Chapter 8 — The Betrayal That Wasn’t
Chapter 8 — The Betrayal That Wasn’t
The first thing Cassian saw when he returned to Blackwood Manor was blood.
It streaked across the marble entrance.
Not much.
Just enough to make his stomach tighten.
The second thing he saw was Marcus.
Standing in the center of the foyer.
Weapon raised.
Dante on his knees.
A rifle pointed directly at his head.
And behind them, seated calmly in Cassian's favorite leather chair, was an elderly woman with silver-white hair.
Evelyn Thorne.
Cassian stopped.
Elena stepped beside him.
Evelyn smiled.
“You came.”
Cassian's eyes narrowed.
“Let them go.”
Evelyn looked at Marcus.
“Do you hear that?”
Marcus lowered his weapon.
Dante immediately rolled away.
A gunshot cracked.
Cassian raised his weapon.
But Marcus wasn't shooting Dante.
He was shooting the ceiling.
The lights exploded.
Darkness swallowed the foyer.
“MOVE!” Marcus shouted.
Cassian grabbed Elena.
They ran.
Three seconds later, the lights returned.
Evelyn was gone.
Marcus slammed the security doors shut.
Dante stood, breathing hard.
Cassian looked at Marcus.
“What the hell happened?”
Marcus shook his head.
“No time.”
“You pointed a gun at Dante.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To keep him alive.”
Cassian stared.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Your grandmother has control of the entire security system.”
Dante nodded.
“She locked us in the house.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked at Elena.
“Because she wanted you to come back.”
Elena frowned.
“Why?”
Marcus hesitated.
“Because you're the only person she can't control.”
Cassian stared at him.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“It will.”
Marcus pulled a small device from his pocket.
He handed it to Cassian.
“Your father gave me this four years ago.”
Cassian looked at it.
“What is it?”
“A dead man's insurance policy.”
The device contained a single recording.
Cassian's father appeared.
His face was older than in the archive footage.
He looked exhausted.
“Marcus,” he said.
“If you're watching this, Evelyn has made her move.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
The recording continued.
“She will attempt to convince Cassian that you betrayed him.”
Cassian looked at Marcus.
The older recording continued.
“Do not let her.”
Cassian's jaw tightened.
His father knew.
He had predicted this.
“Marcus has protected my son since he was twenty.”
Cassian stared.
“Not because he serves the organization.”
The screen paused.
“Because he serves me.”
Then the recording ended.
Silence.
Cassian looked at Marcus.
“You knew.”
Marcus nodded.
“I've known for years.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father ordered me not to.”
Cassian's voice became cold.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you?”
Marcus looked at Elena.
“Because your father was afraid that knowing the truth would get you killed.”
Cassian stared at him.
“And now?”
Marcus looked toward the dark hallway.
“Now everyone already knows.”
A slow clap echoed through the room.
Evelyn stepped out of the shadows.
“Very touching.”
Cassian raised his weapon.
Evelyn smiled.
“Put it down.”
“No.”
“You really are your father's son.”
Cassian's eyes hardened.
“You murdered him.”
“No.”
“You destroyed his life.”
“No.”
“You built Black Winter.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Yes.”
The admission shocked everyone.
She didn't deny it.
She didn't defend herself.
She simply said:
“Yes.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Why?”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Because your world is built on people who pretend they have power.”
She gestured toward the manor.
“Governments.”
“Banks.”
“Politicians.”
“Police.”
“All of them are controlled by money.”
Elena stared.
“So you decided to control the money.”
“No.”
Evelyn smiled.
“I decided to control the people who controlled the money.”
Cassian shook his head.
“And you call that power?”
“I call it survival.”
Evelyn walked toward them.
Nobody fired.
She stopped in front of Cassian.
“You think your father was a hero.”
“He tried to destroy you.”
“He tried to escape me.”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
“Your father loved power.”
Cassian's expression changed.
“He built Black Winter with me.”
“You're lying.”
“Ask Marcus.”
Cassian looked at Marcus.
Marcus said nothing.
Evelyn smiled.
“He wanted to control the world.”
Cassian shook his head.
“My father changed.”
“Eventually.”
She stepped closer.
“After he realized he couldn't control me.”
Cassian stared.
“What happened?”
Evelyn's face became cold.
“He fell in love.”
“With my mother?”
“No.”
Evelyn looked toward Elena.
“With hers.”
Elena froze.
“My mother?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Your father loved Anya before she married Viktor.”
Anya stepped forward.
“That isn't true.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Tell them.”
Anya looked away.
Cassian looked at Elena.
The room seemed to shrink.
Evelyn continued.
“Your father and Anya planned to leave Black Winter together.”
Elena whispered:
“Why?”
“Because they discovered what Richard had done.”
“Richard?”
Evelyn nodded.
“He was the first man to turn Black Winter into what it became.”
Cassian frowned.
“But you said you built it.”
“I built the network.”
She looked at him.
“Richard weaponized it.”
Elena looked at her mother.
“Is that true?”
Anya's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
Elena's voice broke.
“You loved Cassian's father?”
“Yes.”
“And Dad?”
“I loved him too.”
Elena looked confused.
Anya continued.
“Your father saved my life.”
“But you wanted to leave with Cassian's father?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
Anya looked at Evelyn.
“Richard found out.”
Evelyn's expression became unreadable.
“He threatened Elena.”
Anya nodded.
“He said he'd kill her.”
“How old was I?”
“Two.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“So you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“And Dad?”
“Viktor disappeared.”
Elena's eyes opened.
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
Cassian looked at Evelyn.
“You're telling me my father loved Elena's mother.”
“Yes.”
“And Viktor knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't they kill each other?”
Evelyn smiled.
“Because your father and Viktor became allies.”
Cassian stared.
“Against Richard.”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
“I tried to protect them.”
Cassian laughed bitterly.
“You?”
Evelyn's expression hardened.
“You have no idea what I sacrificed.”
She pointed toward the floor.
“This empire exists because of me.”
Cassian shook his head.
“Then why are you here?”
Evelyn's smile vanished.
“Because someone else has taken control.”
The room fell silent.
Cassian frowned.
“Who?”
Evelyn looked at Elena.
“Your enemy.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Who?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Adrian Vale.”
Cassian's expression changed.
“The man isn't Adrian.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Correct.”
“Then who is he?”
Evelyn looked toward the hallway.
“I don't know.”
Elena stared.
“You don't know?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“He stole Adrian's identity years ago.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian discovered Black Winter's true owner.”
Cassian stepped closer.
“Who?”
Evelyn's voice dropped.
“Your father.”
Cassian froze.
“My father?”
“He discovered who your father really was.”
Silence.
Cassian's face became pale.
“My father?”
Evelyn nodded.
“The man you called father wasn't your biological father.”
Cassian couldn't move.
Elena stared at him.
Marcus looked down.
Dante went silent.
Cassian whispered:
“What?”
Evelyn continued.
“Your father adopted you.”
Cassian shook his head.
“No.”
“He never told you.”
“No.”
“Because he promised your mother.”
Cassian's voice broke.
“My mother is dead.”
“Yes.”
“And my father…”
“Not your biological father.”
Cassian looked as if someone had struck him.
“Who is?”
Evelyn looked at Elena.
Then at Viktor.
Then finally at Cassian.
“Richard Thorne.”
Silence.
Cassian stared.
“My grandfather?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Your biological father is Richard.”
The room exploded into silence.
Cassian stepped backward.
“No.”
Evelyn didn't move.
“Your mother had an affair with Richard.”
“No.”
“Your father discovered the truth.”
“No.”
“He chose to raise you anyway.”
Cassian's breathing became shallow.
Marcus stepped toward him.
“Cassian.”
Cassian raised his hand.
“Don't.”
He looked at Evelyn.
“Why would my father raise me?”
“Because he loved you.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because Richard wanted you.”
Cassian stared.
“Wanted me for what?”
Evelyn's answer was simple.
“The bloodline.”
Cassian's eyes narrowed.
“What bloodline?”
“Richard believed Black Winter belonged to the Thorne bloodline.”
She pointed toward him.
“And you are the last direct heir.”
Cassian laughed once.
A broken, humorless sound.
“So all of this…”
He looked around.
“The empire.”
“The archive.”
“The war.”
“My father's death.”
“It's because of me?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.”
Cassian looked at Elena.
She saw something in his eyes she had never seen before.
Fear.
Not fear of death.
Fear of becoming the thing he had spent his life fighting.
Suddenly, the security system activated.
Every door locked.
Every window shuttered.
Evelyn looked up.
Her expression changed.
“It's started.”
Cassian turned.
“What?”
She looked at the monitors.
One by one, screens activated.
A man's face appeared.
Adrian.
Or the man pretending to be him.
He smiled.
“Good evening.”
Cassian raised his weapon.
“Who are you?”
The man laughed.
“You still don't know.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Show me your face.”
He leaned toward the camera.
“You've already seen it.”
Then the screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
A young man.
Cassian's age.
Standing beside Richard Thorne.
Elena stared.
She knew the face.
Cassian looked at her.
“What?”
She whispered:
“That's Adrian.”
The man on the screen smiled.
“No.”
He paused.
“That's my brother.”
Cassian's expression changed.
“Then who are you?”
The man leaned back.
“My name is Alexander Thorne.”
Evelyn went pale.
Cassian froze.
Alexander continued.
“And I've come to take back what belongs to me.”
The screens went black.
Then the manor shook.
An explosion rocked the eastern wing.
Glass shattered.
Guards shouted.
Dante ran toward the doors.
Cassian grabbed Elena.
“Stay with me.”
She nodded.
Evelyn drew a weapon.
Marcus looked at her.
“You knew this was coming.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn't warn us?”
Evelyn looked at him.
“I needed Cassian to understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That Black Winter isn't a criminal empire anymore.”
She looked toward the burning wing.
“It's a succession war.”
The doors burst open.
Armed men stormed the foyer.
Cassian fired.
Marcus moved beside him.
Dante covered the staircase.
Elena grabbed a fallen weapon.
For several minutes, Blackwood Manor became a battlefield.
But this time Elena wasn't hiding.
She moved beside Cassian.
Back-to-back.
Covering every angle.
Cassian glanced at her.
“You've done this before.”
She fired.
“Many times.”
He almost smiled.
“I knew it.”
Then a bullet struck the wall beside them.
Elena pulled Cassian down.
“Sniper.”
“Where?”
“Clock tower.”
Cassian looked up.
She was right.
He fired.
The sniper disappeared.
Marcus shouted:
“More coming!”
Cassian looked at Elena.
“Can you reach the control room?”
“Yes.”
“Disable the security system.”
“What about you?”
“I'll hold them.”
She stared.
“Don't die.”
Cassian nodded.
“You either.”
She ran.
Elena reached the control room.
The screens were flashing.
She accessed the main console.
A message appeared.
WELCOME HOME, ELENA.
She froze.
Another message.
YOU WERE NEVER THE HOUSEKEEPER.
She typed furiously.
The system displayed an old photograph.
Elena as a child.
Her mother.
Viktor.
And a fourth person.
Alexander Thorne.
Elena stared.
He had been there.
All along.
Watching her family.
Another message appeared.
ASK YOUR FATHER WHAT HAPPENED IN PRAGUE.
Elena stopped.
Prague.
The photograph Cassian had shown her.
The meeting twenty years ago.
Her parents.
Cassian's father.
Adrian.
And the unknown woman.
There had been another secret.
A bigger one.
Elena opened the security files.
She found a recording.
Date:
October 17, 2006.
She pressed play.
Her father's voice.
“We have to leave tonight.”
Another voice.
Cassian's father.
“It's too late.”
Anya cried.
“We can't leave Elena.”
Then a fourth voice.
Richard.
“None of you are leaving.”
The recording ended.
Elena's heart pounded.
Then another voice appeared.
Alexander.
“You should have listened.”
The control room door closed behind her.
Elena turned.
Alexander stood there.
Alone.
Unarmed.
Smiling.
“You finally found me.”
Elena raised her weapon.
“Don't move.”
Alexander laughed.
“You still think weapons are going to solve this?”
“Who are you?”
“I told you.”
“Tell me the truth.”
He stepped closer.
“I am the son Richard never acknowledged.”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“And Cassian?”
“Cassian is the son he chose.”
“Why?”
Alexander smiled.
“Because Cassian was useful.”
Elena's stomach turned.
“Useful for what?”
Alexander's expression became cold.
“To become the face of Black Winter.”
He reached behind him.
Elena aimed.
But Alexander didn't draw a weapon.
He pulled out a photograph.
He placed it on the console.
Elena looked down.
It showed Richard.
Viktor.
Her mother.
Cassian's father.
And two children.
Cassian.
Alexander.
Elena stared.
Then she noticed something.
A third child.
A little girl.
Standing between them.
She recognized herself.
Her blood ran cold.
“This photograph…”
Alexander smiled.
“Was taken before you were born.”
Elena stared at him.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“That's the secret your father never told you.”
He whispered:
“You weren't born into Black Winter.”
A pause.
“You were created for it.”
Elena's face went white.
Behind her, the control room door locked.
And for the first time since she had entered Blackwood Manor…
May you like
Elena realized the housekeeper wasn't the one being hunted.
She was the reason the hunt had begun.
