Chapter 2 – The Shot That Changed Everything
The gunshot echoed across the cliffs like thunder.
For a split second, everyone froze.
Grace instinctively flinched, expecting the knife to plunge into her chest.
Instead—
CRACK!
A crystal vase exploded behind Daniel, showering the terrace with glittering shards.
The bullet had missed him by less than an inch.
Guests screamed.
Someone shouted, "Shooter!"
Panic swept through the ballroom.
Women kicked off their high heels and ran. Men ducked behind marble pillars. Champagne glasses crashed to the floor as hundreds of people scrambled for cover.
"Everybody inside!" one security guard yelled.
Another gunshot rang out.
BANG!
This time, the bullet struck the broken railing exactly where Grace had been hanging only seconds earlier. Sparks flew as metal snapped apart and plunged into the raging sea below.
Rosa's face turned white.
"Oh my God..."
Daniel's expression changed instantly.
The cold, emotionless husband vanished.
In his place stood a man trained for danger.
"Down!" he shouted.
He threw the knife aside and lunged toward Rosa.
"What are you doing?" Rosa screamed.
"Trust me!"
Before she could react, Daniel tackled both Rosa and the remaining section of the railing away from the line of fire.
A third bullet shattered the marble where Rosa's head had been moments earlier.
Stone fragments sprayed across the terrace.
Grace stared at Daniel in disbelief.
"You... you saved us."
Daniel looked toward the dark tree line beyond the estate.
"They're here."
"Who?"
"They found us sooner than I expected."
Rain continued pouring from the black sky.
Security guards rushed onto the terrace with pistols drawn.
"Protect Mrs. Ashcroft!"
"No!" Daniel barked.
"They're exposed!"
Almost on cue—
Two guards collapsed simultaneously.
Neither had time to fire.
The unseen sniper had taken them both down with terrifying precision.
Guests screamed louder.
Blood spread across the white marble.
"This isn't possible," Rosa whispered.
"They're picking us off..."
Daniel grabbed Grace's wrist.
"We have to move."
Grace stared at him.
"You were about to stab me!"
"I know what it looked like."
"It looked like you were trying to kill your pregnant wife!"
"I wasn't."
"Then why the knife?"
Daniel hesitated.
For the first time since Grace had met him, fear appeared in his eyes.
"I couldn't say it out loud."
"What?"
"They're listening."
Grace frowned.
"Who is listening?"
Instead of answering, Daniel looked toward the ballroom.
Every chandelier reflected dozens of frightened faces.
Then his eyes stopped on a bronze eagle statue mounted above the fireplace.
He cursed under his breath.
"They even got inside."
Without warning, Daniel picked up a silver serving tray from a nearby table and hurled it across the ballroom.
The tray smashed directly into the eagle statue.
The statue shattered.
Hidden inside was a tiny black device no larger than a coin.
A microphone.
The guests gasped.
Rosa's mouth fell open.
"We've been bugged..."
Daniel nodded.
"For months."
Grace's heart pounded.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"And you never told me?"
"I couldn't."
"Why not?"
"Because I didn't know who I could trust."
His eyes slowly shifted toward Eleanor.
She remained perfectly calm despite the chaos surrounding her.
Almost...
Too calm.
Grace followed Daniel's gaze.
"Eleanor?"
Her mother-in-law slowly applauded.
One...
Slow...
Clap...
Then another.
"Very impressive, Daniel."
Her voice carried effortlessly through the room.
"I wondered how long it would take you to discover the microphones."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"You planted them."
"I merely allowed our guests to feel... observed."
Grace stared between them.
"What is happening?"
Eleanor smiled faintly.
"You've been asking the wrong questions, dear."
Grace's breathing quickened.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the real question isn't who wants you dead."
She took another slow step forward.
"It's why."
A fourth gunshot exploded.
This one wasn't aimed at Daniel.
Or Rosa.
Or Eleanor.
It was aimed directly at Grace.
Daniel reacted instantly.
He shoved Grace sideways.
The bullet ripped through his shoulder instead.
He grunted in pain as blood soaked through his tuxedo.
"Daniel!" Grace screamed.
He collapsed onto one knee.
Guests scattered again.
Rosa dropped beside him.
"You're bleeding!"
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not!"
He ignored the wound.
Instead, he reached inside his jacket with his uninjured hand.
Grace instinctively backed away.
"Another knife?"
"No."
Daniel pulled out a small leather notebook wrapped carefully in waterproof plastic.
It looked old.
Very old.
Its edges were worn.
The leather was cracked with age.
Grace's eyes widened.
"I've seen that before..."
"You have?"
She nodded slowly.
"My mother had one exactly like it."
Daniel looked at her in silence.
Then he said the words that shattered everything she believed about her life.
"It belonged to your mother."
Grace frowned.
"My mother died twenty-five years ago."
Daniel swallowed.
"No."
"She was murdered."
Lightning split the sky.
Thunder shook the mansion.
Grace felt the world tilt beneath her feet.
"No..."
Daniel carefully handed her the notebook.
"Open it."
Her trembling fingers loosened the leather strap.
The first page was faded.
The handwriting looked strangely familiar.
She read the opening sentence aloud.
If my daughter Grace is reading this, then I have already failed to protect her.
Grace stopped breathing.
The handwriting...
She recognized it instantly.
Every birthday card.
Every bedtime note.
Every tiny message her mother had ever left for her.
It was unmistakable.
Tears blurred her vision.
"This... this is impossible..."
Daniel whispered,
"Keep reading."
Grace turned the page.
Halfway down, one sentence was circled in red ink.
As she read it...
Every color drained from her face.
Never tell Grace that her real name is Blackwood... until Daniel learns the truth about his own family.
Grace slowly looked up.
"What... does this mean?"
Before Daniel could answer—
A woman's voice echoed from the darkness beyond the terrace.
Cold.
Calm.
Familiar.
"You should have burned that journal years ago."
Every head turned toward the garden.
A tall woman dressed entirely in black stepped out of the shadows, holding a silenced pistol.
She smiled directly at Grace.
Then she removed her hood.
May you like
Grace gasped.
The woman's face looked almost exactly like her own.
