Chapter 3 – The Woman With Grace’s Face
Rain poured harder as silence settled over the terrace.
No one moved.
No one even seemed to breathe.
The woman standing in the garden wore a long black coat soaked by the storm. Wet strands of dark hair clung to her face, but it wasn't the rain that held everyone's attention.
It was her face.
She looked almost identical to Grace.
The same blue-gray eyes.
The same delicate nose.
The same heart-shaped lips.
Even the small scar above her left eyebrow matched Grace's perfectly.
The only difference was her expression.
Grace's face had always carried warmth.
This woman's face carried nothing but calculation.
She held a silenced pistol loosely at her side as though it weighed nothing.
The corners of her lips curled into a faint smile.
"So..." she said softly. "We finally meet."
Grace could barely force out the words.
"Who... are you?"
The woman tilted her head.
"You really don't recognize me?"
"No."
"I suppose they erased everything."
Daniel immediately stepped in front of Grace despite the blood pouring from his wounded shoulder.
"Don't come any closer."
The woman laughed.
"You still think you can protect her?"
She glanced at the blood staining his tuxedo.
"You've always been stubborn."
Rosa helped Daniel remain standing.
"You know her?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"I know exactly who she is."
Grace looked at him.
"Then tell me!"
He hesitated.
The woman answered instead.
"My name is Emily."
Grace frowned.
"...Emily?"
"Emily Blackwood."
Grace's heart skipped a beat.
Blackwood.
The same name written inside the journal.
"No..."
Emily smiled wider.
"Now you're beginning to understand."
Grace shook her head repeatedly.
"That's impossible."
"Our faces say otherwise."
Eleanor suddenly stepped forward.
Her calm composure had finally disappeared.
"You weren't supposed to come back."
Emily's smile vanished.
"And yet..."
She slowly raised the pistol toward Eleanor.
"Here I am."
Several guests screamed and ducked behind tables.
Security guards pointed their weapons toward Emily.
"Drop the gun!"
Emily didn't even look at them.
"You boys should leave."
No one listened.
One guard fired.
BANG!
Emily moved with astonishing speed.
She rolled behind a stone fountain before the bullet reached her.
Almost instantly—
Two more shots echoed through the estate.
Both security guards collapsed.
Not from Emily's pistol.
From somewhere else.
A second sniper.
Daniel cursed.
"There are two teams."
Rosa stared at him.
"How do you know that?"
"Because they always work in pairs."
Grace looked at Daniel in confusion.
"What do you mean always?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed Grace's arm.
"We're leaving."
Before they could move—
Emily's voice echoed again.
"Grace!"
Grace turned.
Emily tossed something through the rain.
It landed at Grace's feet.
A silver locket.
Grace picked it up instinctively.
The moment her fingers touched it...
She froze.
A flood of memories crashed into her mind.
A little girl laughing.
A woman singing a lullaby.
Two identical toddlers running through a field of yellow flowers.
Grace gasped and nearly dropped the necklace.
"What..."
Her hands trembled violently.
"I've seen this before."
Emily nodded.
"Of course you have."
"It belonged to our mother."
Grace slowly opened the locket.
Inside were two tiny baby photographs.
One baby wore a bracelet marked Grace.
The other wore Emily.
Her knees almost gave out.
Daniel caught her before she collapsed.
"No..."
Grace whispered.
"I don't understand."
Emily's expression softened for the first time.
"You don't remember because they made sure you couldn't."
"What do you mean?"
"They erased your childhood."
Rosa looked horrified.
"That's impossible."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"You'd be amazed what powerful families can buy."
Grace stared at the photographs.
"So..."
She swallowed hard.
"...you're saying we're sisters?"
Emily nodded.
"Twins."
Lightning illuminated the estate.
Every guest looked between the two women.
The resemblance was undeniable.
One elderly guest suddenly whispered,
"My God..."
"I remember..."
Everyone turned toward him.
It was Arthur Bennett.
The Ashcroft family's oldest attorney.
Nearly eighty years old.
His hands shook uncontrollably.
"I was there..."
Eleanor spun toward him.
"Arthur."
His face had turned pale.
"You should stay quiet."
Arthur ignored her.
His eyes never left Grace.
"I delivered the adoption papers."
Grace looked at him desperately.
"What adoption papers?"
Arthur closed his eyes.
"Twenty-eight years ago..."
"I watched two baby girls disappear."
The rain seemed to stop for a moment.
Even the thunder faded.
Grace felt the world closing in around her.
Arthur continued.
"One child stayed with the Blackwood family."
"The other..."
He looked toward Eleanor.
"...was taken by the Ashcrofts."
Grace stared at Eleanor.
"You took me?"
Eleanor didn't answer.
Arthur did.
"You weren't adopted."
"You were stolen."
Gasps erupted among the guests.
Several people instinctively stepped away from Eleanor.
Grace's voice cracked.
"My entire life..."
"...was a lie?"
Tears finally filled Eleanor's eyes.
But they weren't tears of guilt.
They were tears of fear.
Before anyone could speak again—
A loud explosion rocked the mansion.
The ballroom windows shattered inward.
Guests screamed as flames erupted from the west wing.
Smoke quickly filled the air.
Someone shouted,
"Fire!"
Another screamed,
"The estate is under attack!"
Daniel immediately looked toward the flames.
His expression turned grim.
"They're not here for Grace."
Rosa frowned.
"What?"
"They're here for something hidden inside this house."
Emily nodded slowly.
"For the vault."
Grace looked between them.
"What vault?"
Daniel and Emily answered at the exact same time.
"My father's vault."
Then both of them froze.
They looked at each other in stunned silence.
Daniel frowned.
"...How do you know about the vault?"
Emily smiled faintly.
May you like
"Because your father told me where to find it..."
"...before he died."
