Chapter 8 — The Man Ethan Trusted
Chapter 8 — The Man Ethan Trusted
The black limousine remained outside the gates.
No one inside the mansion moved.
Ethan stood at the window, staring at the old man who had just stepped out of the vehicle.
His grandfather.
Arthur Blackwood.
The man who had supposedly died twenty-nine years ago.
The man whose portrait hung above the fireplace in the Blackwood ancestral hall.
The man whose signature appeared on every foundational document of the Blackwood empire.
The man whose name Ethan had heard spoken in whispers throughout his childhood.
Dead.
Gone.
Buried.
Except he wasn't.
Arthur looked directly at the mansion.
Then he smiled.
Not warmly.
Not proudly.
Like a man who had finally found something that belonged to him.
Ethan stepped away from the window.
“Lock every door.”
Security moved immediately.
“Shut down the elevators.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Get the children into the underground safe room.”
Lily looked at him.
“I don't want to go.”
Ethan knelt.
“I know.”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes.”
She took his hand.
Elias stood beside them.
Amelia moved toward the staircase.
Daniel stopped her.
“No.”
She turned.
“What?”
“You stay here.”
“I won't hide.”
“If Arthur sees you, he'll know the plan failed.”
Amelia's face hardened.
“I've been hiding for fifteen years.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Then hide for another fifteen minutes.”
Ethan heard the fear in his father's voice.
That frightened him more than the man outside.
Richard remained in the study.
Blood continued to seep through his shirt.
Ethan looked at him.
“You're injured.”
Richard shrugged.
“I've had worse.”
“You were shot?”
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
“Victor's men.”
Ethan stared.
“You escaped from them.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Richard looked toward the children.
“Because I realized I had been protecting the wrong person.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“You worked for my family for years.”
“Yes.”
“You had access to everything.”
“Yes.”
“You monitored my life.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Lily.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Elias.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about me.”
Richard lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Then tell me why.”
Richard looked at him.
“Because your father asked me to.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Daniel?”
Richard nodded.
“He told me to watch you.”
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Richard sat down.
“You shouldn't.”
Ethan remembered Richard arriving at the Blackwood estate twelve years earlier.
At the time, Ethan had been twenty-eight.
His father had already disappeared.
Victor had taken control of the company.
Ethan was being pressured into accepting a position on the board.
Richard had appeared one rainy afternoon carrying a leather briefcase.
He had introduced himself as an attorney.
A specialist in trusts and inheritance law.
He had helped Ethan regain control of several accounts Victor had frozen.
He had protected Ethan during the first hostile takeover attempt.
He had discovered the first forged signature.
He had exposed the accountant who had been stealing from the company.
He had even helped Ethan meet Amelia.
For twelve years, Richard had been the man Ethan trusted most.
Now Ethan wondered whether any of those memories were real.
“You manipulated me.”
Richard didn't deny it.
“Yes.”
“You chose my wife.”
“No.”
“You knew where she was.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she was pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Elias.”
“Yes.”
“And you let me believe my child was dead.”
Richard's eyes filled with regret.
“I thought it was the only way.”
“The only way to do what?”
“To keep you from becoming like them.”
Ethan stared.
“Like who?”
Richard whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
A loud sound shook the mansion.
The front doors.
Someone had tried to force them open.
Security officers rushed toward the entrance.
Arthur's voice came through the intercom.
“Ethan.”
Ethan froze.
His grandfather's voice was older than he remembered.
But unmistakable.
“Open the door.”
Ethan didn't answer.
Arthur laughed softly.
“You always were your father's son.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Don't respond.”
Arthur continued.
“I know you're there, Daniel.”
Daniel's face went pale.
“And I know Amelia is there.”
Amelia closed her eyes.
Arthur laughed.
“And I know the children are upstairs.”
Ethan looked toward the security team.
“Can he see inside?”
“No.”
“Then how—”
Richard interrupted.
“Cameras.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
Richard looked at the ceiling.
“Every camera in this house belongs to him.”
Security froze.
Ethan looked at the monitors.
One by one, the feeds went black.
Then they returned.
But the angles had changed.
Every camera was now showing the inside of the mansion from a perspective Ethan had never seen.
Hidden cameras.
Hundreds of them.
The house was covered in them.
Arthur had been watching.
For years.
Ethan's stomach turned.
Arthur spoke again.
“Ethan.”
Silence.
“You have something that belongs to me.”
Ethan stepped toward the intercom.
“What?”
“My blood.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“Come take it.”
Arthur laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“The Blackwood inheritance does not pass to the strongest.”
“It passes to the surviving bloodline.”
Ethan said nothing.
Arthur continued.
“You've spent your life believing you inherited an empire.”
“You didn't.”
“You were appointed.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“By whom?”
Arthur smiled.
“By me.”
The line went dead.
Ethan stared at the intercom.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel whispered:
“It means Arthur never considered you family.”
Ethan turned.
“Then what am I?”
Daniel hesitated.
“An experiment.”
Silence.
Ethan stared at him.
“What?”
“Your grandfather wanted to know whether a child raised outside the bloodline could control the Blackwood empire.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“You're saying my entire life was a test?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the Blackwood bloodline was becoming unstable.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“So he replaced his own children.”
“Yes.”
“Manipulated marriages.”
“Yes.”
“Separated babies.”
“Yes.”
“Destroyed records.”
“Yes.”
“And then watched me grow up?”
Daniel nodded.
Ethan's hands trembled.
“I hate him.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You should.”
A gunshot echoed from downstairs.
Everyone froze.
Security shouted.
“Breach!”
Ethan grabbed Lily.
Elias grabbed Amelia's hand.
Richard moved toward the hallway.
“Stay here.”
Ethan stopped him.
“No.”
Richard looked at him.
“You don't trust me.”
“No.”
“Good.”
Richard removed a gun from beneath his jacket.
“I don't trust me either.”
He disappeared down the corridor.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
No gunshots.
No shouting.
Silence.
Ethan waited.
Finally, Richard returned.
Blood covered his sleeve.
But it wasn't his.
“Three men.”
“Dead?”
“Alive.”
“Arthur?”
“Gone.”
Ethan stared.
“He got inside?”
Richard nodded.
“For forty seconds.”
“Forty seconds?”
“He wanted you to know he could.”
Ethan looked toward the staircase.
“Did he see the children?”
Richard didn't answer.
“Richard.”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
Richard's voice dropped.
“He looked at Lily.”
“And?”
“He smiled.”
Ethan felt cold.
“Why?”
Richard looked at him.
“Because he recognized her.”
Ethan rushed upstairs.
Lily was gone.
The bedroom window was open.
The security alarm had not activated.
Elias stood frozen in the hallway.
“Where is she?”
Elias pointed toward the balcony.
“She was here.”
“Who took her?”
“I don't know.”
“Elias!”
“I don't know!”
Ethan ran to the window.
Below, the garden was empty.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Where is my daughter?”
Arthur's voice came through.
“You're still calling her that?”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“If you touch her—”
“I won't.”
Arthur laughed.
“She's my granddaughter.”
Ethan's voice became cold.
“Bring her back.”
“No.”
“Then I'll come for you.”
Arthur paused.
“I was hoping you would.”
The call ended.
Ethan turned.
“Richard.”
Richard stood behind him.
He looked devastated.
“He took her.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You knew this would happen.”
“No.”
“You knew he could get inside.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn't stop him.”
“I tried.”
“You failed.”
Richard accepted the accusation.
“Yes.”
Ethan grabbed him by the collar.
“Tell me where he took her.”
Richard shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“You're his son.”
Richard looked at him.
“So was Victor.”
Ethan stopped.
“What?”
Richard's eyes hardened.
“You never knew that.”
“No.”
“Victor is Arthur's biological son.”
Ethan released him.
The truth hit like a blow.
“Then Daniel…”
“Not his son.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
“Daniel was adopted.”
“By Arthur?”
“Yes.”
“So Richard…”
“Arthur's biological son.”
“And Victor?”
“My half-brother.”
Ethan's mind raced.
The family tree had been deliberately destroyed.
Every relationship had been hidden.
Every child had been assigned a different identity.
Ethan looked at Richard.
“You're the heir.”
Richard shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who is?”
Richard whispered:
“Lily.”
The safe room door suddenly opened.
Amelia entered.
She was carrying something.
A small wooden box.
She placed it on the table.
“Arthur took Lily.”
Ethan nodded.
“I know.”
“He'll take her to the old Blackwood property.”
“How do you know?”
“Because that's where he took Evelyn.”
Ethan stared.
“You knew where Evelyn was?”
Amelia looked down.
“I knew where she had been.”
“Where?”
“The Blackwood children's hospital.”
Ethan froze.
“What hospital?”
“The one that burned.”
His face changed.
“The hospital fire.”
“Yes.”
“That hospital wasn't destroyed.”
“No.”
“Then what burned?”
Amelia whispered:
“The building they wanted everyone to believe was the hospital.”
Ethan stared.
“They built a fake hospital?”
“An empty structure.”
“Why?”
“To create the deaths.”
Ethan's breathing slowed.
“The real hospital…”
“Was underground.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
Daniel nodded.
“That's where the children were kept.”
They drove through the night.
Ethan.
Amelia.
Elias.
Daniel.
Richard.
And a security convoy.
No one spoke.
The road led into the mountains.
At 2:11 a.m., they reached an abandoned industrial complex.
A rusted sign hung above the entrance.
BLACKWOOD MEDICAL RESEARCH FACILITY
Ethan stared.
“This is it.”
Richard nodded.
“The real hospital.”
They entered.
The corridors were abandoned.
Dust covered the floor.
Old medical equipment remained untouched.
Ethan found a nursery.
Three empty cribs stood against the wall.
One had a name scratched into it.
LILY
Another:
ELIAS
The third was blank.
Ethan touched it.
“Who was the third?”
Daniel answered.
“You.”
Ethan looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because your grandfather never knew which child would inherit the trust.”
Ethan frowned.
“Three children.”
“Yes.”
“One trust.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked at Richard.
“Because Arthur created a bloodline competition.”
Richard looked away.
“He wanted the children to destroy each other.”
Ethan's stomach turned.
“He wanted us to fight.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because only one heir could control the empire.”
A sound came from the end of the corridor.
A child crying.
Ethan ran.
“Lily!”
He reached a large steel door.
It was locked.
Inside, Lily was crying.
“Daddy!”
Ethan slammed his shoulder against the door.
“Lily!”
“I'm here!”
Richard shouted:
“Move!”
He fired at the lock.
The door opened.
Lily ran into Ethan's arms.
He held her tightly.
“I've got you.”
She buried her face against his chest.
“He said you're not really Daddy.”
Ethan closed his eyes.
“He lies.”
Lily looked up.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
A voice came from the shadows.
“Promises.”
Everyone turned.
Arthur stepped into the light.
He was holding a folder.
And behind him stood a woman.
Ethan stopped breathing.
Evelyn.
His supposedly dead sister.
Alive.
Older.
Scarred.
Her eyes met his.
“Ethan.”
He couldn't move.
“Evelyn?”
She nodded.
Tears filled her eyes.
“I tried to come home.”
Ethan stepped forward.
Arthur raised a gun.
“Don't.”
Evelyn looked at Arthur.
“You've lost.”
Arthur smiled.
“No.”
He held up the folder.
“I have something he doesn't.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
Arthur opened the folder.
Inside was Ethan's original birth certificate.
The name on it was not Ethan Blackwood.
It was another name.
Arthur looked directly at him.
“Your real name.”
Ethan's face went pale.
Then Arthur spoke the name.
And every person in the room froze.
Because it was the same surname belonging to the family that had been fighting the Blackwoods for generations.
Ethan wasn't merely a hidden heir.
He was the son of the Blackwoods' greatest enemy.
Arthur smiled.
“You were never born to inherit my empire.”
He lowered the document.
May you like
“You were born to destroy it.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
