Chapter 11 — The Recording That Could Destroy the Blackwoods
Chapter 11 — The Recording That Could Destroy the Blackwoods
The birth certificate slipped from Ethan's hand.
It landed on the wet stone floor.
For several seconds, he couldn't breathe.
Gabriel stood across from him.
Calm.
Patient.
Almost amused.
“You're lying.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“No.”
“Michael is my father.”
“You were told that.”
“Richard raised me.”
“Exactly.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that I'm your son?”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“You've spent your entire life believing other people's stories.”
He pointed toward the certificate.
“Read it again.”
Ethan picked it up.
The name was still there.
Father: Gabriel Blackwood.
His hands trembled.
“This can be forged.”
“Of course.”
“Then prove it.”
Gabriel smiled.
“I knew you'd say that.”
He reached into his coat.
But before he could remove anything, Ethan's phone vibrated.
Daniel.
Ethan answered.
“Where are you?”
“Where are you?”
“The cemetery.”
Daniel swore.
“You went alone?”
“Yes.”
“Get out.”
“Why?”
“Because we found something.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
Ethan looked at Gabriel.
“From when?”
“Seven years ago.”
His heart stopped.
“Who's on it?”
Daniel's voice lowered.
“Richard.”
A pause.
“And Gabriel.”
Ethan stared at the man standing in front of him.
“Send it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“It's encrypted.”
“Then break it.”
“We're trying.”
Gabriel smiled.
Ethan noticed.
“You know about the recording.”
Gabriel didn't deny it.
“Yes.”
“What does it contain?”
“The truth.”
At Blackwood Tower, Daniel placed the encrypted file on the main monitor.
Amelia sat beside him.
Catherine stood behind them.
Michael watched silently.
Lily and Rose were in a secure room upstairs with Thomas.
Daniel typed rapidly.
“I need the original key.”
Michael frowned.
“What key?”
“The one Samuel used for his private recordings.”
Catherine's expression changed.
“I know where it is.”
“Where?”
“Under the chapel.”
Daniel looked at her.
“We already searched there.”
“Not the chamber.”
“What do you mean?”
Catherine walked to an old cabinet.
She opened a hidden compartment.
Inside was a small metal cylinder.
Daniel stared.
“What is that?”
“Samuel's recording key.”
He took it.
“Why didn't you tell us?”
Catherine looked toward Amelia.
“Because I was ashamed.”
Daniel inserted the key.
The encryption disappeared.
A file appeared.
BLACKWOOD—NIGHT OF FIRE
Daniel pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a voice.
Richard.
“Is the eastern wing sealed?”
Another voice answered.
Gabriel.
“Yes.”
Richard continued:
“And the boy?”
Gabriel laughed.
“Which one?”
“The older one.”
“Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“He's outside.”
“Good.”
Daniel stopped breathing.
Amelia closed her eyes.
The recording continued.
Richard said:
“What about Amelia?”
Gabriel replied:
“She won't survive.”
Amelia covered her mouth.
Then another voice entered.
Eleanor.
“She knows about the baby.”
Richard answered:
“Then she can't leave.”
Daniel looked at Catherine.
She was crying.
The recording continued.
Gabriel's voice became colder.
“Once the fire starts, we move the children.”
Richard asked:
“And Michael?”
“He'll be blamed.”
“For the fire?”
“For everything.”
Silence.
Then Gabriel laughed.
“By morning, Michael will be a murderer.”
The recording stopped.
No one spoke.
Daniel replayed the final thirty seconds.
Again.
And again.
The evidence was devastating.
Richard.
Gabriel.
Eleanor.
All three were involved.
But there was something else.
A fourth voice.
Faint.
Almost impossible to hear.
Daniel increased the volume.
A woman whispered:
“What about the other child?”
Gabriel answered:
“Rose?”
“Yes.”
“She stays hidden.”
“Where?”
Gabriel laughed.
“With Amelia.”
The room went silent.
Amelia looked at Daniel.
“I told you.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You knew.”
“I knew Rose was alive.”
“You knew Gabriel was involved?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told Ethan?”
“I was trying to protect him.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
At the cemetery, Ethan stared at Gabriel.
“My family has a recording.”
Gabriel smiled.
“I know.”
“They have your voice.”
“I know.”
“You confessed.”
“I did.”
“Why aren't you afraid?”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“Because the recording isn't the whole story.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means your father wasn't the only one who made decisions that night.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Who else?”
Gabriel smiled.
“Your mother.”
“Catherine?”
“Yes.”
Ethan shook his head.
“She tried to save Lily.”
“She also helped start the fire.”
“No.”
Gabriel's smile widened.
“Ask her.”
Ethan's phone rang.
Catherine.
He answered.
“Ethan.”
“Did you help start the fire?”
Silence.
“Answer me.”
Catherine began crying.
“Yes.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“Why?”
“I was trying to create a diversion.”
“You set a hospital on fire.”
“I didn't know how bad it would become.”
“People died.”
“I know.”
“Amelia almost died.”
“I know.”
“And Lily?”
“I thought she was safe.”
Ethan's voice broke.
“You all knew.”
“Yes.”
“Everyone knew.”
Catherine whispered:
“Not you.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“That was the point.”
Gabriel watched him.
“You see?”
Ethan lowered the phone.
“You wanted me to find out.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you're finally strong enough.”
“For what?”
“To destroy them.”
Ethan stared.
“Destroy who?”
“The Blackwoods.”
“You're a Blackwood.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Exactly.”
The recording was released at 9:00 a.m.
Daniel had sent copies to federal investigators, financial regulators, three major newspapers, and every member of the Blackwood board.
Within minutes, the company stock collapsed.
Banks froze accounts.
Lawyers began resigning.
Executives called emergency meetings.
The Blackwood empire started burning without a single building catching fire.
But the recording had one unexpected consequence.
A federal warrant was issued for Richard.
Another for Eleanor.
And a third for Gabriel.
Ethan watched the news in silence.
Amelia sat beside him.
“You did it.”
He shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“Gabriel is still free.”
“And he has the children.”
Ethan looked toward the secure wing.
“No.”
Amelia frowned.
“He said he did.”
Ethan stood.
“He wants me to believe that.”
Daniel rushed into the room.
“Ethan.”
“What?”
“The children are gone.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“We checked the security feed.”
“When?”
“Ten minutes ago.”
“And?”
“Someone entered the secure wing.”
“Who?”
Daniel handed him a photograph.
The image showed a woman carrying Lily.
Ethan stared.
“Eleanor.”
“No.”
Daniel zoomed in.
Ethan's expression changed.
It wasn't Eleanor.
It was someone else.
A woman with dark hair.
The same woman from the photograph Amelia had shown him years earlier.
“Who is she?”
Amelia stared at the image.
Her face went pale.
“That's not possible.”
“Who?”
Amelia whispered:
“My sister.”
Ethan froze.
“You had a sister?”
“Yes.”
“What's her name?”
Amelia swallowed.
“Clara.”
“Where has she been?”
“Dead.”
Ethan stared at her.
“No.”
Amelia shook her head.
“She died when she was seventeen.”
Daniel looked at the photograph again.
“Then who is this?”
Amelia didn't answer.
The image suddenly changed.
A live video appeared.
Lily and Rose were sitting together.
Thomas was beside them.
They were alive.
But someone stood behind them.
The woman turned toward the camera.
She smiled.
“Hello, Amelia.”
Amelia's entire body froze.
“Clara.”
The woman laughed.
“You still remember me.”
Ethan stepped closer to the screen.
“Where are my children?”
Clara looked at him.
“Your children?”
She smiled.
“They are my family's children.”
Ethan's voice hardened.
“Bring them back.”
Clara shook her head.
“You're beginning to sound like Gabriel.”
“I'm nothing like him.”
“You're exactly like him.”
She leaned toward the camera.
“That's why he chose you.”
Ethan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Clara smiled.
“Ask him.”
The video ended.
Ethan turned toward Amelia.
“Tell me everything.”
Amelia looked exhausted.
“I don't know where Clara is.”
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“She was involved.”
“Yes.”
“With Gabriel?”
“Yes.”
“And you thought she was dead.”
“I saw her body.”
“Then who was buried?”
Amelia closed her eyes.
“I don't know.”
Daniel looked at the recording.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“The voice.”
He played the audio again.
At the end, beneath the static, another voice appeared.
A whisper.
“Ethan.”
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“If you're hearing this, I'm already dead.”
Ethan stared.
The voice was familiar.
Very familiar.
It was Amelia's.
But Amelia was sitting beside him.
The recording continued.
“I need you to know one thing.”
Static.
“Gabriel isn't the mastermind.”
Ethan looked at her.
Amelia's face had gone white.
The recording continued.
“The man controlling him is…”
The audio broke apart.
Daniel increased the volume.
“…Richard.”
Ethan frowned.
“But Richard is already working for Gabriel.”
The recording answered the question.
“No.”
A pause.
“Gabriel is working for Richard.”
Silence.
Then the recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Ethan looked at Amelia.
“Did you make that recording?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel rewound it.
The voice was unmistakable.
Amelia.
But the timestamp was seven years old.
Before the fire.
Before her disappearance.
Before Lily was supposedly dead.
Ethan stared at the screen.
“If you didn't make it…”
Amelia whispered:
“Then someone was pretending to be me.”
Michael stepped forward.
“I know who.”
Everyone turned.
“Who?”
Michael looked at the recording.
“Clara.”
Amelia shook her head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Michael's expression was grim.
“She had access to your voice.”
“Why?”
“To frame you.”
“For what?”
Michael looked at Ethan.
“For the fire.”
Ethan's heart sank.
“You're saying Clara created a recording that made it sound like Amelia knew everything?”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
Michael looked toward the secure wing.
“Because Clara wanted the inheritance.”
Ethan suddenly understood.
The third heir.
The hidden child.
The false death.
The fire.
The recordings.
Everything connected.
But one question remained.
“Where is Gabriel?”
Michael answered:
“Looking for Richard.”
“And Richard?”
Michael looked at Ethan.
“Looking for you.”
Ethan's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Richard's voice came through.
“Ethan.”
Ethan said nothing.
“You heard the recording.”
“Yes.”
“You believe it?”
“I don't know what to believe anymore.”
Richard laughed.
“Good.”
“Where are my children?”
“Safe.”
“Bring them back.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“When you bring me the original will.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“You don't want the will.”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
Richard's voice became quiet.
“I want the truth.”
Ethan frowned.
“What truth?”
A long pause.
Then:
“Who your mother really is.”
The call ended.
Ethan slowly lowered the phone.
Amelia stared at him.
“What did he say?”
Ethan looked at her.
“He wants me to find out who you really are.”
Amelia's face went completely pale.
“Ethan…”
“What?”
She looked toward the window.
Then whispered:
“I think I know.”
“Who are you?”
Amelia closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, tears were running down her cheeks.
“I wasn't born Amelia Blackwood.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“My name was changed.”
“By whom?”
She whispered:
“Samuel.”
“Why?”
“Because I was never supposed to be your wife.”
Ethan stared.
“Then who were you supposed to be?”
Amelia looked at him.
“The last person in the world your family wanted you to find.”
She took a breath.
“I am Gabriel's first daughter.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
The recording had not destroyed the Blackwoods.
It had only opened another door.
May you like
And behind that door waited the final secret—
the identity of the woman Ethan had loved for seven years.
