CHAPTER 10 — THE OTHER HEIR
CHAPTER 10 — THE OTHER HEIR
The vault doors slammed shut.
The sound rolled through the underground chamber like thunder.
Claire spun around and tried the handle.
It didn't move.
“Richard.”
He didn't answer.
His eyes were fixed on Daniel.
The man who had raised him.
The man who had protected him.
The man he had spent his entire life calling father.
Daniel stood several feet away, his face exhausted but strangely calm.
“I was waiting for this moment,” he said.
Richard's voice was barely audible.
“You're the one who betrayed Thomas.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
The word struck harder than any confession could have.
Claire stared at him.
“Why?”
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the center of the vault.
The golden light reflected off old documents and locked chests.
On the walls were portraits of Blackwood ancestors.
Every generation.
Every heir.
Every secret.
Daniel stopped beneath the oldest portrait.
A woman stood there in a black dress, holding a silver key.
Richard looked at the painting.
“Who is she?”
Daniel said:
“Your great-grandmother.”
Isabelle laughed bitterly.
“No.”
Daniel turned.
“She's not.”
Richard frowned.
“Then who?”
Isabelle stepped forward.
“The first heir.”
She pointed at the portrait.
“Her name was Eleanor Blackwood.”
Richard stared.
“Eleanor?”
“The real Eleanor.”
Claire felt a chill.
“Then who is the woman upstairs?”
Isabelle's expression hardened.
“A woman using her name.”
Daniel nodded.
“Exactly.”
Richard looked at him.
“You knew?”
“I knew.”
“For how long?”
“Since the night you were born.”
Richard's face tightened.
“And you still lied.”
Daniel's voice broke.
“I lied because I was afraid.”
Richard laughed without humor.
“Everyone in this family was afraid.”
“Yes.”
“And everyone used that fear as an excuse.”
Daniel looked at him.
“I don't have an excuse.”
“Then give me the truth.”
Daniel nodded.
“You deserve it.”
Fifteen years earlier, Thomas had discovered that the Blackwood inheritance was not controlled by the family company.
The company was merely a shell.
The real fortune was protected by an ancient trust.
The trust could only be activated by a direct descendant carrying the Blackwood blood mark.
Thomas believed his son, Richard, was the only living person capable of activating it.
He was wrong.
There had been another child.
A daughter.
Isabelle.
And another heir existed before both of them.
A child whose identity had been erased from every official record.
Daniel looked at Isabelle.
“She was born before you.”
Richard stared.
“Who?”
Isabelle didn't answer.
Daniel continued.
“Your father's first daughter.”
Richard looked confused.
“You said Isabelle was my youngest sister.”
“She is.”
“Then who was born first?”
Daniel's expression became grim.
“Her name was Sophia.”
Claire felt a chill.
“Another sister?”
Daniel nodded.
“Sophia was born eleven years before Isabelle.”
Richard stared at Isabelle.
“Where is she?”
Isabelle looked away.
“Dead.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Daniel continued:
“Sophia is alive.”
Isabelle's face changed.
“You lied to me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
Isabelle raised her gun.
“You're just like them.”
Daniel didn't move.
“She is the reason I betrayed Thomas.”
Richard stepped closer.
“What did Sophia have?”
Daniel answered:
“The original Blackwood seal.”
At the center of the vault stood a glass case.
Inside was a small silver object.
A circular seal.
An ancient Blackwood crest was engraved across its surface.
Richard approached it.
His wrist began to burn.
He pulled back.
Claire noticed.
“Richard?”
The crescent mark on his wrist had turned red.
Daniel watched.
“The seal recognizes you.”
Richard stared at the object.
“Why?”
“Because you're one of the heirs.”
“One?”
Daniel nodded.
“There are two.”
Isabelle stepped forward.
“Me.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Yes.”
“And Richard.”
“Yes.”
She laughed.
“Then why did everyone keep calling him the last heir?”
“Because they wanted you to fight each other.”
Richard frowned.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
“Eleanor.”
Claire understood.
“The woman behind the smile.”
Daniel nodded.
“She created the entire conflict.”
“But why?”
“Because the trust has one final condition.”
Richard looked at the seal.
“What condition?”
Daniel's voice became quiet.
“Only one heir can control the fortune.”
Isabelle's expression changed.
Richard looked at her.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Daniel nodded.
“That's why she wanted you to hate each other.”
Isabelle lowered her gun slightly.
“She wanted one of us to kill the other.”
“Exactly.”
Richard stared at his sister.
“So the inheritance…”
“Was designed to divide the family.”
A metallic sound echoed behind them.
Everyone turned.
One of the vault doors had opened.
A woman stepped inside.
Evelyn.
Her dress was torn.
Blood covered one side of her face.
But she was smiling.
Claire's heart sank.
“You.”
Evelyn looked at Richard.
“You finally understand.”
Richard's voice became cold.
“You used me.”
“No.”
“You used Isabelle.”
“No.”
“You used Daniel.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Daniel was useful.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“You knew I would eventually tell him.”
“Yes.”
“Then why let me live?”
Evelyn looked toward the vault.
“Because I needed the door opened.”
Richard froze.
“The vault.”
“Yes.”
“You needed me.”
“Yes.”
“To activate it.”
“Yes.”
“And now?”
Evelyn's smile disappeared.
“Now I need you dead.”
She raised a gun.
Jonathan suddenly stepped in front of Richard.
“Enough.”
Evelyn fired.
The shot struck Jonathan in the shoulder.
He fell.
Claire screamed.
“Jonathan!”
Richard dropped beside him.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Jonathan grabbed Richard's wrist.
“Don't…”
“Stay with me.”
“Don't trust Daniel.”
Richard froze.
Jonathan coughed.
“He's not the traitor you think he is.”
Richard looked up.
“What?”
Jonathan struggled to breathe.
“Daniel betrayed Thomas…”
He winced.
“…but not for Evelyn.”
Richard stared.
“Then for whom?”
Jonathan looked toward the vault.
“For Sophia.”
Evelyn fired again.
Isabelle shot back.
The bullet struck the stone beside Evelyn.
Everyone scattered.
Claire pulled Richard behind a pillar.
Daniel moved toward Jonathan.
“Help him!”
Richard looked at Daniel.
“Why should I trust you?”
Daniel shouted:
“Because I'm the only one who knows how to get you out!”
“Then tell me!”
“Your father is waiting.”
Richard froze.
“Thomas?”
Daniel nodded.
“He's alive.”
“Where?”
Daniel pointed toward the far wall.
“Behind the vault.”
Richard stared.
“There is another room?”
“Yes.”
“What's inside?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Your father.”
Richard ran.
He found a hidden panel beneath the portrait of the first heir.
He pressed it.
The wall opened.
Beyond it was a narrow chamber.
A man sat on a chair.
Older.
Thin.
Scarred.
His hair was streaked with gray.
Richard stopped.
“Thomas.”
The man lifted his head.
His eyes filled with tears.
“My son.”
Richard couldn't move.
He had imagined this moment for fifteen years.
He had imagined anger.
Questions.
Revenge.
But all he could feel was grief.
He stepped forward.
“You're alive.”
Thomas nodded.
“I am.”
Richard's voice broke.
“Why didn't you come for me?”
“I tried.”
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Thomas looked toward Daniel.
“Because I asked him to keep you away from me.”
Richard turned.
“Why?”
“Because I knew what would happen if they found you.”
“They found me anyway.”
Thomas lowered his head.
“I know.”
Richard stepped closer.
“You knew everything.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Isabelle.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Sophia.”
Thomas hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Who is Sophia?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Your first sister.”
“Where is she?”
Thomas's expression changed.
“She is closer than you think.”
Richard stared.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas looked toward the door.
“She's been watching you.”
A slow clap echoed through the chamber.
Everyone turned.
Sophia stepped out of the darkness.
She was perhaps twenty-six.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
Her expression was calm.
Too calm.
Richard stared.
“You.”
Sophia smiled.
“You finally found me.”
Isabelle raised her gun.
“Sophia.”
Sophia looked at her.
“You still don't understand.”
“Understand what?”
Sophia looked at Richard.
“I wasn't hidden to protect me.”
Richard frowned.
“Then why?”
“Because I was the first heir.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Sophia continued:
“Before Richard.”
“Before Isabelle.”
“Before the trust was divided.”
She touched the silver seal.
“It belonged to me.”
Richard stared.
“So you're the other heir.”
Sophia smiled.
“No.”
She looked toward the vault.
“I'm the first.”
Claire felt a terrible realization forming.
“If you're the first heir…”
Sophia nodded.
“Then Richard and Isabelle are not the only heirs.”
Richard looked at Thomas.
“How many?”
Thomas whispered:
“Three.”
Sophia smiled.
“Three living heirs.”
Isabelle lowered her gun.
“That's impossible.”
Sophia looked at her.
“You were told you were the second daughter.”
“I am.”
“No.”
Sophia's eyes hardened.
“You were the second child.”
Richard stared.
“And I?”
Sophia smiled.
“You were the third.”
Silence.
Claire looked at Thomas.
“Then who is the second daughter?”
Sophia's smile vanished.
“Someone Eleanor killed.”
Richard remembered the photograph.
The baby.
The crescent mark.
The girl who had supposedly died.
“Lily.”
Sophia nodded.
“No.”
Richard's heart stopped.
“Then who?”
Sophia whispered:
“Your mother.”
Richard couldn't breathe.
“My mother?”
“Elena.”
“She wasn't an heir.”
“She was.”
Thomas stepped forward.
“She was the second heir.”
Richard stared at him.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because if you knew…”
Thomas swallowed.
“…you would have searched for her.”
“She was dead.”
Thomas looked at him.
“No.”
Richard's face went white.
“No.”
“She was alive when you were born.”
“Where is she?”
Thomas didn't answer.
Sophia did.
“She has been here.”
Richard looked around the chamber.
“What?”
Sophia pointed toward a locked door.
“Behind that door.”
Richard rushed toward it.
The door was sealed.
He tried the handle.
Nothing.
“Open it.”
Sophia didn't move.
“Open it!”
She smiled.
“You need the seal.”
Richard looked toward the glass case.
“The silver seal?”
“Yes.”
He walked toward it.
Daniel shouted:
“Richard, don't!”
Richard turned.
“Why?”
“Because once you touch it, the trust chooses its heir.”
“And?”
“You may never be able to undo it.”
Richard looked at Sophia.
Then Isabelle.
Then Thomas.
Then Claire.
He thought of his mother.
Of every lie.
Every funeral.
Every year spent believing he had been abandoned.
He reached for the glass.
The moment his fingers touched it, the case opened.
The silver seal rose by itself.
A deep mechanical sound echoed through the vault.
Ancient locks began turning.
One after another.
The walls shook.
Sophia smiled.
“It's awake.”
Richard took the seal.
The crescent mark on his wrist burned.
A symbol appeared across his skin.
Not a crescent.
A crown.
Claire stared.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas's face went pale.
“It chose him.”
Sophia's smile disappeared.
“No.”
Isabelle stepped backward.
“Richard…”
He looked at the seal.
Then at Sophia.
“You said there were three heirs.”
Sophia nodded.
“Then why did the trust choose me?”
She didn't answer.
Richard held up his wrist.
The crown-shaped mark glowed faintly.
Thomas whispered:
“Because there is a fourth.”
Everyone froze.
Claire stared at him.
“A fourth heir?”
Thomas nodded.
“The child Eleanor erased.”
Richard's heart pounded.
“Who?”
Thomas looked at Sophia.
Sophia's face had gone completely white.
“Tell him,” Thomas said.
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Tell him.”
Sophia backed away.
“I won't.”
Thomas looked at Richard.
“The fourth heir is not your sister.”
Richard stared.
“Then who?”
Thomas whispered:
“Your child.”
Claire's breath caught.
Richard looked at her.
Neither spoke.
Then Sophia laughed.
A broken, almost hysterical sound.
“Too late.”
Richard turned toward her.
“What?”
Sophia pointed behind Claire.
Everyone looked.
Claire's blood froze.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Pregnant.
Pale.
Terrified.
And unmistakably familiar.
Richard stared at her.
“Claire…”
She touched her stomach.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was going to tell you.”
The vault fell silent.
Thomas closed his eyes.
Daniel whispered:
“Eleanor knew.”
Richard stared at Claire.
“How long?”
Claire's lips trembled.
“Three months.”
Sophia stepped forward.
“Then the fourth heir already exists.”
Richard looked at her.
“What are you saying?”
Sophia smiled.
“The war isn't over.”
She pointed toward Claire's stomach.
“It has only begun.”
Behind them, the vault door opened.
And a voice echoed through the darkness.
A woman's voice.
Old.
Calm.
Smiling.
“Congratulations, Richard.”
Everyone froze.
Eleanor's voice continued:
“You finally understand why I never wanted you dead.”
A pause.
“I wanted your child.”
May you like
The lights went out.
And in the darkness, someone screamed.
