Henry Winter The Secret History Novels & Stories

**ELDORIA** "You're early today, Sir Henley," the guard at the door of the King's private record room greeted him. Sir Henley. His highest profile disguise so far. The real owner of the name was away. He tugged once at the stiff collar of the borrowed jacket he'd 'stolen.' He had spent yesterday memorizing Henley's gait, his mild stoop, the clipped way he spoke to juniors, and the deferential way he leaned toward superiors.

"Yeah." Silence settled comfortably between them. Not painful. Just honest. Upstairs, Aiden's laughter echoed from his room where Zara was probably teaching him something she absolutely shouldn't. The sound drifted through the house. Warm. Alive. Alicia looked at Henry's letter one final time. Then carefully folded it closed. For years Henry Dickson had built an empire. For years he had believed power was the answer. But in the end, the secret he protected wasn't money. Or Harbor.

I miss him terribly and I'm dying to know how he's doing after he got punched by Charles yesterday. I know I should have told them, said something at least. But something about keeping it a secret thrilled me, to keep going on. The sneaking, the quickies, the short kisses in the hallway, I felt so badass. They thrilled me and brought out my wild side, a side I didn't know I had until I met James. At least for now, my consolation is that Elizabeth understands me, she doesn't support my actions, but I know she understands where I'm coming from. And probably she can speak to Charles, so that he forgives me.

He then grabbed a chair from beside me and put it in front of me before taking a seat on it so he was just facing me. "Listen up, darling, I've dealt with enough shit for the past years and I'm not in a mood to deal with more so spill the fucking beans already. Tell me where the hell he's hiding and I'll let you go." "Well, darling, I'd like to tell you if I knew who the fuck you're talking about. I've been alive for twenty years now and never have I ever heard of any Joseph or whatever." I replied honestly with a hint of annoyance in my voice. "Unless you're talking about Joseph Morgan. I tell you, that man is so—" he cut me off, "shut up."

He already had all the information he needed, Henry thought as he remembered the night he and his men raided the holy tower after receiving the news that the holy council and all the priests under it were planning to raise havoc and cause a riot among the people in order to take him, the king, off the throne. Henry didn’t understand why at first, and not until he went to that place and discovered the hidden room in it. The room was small, dark, without any windows and a single small door, empty of everything but a small rostrum on which was a silver bowl filled to it half with glowing water, with weird symbols written on the edges, Henry had no idea what that thing was but he was adamant on

"Mandy is way more sensible than she is, staying to chat and cook with us. Unlike certain people who don't know the first thing about looking after the elderly." Heidi complained even more with dissatisfaction. "I don't know what Lola is playing at, leaving the house in a complete mess. She doesn't know how to run a household at all." A faint sense of unease surged up within Harrison's heart. He walked briskly upstairs. But the moment he pushed open the bedroom door, he froze. The wardrobe was half empty. The skincare products and jewelry on the vanity table were gone. The photos on the nightstand, the books on the bookshelf, the clothes in the walk-in closet... Every single thing belonging

Xavier was the head of the most powerful of the four great families. Behind Henry stood eight bodyguards. They came in pairs, carrying a large object covered with a red cloth. Their heavy footsteps resounded through the hall. Henry walked to the center of the hall and greeted Caleb. "Mr. Smith Senior, Ms. Wood asked me to send you this gift." A sense of foreboding rose in Jason. "What is it? Why is he being so secretive?" Susan curiously approached. Henry straightened his back and lifted the red cloth. The crowd fell silent.

The angle made us look far more intimate than we actually were. Another picture followed, then another. Different angles, different moments. Every single one looked terrible.My heartbeat turned uneven as I scrolled down. BLACKTHORN CONFESSIONS: Guess the scholarship students have creative ways of surviving. CAMPUS TEA: Knew she was suspicious. ANONYMOUS USER: So this is how she got Professor Vale’s attention? ANOTHER USER: Adrian Laurent finally dating someone? Didn’t expect it to be her. I stopped reading immediately. My hands were shaking.

And then ,she forced herself to inhale slowly. Ten years; Ten years had passed since the accident. Ten years since the secret that tied four lives together in ways none of them had ever imagined. They had all agreed to move on, to forget, to bury the past where it belonged. But Emma had never truly managed to bury it. Some nights she still woke up with her heart racing, convinced she could hear the dull thud again, the sound that had changed everything. She turned away from the window and walked back toward the kitchen counter. Her phone lay there beside a half-finished cup of tea. The screen suddenly lit up;