Chapter 12 — The Night They Took Lily
Chapter 12 — The Night They Took Lily
The words remained on the screen.
FATHER: ARTHUR BLACKWOOD.
Ethan stared at them until they blurred.
“No.”
Arthur's face remained on the security monitor.
He looked almost peaceful.
As though he had waited years for this exact moment.
“The truth hurts,” Arthur said.
Ethan stepped toward the screen.
“You're lying.”
“Am I?”
“You manipulated the Archive.”
Arthur smiled.
“The Archive cannot be manipulated.”
Richard's face went pale.
“That isn't possible.”
Arthur laughed softly.
“You built the system, Richard.”
“You should know better.”
Ethan looked at Richard.
“Is it true?”
Richard didn't answer.
“Richard.”
“I don't know.”
Arthur's voice came through the speakers.
“He knows.”
Ethan turned toward him.
“You're the father?”
Arthur nodded.
“Biologically.”
Lily stood beside Ethan.
Her face was completely blank.
She had heard every word.
Ethan crouched in front of her.
“Lily.”
She looked at him.
“Am I bad?”
His heart broke.
“No.”
“But he says he's my father.”
“That doesn't make you him.”
“Then who am I?”
Ethan pulled her into his arms.
“You're my daughter.”
Lily whispered:
“Even if I'm not?”
“Especially then.”
Arthur watched them through the camera.
“You still don't understand.”
Ethan stood.
“What?”
“She was never supposed to be yours.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“She's not an object.”
“No.”
Arthur smiled.
“She is the key to everything.”
A warning siren suddenly filled the chamber.
Richard turned toward the main console.
“We're out of time.”
“What happened?”
“The Archive has entered lockdown.”
“Why?”
Richard looked at the monitor.
“Someone has triggered the extraction protocol.”
Ethan frowned.
“Extraction?”
“Every living heir is being transferred to a secondary location.”
“Can you stop it?”
Richard shook his head.
“Not from here.”
Arthur's voice returned.
“You have three minutes.”
Ethan stared at the screen.
“Where is my other daughter?”
Arthur smiled.
“Where she has always been.”
“Tell me.”
“Come find her.”
The screen went black.
Ethan turned to Gabriel.
“You know where he is.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then take me.”
Gabriel hesitated.
“Ethan…”
“Now.”
They ran.
The Archive doors opened automatically.
Security alarms echoed through the underground corridors.
Richard led the way.
“There is an old service tunnel beneath the hospital.”
“Where does it go?”
“Outside the city.”
“How far?”
“Seven miles.”
Ethan looked at Lily.
“She can't run that far.”
Gabriel lifted her into his arms.
“I'll carry her.”
Lily looked at him nervously.
“Are you my grandpa?”
Gabriel stopped.
Ethan looked at him.
Gabriel smiled sadly.
“No.”
“What are you?”
Gabriel looked at Ethan.
“Something between a stranger and family.”
Lily considered this.
Then she rested her head against his shoulder.
“I like you.”
Gabriel's eyes filled with tears.
“So do I.”
They reached the tunnel.
Richard opened the steel door.
Cold air rushed inside.
Then they heard footsteps.
Someone was coming.
Gabriel raised his gun.
“Behind me.”
A figure appeared.
Ethan recognized him.
Victor.
He was bleeding from his shoulder.
“Wait.”
Richard aimed his weapon.
“Don't.”
Victor raised both hands.
“I'm not here to fight.”
“You tried to kill me.”
“I was ordered to.”
“By Arthur?”
Victor nodded.
“But he betrayed me.”
Ethan stared.
“Why should I believe you?”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“You shouldn't.”
He looked toward Lily.
“She's the reason I'm here.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“What did you do to her sister?”
Victor lowered his eyes.
“I helped take her.”
Silence.
Ethan's voice became dangerously calm.
“Where is she?”
Victor swallowed.
“Not far.”
“Where?”
“The old Blackwood estate.”
Gabriel's face changed.
“No.”
Victor looked at him.
“She's there.”
Gabriel whispered:
“That's impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because the estate burned down.”
Victor shook his head.
“Only the house burned.”
He looked at Ethan.
“The underground level survived.”
They moved through the tunnel.
Victor remained with them.
Ethan kept his weapon trained on him.
After several minutes, Victor spoke.
“You need to understand what happened seven years ago.”
Ethan didn't answer.
“Your daughter wasn't kidnapped after the fire.”
Ethan looked at him.
“She was taken before it.”
“What?”
Victor nodded.
“The fire was a cover.”
“Who planned it?”
“Arthur.”
“Why?”
“To erase the maternity records.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“And my wife?”
“Amelia discovered the truth.”
“So he tried to kill her.”
“No.”
Victor hesitated.
“He wanted her alive.”
Ethan stopped.
“Why?”
“Because Amelia knew which child was the real heir.”
Ethan stared.
“She didn't.”
Victor shook his head.
“She did.”
The tunnel opened into an underground parking structure.
A black vehicle waited.
They climbed inside.
Victor drove.
Ethan sat beside Lily.
Gabriel sat in the front.
Richard remained behind them.
Ethan looked at Victor.
“What happened the night they took Lily?”
Victor's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“I was there.”
“Tell me.”
Victor stared through the windshield.
“The hospital fire began at 2:17 a.m.”
“My daughter was born before that.”
“Yes.”
“Then what happened?”
“Two nurses carried the babies out.”
“Which babies?”
“Your twins.”
Ethan's heart tightened.
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“Where were they taken?”
“One went to the emergency shelter.”
“And the other?”
“Arthur took her.”
“Why?”
“Because the Archive had identified her as the Second Heir.”
Ethan frowned.
“But she was a newborn.”
“The Archive recognized her blood.”
“How?”
“Her DNA.”
Ethan looked toward Lily.
Victor continued.
“Arthur had been waiting for that child for years.”
“Why?”
“Because the Blackwood Trust contains a clause.”
“What clause?”
Victor looked at him.
“If a Second Heir is born, the current chairman loses control of the family trust.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“So Arthur wanted her dead.”
Victor shook his head.
“Worse.”
“What?”
“He wanted to control her.”
Lily suddenly spoke.
“I remember.”
Everyone turned.
Ethan looked at her.
“What do you remember?”
“A room.”
“What room?”
“White walls.”
“Anything else?”
“A woman.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“What did she say?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“She said…”
Her voice trembled.
“‘Don't let them know you're awake.’”
Ethan's heart pounded.
“What happened next?”
“She gave me something.”
“What?”
Lily touched her locket.
“This.”
Ethan looked at the silver locket.
“Who gave it to you?”
Lily shook her head.
“I don't remember.”
They reached the old Blackwood estate.
It stood beyond a forest of dead trees.
The mansion was burned.
Its windows were empty.
Its walls were blackened.
But Victor drove directly toward the ruins.
Ethan looked around.
“There's nothing here.”
Victor stopped.
“There is.”
He stepped outside.
Then walked toward the stone fountain.
He pressed his hand against the base.
The ground moved.
A hidden staircase appeared.
Gabriel stared.
“I thought this place was destroyed.”
Victor looked at him.
“Arthur never destroys anything important.”
They descended.
The deeper they went, the colder the air became.
Ethan heard something.
A child crying.
He stopped.
“Lily.”
His daughter gripped his hand.
“That isn't me.”
“I know.”
They continued.
The crying grew louder.
Then they reached a door.
A small window was set into it.
Ethan looked inside.
His breath caught.
A little girl sat on a bed.
Seven years old.
Dark hair.
Pale skin.
The same eyes.
The same crescent-shaped mark.
She looked up.
Their eyes met.
She stood.
“Daddy?”
Ethan's hand shook.
“Lily.”
The girl ran toward the glass.
He reached for the door.
Victor grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
“Let go.”
“There's a trap.”
Ethan looked at the floor.
A red laser crossed the doorway.
One wrong step.
The entire room would seal.
Richard moved forward.
“Give me thirty seconds.”
He knelt beside the control panel.
His fingers moved quickly.
Ethan stared at the little girl.
She pressed her hand against the glass.
He placed his hand against hers.
“I'm here.”
She smiled through her tears.
“I knew you'd come.”
Richard finally disabled the system.
The door opened.
Ethan rushed inside.
He dropped to his knees.
The girl threw herself into his arms.
“Daddy!”
He held her tightly.
“I've got you.”
She sobbed.
“I knew you would.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“I'll never let them take you again.”
She pulled away.
“You have to take my sister too.”
Ethan froze.
“She's here?”
The girl nodded.
“She's upstairs.”
“Who?”
“My sister.”
Ethan stared.
“Lily?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
The girl whispered:
“Amelia.”
Ethan felt his blood run cold.
“Amelia is your mother.”
The girl shook her head.
“No.”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“She's my sister.”
Silence.
Ethan couldn't speak.
The child continued.
“She told me never to tell.”
A gunshot exploded above them.
Everyone ducked.
Gabriel shouted:
“Move!”
The girl grabbed Ethan's hand.
“There's another way.”
“Where?”
“Behind the wall.”
She pulled him toward a bookshelf.
She pressed one of the books.
The shelf moved.
A hidden passage opened.
Ethan stared at her.
“How did you know that?”
She smiled sadly.
“I grew up here.”
Ethan's heart broke.
“You've been here your whole life?”
“Yes.”
“Who raised you?”
She looked toward the darkness.
“Arthur.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“What did he teach you?”
The girl hesitated.
“How to survive.”
They entered the passage.
Behind them, armed men stormed into the room.
Victor shut the hidden door.
“Run!”
They moved through the tunnel.
The little girl stayed beside Ethan.
Lily held her other hand.
For the first time, the twins were together.
They looked almost identical.
But Ethan noticed something.
One girl had a small scar beneath her chin.
The other had none.
One carried the silver locket.
The other carried a black key.
Ethan looked at the key.
“What is that?”
The girl said:
“Arthur gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“He said one day I'd open the door.”
“What door?”
She stopped.
“This one.”
A steel door appeared ahead.
There was no handle.
Only two handprints.
One small.
One larger.
The twins placed their hands against them.
The door opened.
Inside was a chamber.
At the center stood a coffin.
Ethan stared.
“Who is inside?”
The girl whispered:
“Your mother.”
Ethan froze.
“My mother is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then why is she here?”
The girl looked at him.
“Because Arthur didn't kill her.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
“What?”
“She was never buried.”
The coffin lid slowly moved.
A hand emerged.
Then a woman's voice whispered from inside:
“Ethan.”
He stepped backward.
The voice continued.
“My son.”
The coffin opened.
A woman sat up.
She looked older.
Thinner.
But Ethan recognized her.
The woman he had seen only in photographs.
His mother.
Alive.
She looked at him.
Then at the twins.
And began to cry.
“I thought I would never see you again.”
Ethan couldn't move.
“Mom?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
He rushed forward.
She grabbed his face.
“You have your father's eyes.”
Ethan began crying.
“You lied to me.”
“I was forced.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the door.
“Arthur.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Arthur is my biological father.”
His mother went completely still.
“No.”
“What?”
“He isn't.”
Ethan stared.
She whispered:
“Arthur never fathered you.”
“Then who did?”
She looked at Gabriel.
Gabriel stepped forward.
She began crying.
“He did.”
Ethan looked between them.
“You're saying Gabriel is my father?”
“Yes.”
“But the Archive…”
She shook her head.
“The Archive was altered.”
“By whom?”
She looked at the twins.
“By the person who has been controlling all of us.”
Ethan's voice became quiet.
“Who?”
His mother pointed toward the ceiling.
“Arthur.”
Ethan stared.
“But why would he fake the DNA?”
“Because he needed you to believe he was your father.”
“Why?”
“Because only the biological father of the Second Heir can activate the final inheritance clause.”
Ethan looked at the twins.
His mother continued:
“And once you activate it…”
She paused.
“…the entire Blackwood empire changes hands.”
A slow clap echoed through the chamber.
Everyone turned.
Arthur stepped from the shadows.
He wasn't alone.
Dozens of armed men surrounded them.
Arthur smiled.
“Beautiful.”
Ethan moved in front of the twins.
Arthur shook his head.
“Don't.”
“You're not taking them.”
Arthur looked at the girls.
“I don't need to.”
“Then why are you here?”
Arthur smiled.
“To watch the final heir choose.”
Ethan frowned.
“What choice?”
Arthur pointed toward the twins.
“Only one of them carries the complete bloodline.”
Ethan looked at the girls.
Arthur continued.
“And only one of them can inherit the Blackwood empire.”
The girls held each other's hands.
Arthur raised a gun.
“Now.”
He aimed at one of them.
“Choose which daughter lives.”
Ethan stared at him.
“No.”
Arthur smiled.
“Then I'll choose for you.”
The gun fired.
Ethan threw himself forward.
The bullet struck the floor.
The twins screamed.
Gabriel tackled Arthur.
The chamber erupted into chaos.
And in the confusion, one of the girls disappeared.
Ethan looked around.
“Lily?”
No answer.
He turned toward the second girl.
She was still there.
Crying.
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Where is your sister?”
The girl pointed toward the tunnel.
“He took her.”
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your father.”
Ethan looked at Gabriel.
Gabriel was fighting Arthur.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
Because there was only one other man in the chamber.
Daniel.
May you like
And Daniel was gone.
TO BE CONTINUED…
