Chapter 12 – The Fourth Heir
The screen glowed red.
Four names.
Four possible heirs.
Four people who had spent their entire lives believing they knew who they were.
But only one could unlock the Blackwood archive.
GRACE BLACKWOOD
EMILY BLACKWOOD
ISABELLA BLACKWOOD
DANIEL ASHCROFT
Nobody spoke.
The silence was heavier than the concrete walls surrounding them.
Grace slowly turned toward Daniel.
Her voice barely existed.
"Why is your name there?"
Daniel stared at the screen.
"I don't know."
But the hesitation in his voice told everyone something.
He knew more than he was saying.
Grace noticed immediately.
"You do know."
"Grace..."
"No."
Her eyes filled with anger and pain.
"Every time something happens, you tell me you're protecting me."
She stepped closer.
"But every secret leads back to you."
Daniel looked devastated.
"I swear to you..."
"Then explain."
He couldn't.
That was the answer.
Emily stared at the screen.
"This is impossible."
Arthur shook his head slowly.
"No..."
Everyone looked at him.
The old lawyer's face had lost all color.
"You understand what this means."
Nathan frowned.
"What?"
Arthur pointed at Daniel's name.
"It means the Blackwood inheritance wasn't passed only through blood."
Thomas looked confused.
"What are you saying?"
Arthur swallowed.
"The system recognizes Daniel because..."
He stopped.
Grace demanded,
"Because what?"
Arthur closed his eyes.
"Because Daniel has Blackwood DNA."
The room exploded with silence.
Rosa stared at Daniel.
"No."
Daniel looked equally shocked.
"That's impossible."
Arthur looked at him sadly.
"Is it?"
Daniel stepped backward.
"My parents were Ashcrofts."
"Yes."
"My father built the company."
"No."
Arthur's voice was firm.
"Your father stole the company."
Daniel's breathing became uneven.
"What are you saying?"
Thomas stared at Daniel.
Then slowly...
He whispered:
"Your mother..."
Everyone turned toward him.
Thomas looked horrified.
"Your mother was Elena's sister."
Grace froze.
"What?"
Thomas looked at Daniel.
"You are not an Ashcroft."
"You are a Blackwood."
The words hit harder than any explosion.
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"My entire life..."
"A lie."
Grace stared at him.
The same words she had said earlier.
Now they belonged to him.
Emily stepped closer to the screen.
"That's why."
Everyone looked at her.
She continued:
"The system wasn't searching for a name."
"It was searching for blood."
Nathan looked confused.
"Then why didn't Daniel know?"
Arthur answered.
"Because someone erased that information."
Grace looked toward the screen.
"Who created this system?"
Nobody answered.
Then Isabella's voice came through the speakers.
"I did."
Everyone looked up.
Grace's eyes narrowed.
"You?"
Isabella laughed softly.
"Of course."
"You think I spent twenty-eight years hiding without learning anything?"
The screen changed.
A new video appeared.
Isabella.
Years younger.
Standing in a laboratory.
Behind her were dozens of computers and medical files.
Grace stared.
"Where is that?"
"The original Blackwood research facility."
Thomas looked shocked.
"That place was destroyed."
"No."
Isabella's voice became cold.
"You destroyed the evidence."
The video continued.
Young Isabella spoke into a camera.
"If you're watching this, it means the Blackwood family is finally ready to face the truth."
She looked directly into the camera.
"Three sisters."
"One forgotten."
"One protected."
"One sacrificed."
Grace felt tears forming.
The video changed.
A DNA chart appeared.
Four genetic lines.
Grace.
Emily.
Isabella.
Daniel.
Nathan stepped closer.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Emily whispered.
"It's possible."
She looked at Daniel.
"Our families were connected before we knew."
The video continued.
Isabella's younger voice said:
"The Blackwood inheritance was never designed for one person."
"It was designed for four."
Grace frowned.
"Four?"
The screen highlighted Daniel's name.
"The fourth heir was hidden because he carried the missing bloodline."
Daniel stared.
"What missing bloodline?"
The answer appeared on the screen.
THE ORIGINAL BLACKWOOD FOUNDER
Thomas stepped backward.
"No..."
Arthur looked at him.
"You knew."
Thomas's face filled with regret.
"I knew there was another branch."
"But I thought they were gone."
Grace looked at Daniel.
"So your family..."
Daniel shook his head.
"I never knew."
For the first time since the night began...
Grace believed him.
Because Daniel looked just as broken as she felt.
Then suddenly—
A loud crash came from above.
Everyone looked toward the ceiling.
Nathan immediately raised his weapon.
"We're not alone."
Daniel listened.
Footsteps.
Many footsteps.
"More than ten."
Emily picked up her gun.
"The Hunters."
Thomas looked terrified.
"They found the vault."
Nathan checked his ammunition.
"We need another exit."
Arthur shook his head.
"There isn't one."
Grace looked at him.
"What?"
"The vault was built so nobody could escape."
Daniel looked toward the screen.
"Then why create a system that requires four heirs?"
Arthur answered quietly:
"Because the person who built it expected those four people to stand together."
Grace stared at the three others.
Emily.
Isabella.
Daniel.
Her enemies.
Her family.
Her secrets.
Then the vault door suddenly shook.
A voice came through from the other side.
"Grace Blackwood."
Everyone froze.
The voice was female.
Older.
Familiar.
Grace's face changed.
"No..."
Daniel looked at her.
"What?"
She whispered:
"I know that voice."
The door shook again.
The voice spoke.
"You've been searching for answers."
"Now I'm here to give them to you."
Arthur whispered in fear:
"Impossible."
Grace looked at him.
"Who is it?"
Arthur's lips trembled.
"The woman who started everything."
The door lock began to open.
Slowly.
The steel door moved.
And standing behind it...
Was a woman everyone believed had died twenty-eight years ago.
Grace's mother.
May you like
Elena Blackwood.
Alive.
