or save Amelia.”

Elena froze.

“Amelia?”

Margaret's eyes filled with tears.

“Your aunt was still alive.”

Elena's breath caught.

“Then why didn't you save her?”

Margaret looked down.

“Because I couldn't save both of you.”

A loud sound came from above.

Thomas turned sharply.

Someone else had entered the chapel.

Richard whispered,

“We're surrounded.”

Adrian looked at Elena.

“Stay behind me.”

Then the archive lights suddenly went out.

A gunshot-like crack echoed from above.

Everyone froze.

Thomas grabbed Margaret.

Charles pulled Elena away from the staircase.

Then a voice shouted from the chapel.

“Find Elena!”

Elena's heart pounded.

Adrian took her hand.

“We're leaving.”

They rushed toward a second passage hidden behind the shelves.

Margaret shouted,

“Elena!”

Elena turned.

Her mother threw something toward her.

Elena caught it.

A small silver key.

“Find Amelia!” Margaret shouted.

Then the passage door slammed shut between them.

Elena stared at the key.

“What is this?”

Thomas's voice came through the darkness.

“The key to the woman who knows everything.”