The Black Swan Helmsley Novels & Stories

They seemed to shudder like it was taking its first breath before swirling like mist. The she-wolf thought she was hallucinating. She had taken quite a whack to the head, but her eyes couldn’t leave the sight of the darkness swirling and creeping out from the crevices of the wooden structure. Even her terror couldn’t bring her to look away. As they reached the top step, the black mass curled in on itself, manipulating itself into a shape that grew and began to gain definition. But the air suddenly thickened as if something was sucking the oxygen from it and Chloe felt her stomach turn violently. She snapped her eyes shut, blocking out the world around her.

A black helicopter lifted into the darkening sky. Inside sat Elena. Adrian. Luca. Dr. Amelia Grant. And a heavily guarded Victor Kane. No one spoke much during the flight. The ocean stretched endlessly below them. After nearly an hour... The pilot's voice came through the headset. "We're approaching Blackwood Island." Everyone looked out the windows. An enormous island emerged from the darkness. Dense forests surrounded towering sea cliffs. At the highest point stood an ancient mansion. The Blackwell Estate. Elegant. Silent.

"Harold, you sound frantic. It’s unseemly for a man of your position. You’re shouting at the screen like a common trader." "Unseemly? We’re losing forty percent of our liquid value!" Harold’s voice cracked. "Helena, help us." "Then find out why you're losing it," Helena said, her voice dropping to a chilling, silky tone. "A Sovereign doesn't run to their neighbors every time a fire starts in the kitchen. If the Rossi family is to be part of the Mordrake dynasty, you must prove you have the power to solve your own problems. I am far too busy managing my own empire to play nursemaid to your stock portfolio."

The dining salon aboard the Andromeda was a scene of restrained chaos. The sleek, contemporary room, all chrome and low-slung leather, had the ambiance of the inside of a precision timepiece just as its mainspring was about to burst. The subdued, tense undercurrent of the Roberts Global board was a grating hum beneath the rising keen of the gale outside. Beyond the broad panoramic windows, the Manhattan skyline was being eaten by a bruised, purpling dusk. The first heavy drops of rain began to streak the glass like frantic, silver tears, and the gentle, reassuring rock of the yacht developed into a stomach-plummeting sway.

Her cold eyes assessed the situation with calculated precision. "Elias," she said sharply. "Step away from them." I knew without being told that this was Helena, the woman who had been Clyde and Marla's contact, who had overseen my brother's transformation into a weapon. "He's not Elias," I said, turning to face her while keeping my brother in my peripheral vision. "His name is Lucious Blackthorne. And he's coming home with me." Helena's lips curved into a cold smile. "How touching. The long-lost sister comes to rescue her brother." Her gaze shifted to my brother. "Elias, dear, this is exactly what we warned you about. The false light comes to tempt you from your destiny."

I argued. "Your brother was the accountant for a gang—a family rather—The Black Rose." The Black Rose. It was the name Elijah had called his company, and now they were saying it was a gang? "And now that he's gone, they won't stop until they wipe out the rest of The Black Rose," Silas took a step back. "You signed your fate the second you stepped foot in Italy with that passport. If they get their hands on you, they will kill you or worse."

"Are you attempting to decouple your assets from this ledger, Helena? Do you truly believe your status will survive the executioner's block if the high table uncovers the truth of the Whitmore exchange?" Helena's denial was immediate and absolute. "My loyalty to our vault has never shifted." Cedric seized her wrist with a crushing force, his thumb digging into the expensive jade band circling her skin with an unsettling, predatory intensity. "If your unit rejects this deployment, your access to our accounts is terminated: your garments, your properties, your jewelry, and Bianca’s protection grid will be entirely dismantled by morning. Never forget the blood that finances your luxury." Helena

It just wasn't the whole truth. She nodded, apparently satisfied, and returned to reviewing our presentation. I looked out the tinted car window. The closer we got, the harder my heart pounded. Seven years. I'd spent seven years convincing myself I was over Ethan Blackwood. Now, in less than ten minutes, I'd know whether that was true. The sleek glass tower came into view. Blackwood Enterprises. It looked exactly as I remembered. Elegant. Powerful. Untouchable. Just like the man who owned it.