The second heir

The room went completely dark.

Elena's heart pounded.

She reached for Lily immediately.

“Stay beside me.”

“I’m here, Mom.”

Adrian's voice came from somewhere to her left.

“Everyone stay where you are.”

A metallic click sounded.

Then another.

Someone was moving in the darkness.

Catherine whispered, “Nobody move.”

A faint light appeared at the far end of the room.

A figure stood there.

Elena could barely see the person's face.

Then the emergency lights flickered back on.

The figure was gone.

Only an open doorway remained.

Adrian rushed toward it.

“Wait!”

Elena followed.

They entered a narrow corridor.

At the end was another door.

It was slightly open.

Adrian pushed it wider.

Inside was a small room filled with old boxes.

Catherine walked in behind them.

“What is this?”

Elena looked around.

“Jonathan's private archive.”

Richard shook his head.

“No. This room wasn't on any of the original plans.”

Catherine moved toward the shelves.

“Then Jonathan built it himself.”

Elena noticed a box on the floor.

Her name was written on it.

ELENA.

She opened it.

Inside were documents.

Birth records.

Photographs.

Letters.

And a small silver bracelet.

Elena picked it up.

She recognized it immediately.

“I had this when I was little.”

Richard stared at it.

“Yes.”

Elena looked at him.

“How do you know?”

“Because I was the one who gave it to Daniel.”

Her expression hardened.

“You knew.”

Richard nodded.

“I knew you were connected to Jonathan.”

“But you didn't tell me.”

“I couldn't.”

“You always say that.”

Richard looked down.

“This time, I deserved your anger.”

Elena opened another folder.

There was a photograph of Jonathan holding two babies.

She stared.

One baby was clearly Adrian.

The other was a little girl.

Elena's hands trembled.

“Lydia.”

Catherine stepped closer.

“That's the name Jonathan gave her.”

“Where is she?”

Nobody answered.

Elena turned toward Richard.

“Where is my sister?”

Richard looked away.

“Richard.”

He finally spoke.

“She disappeared.”

Elena's heart dropped.

“When?”

“Shortly after you were separated.”

“Who took her?”

“We don't know.”

Elena shook her head.

“You expect me to believe that?”

Richard's voice cracked.

“I searched.”

“But you didn't find her.”

“No.”

Elena stared at the photograph.

For years she had believed she was an only child.

Now she was discovering that someone had deliberately erased her sister from the family history.

Adrian walked toward the desk.

“There has to be something else.”

He opened a drawer.

Inside was a notebook.

The cover carried the crown symbol.

Catherine took it.

“This belonged to Jonathan.”

She opened the first page.

Most of the writing had faded.

But one sentence was clear.

If Elena survives, protect Lydia.

Elena's heart raced.

“Why was Lydia more important?”

Catherine continued reading.

“Because Lydia carries the final proof.”

Adrian looked at her.

“What proof?”

Catherine turned the page.

The next page had been ripped out.

“Someone removed it.”

Elena looked around the room.

“Then whoever took Lydia probably took the page too.”

A sound came from behind them.

Everyone turned.

The door slowly closed.

Adrian moved toward it.

But before he reached it, a voice came from the other side.

“Lydia wasn't taken.”

Elena froze.

“Who are you?”

The voice answered.

“She left.”

Catherine stepped toward the door.

“That's impossible.”

“Is it?”

The door opened.

A young woman stood outside.

She looked to be in her twenties.

Dark hair.

Calm expression.

And around her neck was a silver necklace carrying the same crown symbol.

Elena stared at her.

The woman looked directly at her.

“Hello, Elena.”

Elena couldn't speak.

Adrian stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

The woman looked at him.

“You're Adrian.”

He nodded cautiously.

She smiled faintly.

“I've heard a lot about you.”

Catherine's face had gone pale.

“No.”

The woman looked at her.

“You remember me.”

Catherine whispered the name.

“Lydia.”

The woman nodded.

Elena felt as though the entire world had stopped.

“You're my sister?”

Lydia looked at her.

“Yes.”

Elena's eyes filled with tears.

“I thought you were dead.”

“So did everyone.”

“Where have you been?”

“Hidden.”

“By who?”

Lydia's expression changed.

“By people who knew the Blackwood family would never stop looking for me.”

Adrian stepped closer.

“Why come back now?”

Lydia looked at Elena.

“Because you found the inheritance record.”

Elena held up the document.

“You knew about this?”

“I knew about everything.”

Catherine looked suspicious.

“Then why didn't you come sooner?”

“Because I needed to know who I could trust.”

Her eyes moved toward Richard.

He looked away.

Elena noticed.

“You don't trust him.”

“No.”

Richard sighed.

“Lydia—”

“Don't.”

Her voice became cold.

“You made the same mistake twice.”

Elena looked between them.

“What mistake?”

Lydia pulled a small envelope from her coat.

She handed it to Elena.

“Read it.”

Elena opened it.

Inside was a letter.

The handwriting belonged to Jonathan.

Lydia,

If Elena ever finds the truth, you must return to her. But do not tell her everything until you know who betrayed us.

Elena looked up.

“Who betrayed you?”

Lydia shook her head.

“I don't know.”

“You came back without knowing?”

“I know one thing.”

“What?”

Lydia looked toward the dark corridor.

“The person who betrayed Jonathan is still alive.”

Everyone became silent.

Adrian asked, “Who?”

Lydia looked at him.

“I don't know his name.”

“Then what do you know?”

“He was present the night Jonathan disappeared.”

Catherine stepped forward.

“How do you know?”

“Because I saw him.”

Elena's heart raced.

“You saw him?”

Lydia nodded.

“I was a child, but I remember his face.”

“Who was he?”

Lydia looked at Richard.

Then at Catherine.

Then at Amelia.

Finally, she looked at Elena.

“He was someone the family trusted.”

Elena's stomach tightened.

“Who?”

Lydia's voice dropped.

“Daniel Bennett.”

Elena froze.

“No.”

Lydia nodded.

“Daniel was there the night Jonathan disappeared.”

Amelia shook her head.

“That's not possible.”

Lydia's expression remained serious.

“I saw him.”

Elena stepped backward.

The man who raised her.

The man she had trusted all her life.

The man who had protected her.

Could he have been involved in Jonathan's disappearance?

Before Elena could process it, her phone rang.

An unknown number.

She answered.

No one spoke.

Then a familiar voice whispered:

“Lydia should never have come back.”

The call ended.

Lydia looked toward the door.

“He found us.”

Adrian immediately moved closer to Elena and Lily.

“Who?”

Lydia's face turned pale.

“The man who has been searching for me.”

A loud crash came from somewhere upstairs.

Then another.

Lydia grabbed Elena's hand.

“We have to leave.”

Elena looked at her sister.

“Why?”

Lydia stared toward the corridor.

“Because now that he knows we're together…”

She swallowed.

“He won't stop until one of us is gone.”