CHAPTER 12 — THE ABANDONED ESTATE
CHAPTER 12 — THE ABANDONED ESTATE
The address led them forty-seven miles north of the city.
Far enough from Manhattan that the lights disappeared.
Far enough that the roads became narrow.
Far enough that Julian began to wonder whether they were driving toward a place that had been forgotten by the world—or deliberately hidden from it.
Rain struck the windshield.
Victor drove.
Alexander sat beside him.
Martha sat in the back with Julian.
Nobody spoke for nearly an hour.
The photograph of Elena and Elise rested on Julian's lap.
Three children.
Three Laurent heirs.
Three lives destroyed before any of them understood why.
Julian looked at his mother.
“You knew where this place was.”
Martha stared through the window.
“Yes.”
“You've been here before.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Twenty-eight years ago.”
Julian frowned.
“You weren't even married to Victor then.”
“No.”
“You were with Alexander.”
Martha's expression tightened.
“For a short time.”
Julian looked at Alexander.
“And you lived here?”
Alexander nodded.
“This was the Laurent family estate.”
Julian looked outside.
There was nothing but trees.
“You called it the original estate.”
“It was.”
“What happened to it?”
Alexander's voice became quiet.
“Everyone left.”
“Why?”
“Because of what happened here.”
Martha closed her eyes.
Julian noticed.
“What happened?”
Neither answered.
His patience was gone.
“I'm tired of secrets.”
Alexander finally spoke.
“Your grandfather gathered the entire family here the night your sisters disappeared.”
Julian's eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“He wanted to decide which child would inherit.”
“And?”
“He chose you.”
Martha immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Alexander looked at her.
“He did.”
“He was wrong.”
“He was afraid of the girls.”
“Because they were Laurent heirs,” Julian said.
Alexander nodded.
“And because one of them had inherited something unusual.”
“What?”
Alexander hesitated.
“Your sister Elise had a photographic memory.”
Julian frowned.
“So?”
“She could remember documents after seeing them once.”
Martha whispered:
“She could remember numbers, signatures, account balances.”
Julian's eyes widened.
“She could memorize the archive.”
“Yes.”
“And Elena?”
Alexander looked down.
“Elena had another ability.”
“What?”
“She could recognize voices.”
Julian stared.
“That's why Richard took them.”
“Exactly.”
The car became silent again.
Two sisters.
One could remember everything she saw.
The other could recognize anyone she heard.
Together, they were a perfect security system.
And Julian?
He had inherited something else.
“What did I inherit?”
Alexander looked at him.
“The ability to access the Laurent Trust.”
Julian laughed bitterly.
“So each of us was useful.”
“No.”
Alexander's voice hardened.
“You were children.”
He looked at Martha.
“Adults made you useful.”
The estate appeared through the trees.
Julian stopped breathing.
The house was enormous.
Three stories.
Dark stone walls.
Broken windows.
Ivy swallowing the eastern wing.
The iron gates hung crookedly.
A weathered Laurent crest remained above the entrance.
Two lions facing each other.
And beneath them:
TRUTH OUTLIVES BLOOD.
Julian stared.
“This place has been abandoned for twenty-seven years?”
“Yes.”
“Then who turned the lights on?”
Everyone looked at the house.
Because several windows were glowing.
Victor stopped the car.
Nobody moved.
Martha whispered:
“We shouldn't be here.”
Julian opened the door.
“We came here because we were invited.”
Alexander grabbed his arm.
“Not by your grandmother.”
Julian turned.
“Then who?”
Alexander looked toward the house.
“I don't know.”
A loud metallic sound came from the gates.
They began opening.
Slowly.
Automatically.
Victor stepped out.
“Someone knows we're here.”
Julian looked at the security camera mounted above the gate.
The red indicator light was blinking.
Someone was watching.
He raised his voice.
“If you're expecting us, come out.”
Nothing.
Then a speaker crackled.
A woman's voice emerged.
“Julian.”
He froze.
Elena.
His sister.
“Don't come inside.”
Julian rushed toward the speaker.
“Elena?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Where's Elise?”
Silence.
“Elena?”
“She is alive.”
Julian exhaled.
“Thank God.”
Then Elena whispered:
“But you need to leave.”
Julian looked at Alexander.
“Why?”
“Because the house is a trap.”
The gates slammed shut behind them.
Victor immediately drew his weapon.
Martha gasped.
Julian stared at the house.
“Who controls the system?”
Alexander shook his head.
“I don't know.”
A second voice came through the speaker.
Richard.
“Welcome home.”
Julian's jaw tightened.
“Where are my sisters?”
Richard laughed.
“You're asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
“Why did your mother bring you here?”
Julian looked at Martha.
Richard continued.
“She knows what is buried beneath the east wing.”
Martha went pale.
Julian turned.
“What is he talking about?”
Martha didn't answer.
“Mom.”
She whispered:
“A room.”
“What room?”
“A room your grandfather built.”
“Why?”
“To protect the archive.”
Julian stared at the house.
“Then let's go inside.”
Martha grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He pulled free.
“You've spent my entire life deciding what I can handle.”
He looked at her.
“I'm done being protected.”
They entered through the front doors.
The smell hit Julian immediately.
Dust.
Mold.
Old wood.
And something faintly metallic.
Blood?
He didn't know.
The grand staircase stood beneath a massive chandelier.
Portraits covered the walls.
Generation after generation of Laurents.
Julian walked slowly.
He recognized Alexander.
Young.
Confident.
Standing beside Martha.
Then he saw another portrait.
His grandfather.
Beside him were three empty spaces.
Three small brass nameplates.
ELENA.
ELISE.
JULIAN.
Julian stared.
“They knew.”
Alexander nodded.
“They planned for you.”
A sound came from upstairs.
Footsteps.
Everyone froze.
Victor raised his weapon.
“Who's there?”
Nothing.
Then a woman's voice.
“Julian?”
He knew it immediately.
Elise.
“I'm here.”
Julian ran upstairs.
Alexander followed.
They reached a long hallway.
At the end stood a woman.
Thin.
Pale.
Dark hair.
Older than the photograph.
But unmistakably Laurent.
Elise.
Julian stopped.
She stared at him.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then she whispered:
“You have his eyes.”
Julian smiled sadly.
“And you have Mom's.”
Elise's eyes filled with tears.
She walked toward him.
Julian opened his arms.
She collapsed against him.
For the first time in his life, Julian held his sister.
A sister he had never known existed.
“I thought you were dead,” he whispered.
“So did I.”
They held each other.
Then Elise stepped back.
“You need to understand something.”
“What?”
“I didn't escape.”
Julian frowned.
“What do you mean?”
She looked down the hallway.
“I was released.”
“By whom?”
Elise didn't answer.
Julian's expression changed.
“Richard?”
She shook her head.
“Someone worse.”
The lights went out.
Martha screamed.
A door slammed somewhere below.
Victor shouted:
“Stay together!”
Emergency lights flickered on.
Elise grabbed Julian's wrist.
“Follow me.”
They ran.
Down a narrow corridor.
Through a hidden door.
Behind an old library.
Elise pressed three books in sequence.
The wall opened.
Julian stared.
“A secret passage.”
“There's an entire network beneath the estate.”
They descended a stone staircase.
At the bottom was a steel door.
Elise entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with computers.
Modern computers.
Brand new.
Julian stared.
“This place isn't abandoned.”
“No.”
Elise looked at him.
“Someone has been using it.”
Victor entered behind them.
He looked around.
“This equipment is less than six months old.”
Alexander's face hardened.
“Richard.”
Elise shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
“He doesn't control this place.”
“Then who does?”
Elise pointed to the center monitor.
A name appeared.
LAURENT LEGACY SYSTEM
Julian stepped closer.
The screen displayed three profiles.
ELENA LAURENT — ACTIVE
ELISE LAURENT — ACTIVE
Then the third.
JULIAN LAURENT — ACTIVE
Below it:
TRIPLE-BLOODLINE ACCESS: 97%
Julian stared.
“What's 97%?”
Elise's voice trembled.
“The system has been waiting for you.”
“For what?”
“To complete the family archive.”
Suddenly another profile appeared.
A fourth.
Julian frowned.
“Who is that?”
The name was hidden.
Only one line was visible.
FOURTH HEIR — STATUS UNKNOWN
Nobody spoke.
Martha walked into the room.
The moment she saw the screen, she stopped.
Julian turned toward her.
“You knew.”
Martha's face collapsed.
“Yes.”
“You knew there was another child?”
She whispered:
“Yes.”
Alexander looked at her in disbelief.
“Martha.”
Julian's voice became cold.
“Who?”
She began crying.
“I never knew his name.”
“His?”
“Yes.”
“A fourth Laurent heir.”
Martha nodded.
“Your grandfather had another son.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“That is impossible.”
“He was born before you.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
Julian stared at the screen.
“Then why does the system list him?”
Elise answered.
“Because he's still alive.”
A notification appeared.
FOURTH HEIR DETECTED.
Then another.
LOCATION CONFIRMED.
Julian stared.
“Where?”
The computer displayed a map.
A single red dot.
Manhattan.
Julian's stomach dropped.
“Who is there?”
Elise looked at the screen.
Her face went white.
“Victor.”
Everyone turned.
Victor stared at the map.
“What?”
Elise whispered:
“The fourth heir is inside your company.”
Victor's face changed.
“What are you saying?”
Julian stepped toward him.
“Who?”
The system identified the location.
BENNETT-LAURENT PRIVATE ARCHIVE
Julian's eyes widened.
His company.
His own office.
Someone had been inside his most secure archive.
Someone with Laurent blood.
Then the door behind them locked.
A voice came through the speakers.
Not Richard.
Not Elena.
Not anyone they recognized.
A man's voice.
Young.
Calm.
Almost amused.
“Hello, Julian.”
Julian looked toward the ceiling.
“Who are you?”
The voice laughed softly.
“You've spent your entire life believing you were the missing piece.”
A pause.
“You're not.”
The monitor flickered.
A live image appeared.
A young man stood inside Julian's Manhattan office.
He looked directly into the camera.
He had Julian's eyes.
Julian stopped breathing.
The man smiled.
“I'm your brother.”
Then the screen went black.
May you like
And beneath it appeared one final message:
THE BLOODLINE IS COMPLETE.
