Chapter 2: The Name Buried in Fire
The last note of Chloe’s performance lingered in the air like a dying heartbeat.
No one dared to move.
Even the chandeliers above seemed heavier, their crystal drops trembling faintly as if the castle itself had begun to remember something it had long been forced to forget.
Duke Arthur Blackwood stood motionless.
Then—
“Stop.”
His voice was low, but it carried command enough to freeze even breath itself.
Chloe’s fingers paused above the keys.
Arthur stepped closer to the stage. Each step echoed like judgment.
“That melody…” he whispered, “was written in blood and erased in fire.”
He looked at Chloe, but his voice was no longer addressing a child.
It was addressing a ghost.
“Only my daughter played it correctly.”
A sharp silence fell.
Nora’s knees weakened.
Arthur turned slowly toward her.
“You didn’t just survive in my estate,” he said. “You hid from me.”
Nora’s lips trembled.
“I had to,” she whispered. “You would have taken her away.”
Arthur’s eyes widened slightly.
A flicker of something cracked through his cold expression.
“…So it’s true.”
Chloe stood up from the piano.
For the first time, she looked uncertain.
“Mother said you didn’t want us to survive,” she said softly.
Arthur’s voice dropped.
“Your mother lied to you about many things.”
Chloe’s grip tightened on the silver chain.
“That’s what she said you would say.”
Arthur froze.
The air shifted.
“Where is she now?” he asked.
Chloe hesitated.
Then, quietly:
“She said you would find me first… before you found her.”
May you like
A distant thunder rolled outside the castle.
But there were no clouds in the sky.
