Chapter 4 – The Vault Beneath the Ashcroft Estate
The explosion sent another wave of panic through the mansion.
Guests rushed toward every exit at once, shoving past one another as smoke rolled through the ballroom. Crystal chandeliers swayed overhead while pieces of plaster rained onto the marble floor.
Outside, the wind carried the smell of burning wood.
Inside, the Ashcroft family's perfect image was collapsing in front of hundreds of witnesses.
Daniel grabbed Grace's hand.
"We have to get inside."
Grace stared at him in disbelief.
"Inside? The house is on fire!"
"The fire isn't the biggest danger."
"It looks pretty dangerous to me!"
"It was meant to force everyone outside."
He looked toward the west wing where orange flames licked through the shattered windows.
"The people behind this attack know exactly where everyone will run."
Emily stepped onto the terrace, lowering her pistol.
"For once, your husband is telling the truth."
Rosa immediately moved in front of Grace.
"Stay away from her."
Emily sighed.
"If I wanted Grace dead, she would've been dead before you ever reached the terrace."
She slipped the pistol back beneath her coat.
"I'm not your enemy."
Grace looked from Emily to Daniel.
"You two keep talking like you've met before."
Daniel remained silent.
Emily answered instead.
"We met six months ago."
Grace's eyes widened.
"What?"
Daniel looked away.
"It wasn't supposed to happen."
"You knew she was alive?"
"I found out by accident."
"And you never told me?"
"I couldn't."
"You keep saying that!" Grace shouted, tears mixing with the rain. "Every answer is 'I couldn't.' Why?"
Before Daniel could respond, Eleanor's sharp voice cut through the chaos.
"Because I ordered him not to."
Everyone turned.
Eleanor stood at the top of the terrace steps, still calm despite the fire consuming part of the mansion.
Her expensive dress was soaked.
Mascara had begun to run down one cheek.
Yet she still carried herself like a queen addressing her court.
Grace stared at her.
"You knew Emily was alive?"
"I've known for twenty-eight years."
The words hit Grace like another explosion.
"You... what?"
Eleanor slowly descended the steps.
"I never expected her to return."
Emily folded her arms.
"You should've finished the job when you had the chance."
Several guests gasped.
Grace looked back and forth between them.
"What does that mean?"
Emily's smile disappeared.
"When we were five..."
She paused, as if forcing herself to relive a memory she'd spent decades trying to bury.
"...someone tried to kill us."
Grace felt her pulse quicken.
"No..."
"You don't remember."
"I don't."
"You were lucky."
Emily looked directly at Eleanor.
"They erased your memories."
Grace whispered,
"Who did?"
Emily never took her eyes off Eleanor.
"Ask your mother-in-law."
Silence.
The rain continued falling.
Finally Grace turned toward Eleanor.
"Tell me she's lying."
Eleanor said nothing.
"Please..."
Still nothing.
Grace's voice broke.
"Tell me."
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"For your own protection..."
Grace shook her head violently.
"No."
"You deserve the truth."
"Then say it!"
Eleanor inhaled slowly.
"Twenty-three years ago..."
"...someone broke into the Blackwood estate."
Grace's breathing stopped.
"They weren't thieves."
"They were hired killers."
Emily continued the story.
"They were sent to eliminate the Blackwood bloodline."
Grace looked between them.
"My parents..."
Emily nodded.
"They died protecting us."
Tears filled Grace's eyes.
"And us?"
"You survived."
"Barely."
Daniel quietly added,
"There was a fire."
Grace turned toward him.
"You knew too?"
"My father investigated it."
"You never told me."
"He couldn't."
Emily's expression darkened.
"Because his father helped cover it up."
Daniel looked furious.
"That's not true."
"Isn't it?"
Emily reached into her coat and removed a folded photograph.
She tossed it toward him.
Daniel caught it.
The color drained from his face.
Grace stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Daniel stared at the old photograph for several seconds before handing it to her.
Grace almost dropped it.
The picture showed two men standing beside a black limousine.
One was Arthur Bennett.
The other...
Was Daniel's father.
Both men were shaking hands with a stranger wearing black gloves.
On the back of the photograph someone had written a single sentence.
The payment was delivered.
Grace looked up slowly.
"What payment?"
Emily answered quietly.
"The payment for the Blackwood murders."
"No..."
Grace whispered.
"No, that's impossible."
Daniel grabbed the photo again.
"This could be fake."
"It isn't."
"How do you know?"
Emily reached into her pocket once more.
This time she produced a small flash drive.
"I stole the surveillance files."
Daniel frowned.
"From where?"
"The vault."
He looked stunned.
"You've already been inside?"
Emily nodded.
"Twice."
Daniel stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"There are only three people who know where it is."
Emily smiled faintly.
"Actually..."
"There were four."
Before Daniel could ask another question—
Arthur Bennett suddenly pushed through the frightened crowd.
His breathing was heavy.
His suit was covered in ash.
"Daniel!"
Everyone turned toward the elderly lawyer.
"You have to get to the vault."
Daniel frowned.
"You know about it?"
Arthur looked almost offended.
"I built it."
Grace blinked.
"What?"
"The vault wasn't designed to protect money."
He lowered his voice.
"It was designed to protect the truth."
Daniel took a step forward.
"What truth?"
Arthur looked at Grace.
"Everything."
"The original birth certificates."
"The adoption records."
"The Blackwood wills."
"The surveillance tapes."
"The medical files."
Grace frowned.
"Medical files?"
Arthur nodded grimly.
"The files explaining why someone wanted the Blackwood twins dead before their sixth birthday."
Emily's face hardened.
"They're already inside."
Arthur looked confused.
"Who?"
Emily slowly turned toward the burning mansion.
"The people who started the fire."
As if on cue—
A series of rapid gunshots echoed from deep inside the estate.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Someone screamed from the entrance hall.
A terrified housekeeper burst through the smoke, barely able to breathe.
"They killed the guards!"
"They're in the basement!"
"They're trying to open the vault!"
Daniel's expression changed instantly.
"They found it."
Arthur grabbed Daniel's arm.
"If they reach the last drawer..."
Daniel looked at him.
"...what's inside?"
Arthur swallowed hard.
"The document that proves who Grace really is."
Grace stared at him.
"I already know I'm a Blackwood."
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"No..."
"You still don't know the biggest secret."
Grace's voice trembled.
"What secret?"
Arthur looked directly into her eyes.
"You aren't the Blackwood heir."
A long silence filled the room.
May you like
Then he whispered the words that made everyone freeze.
"Emily isn't your twin."
