CHAPTER 3: The Secret Hidden in Ethan Blackwood’s Bloodline

The message arrived at 6:17 a.m.

One sentence.

One warning.

One threat.

“If you want your wife and unborn child alive… stop investigating.”

Ethan Blackwood stared at the screen.

For several seconds, he didn’t move.

He read the words again.

Then again.

As if somehow the meaning would change.

But it didn’t.

Someone had threatened his family.

Not his company.

Not his reputation.

His family.

Then he saw the attachment.

A photograph.

An old photograph.

The kind of picture that should have been forgotten decades ago.

Ethan opened it.

And the moment he saw it…

His blood ran cold.

It showed three people standing in front of an old Blackwood estate.

His father.

His mother.

And a woman Ethan had never seen before.

But it wasn’t the woman that shocked him.

It was what she was holding.

A baby.

A newborn child wrapped in a white blanket.

And written on the back of the photograph was a date.

The same date Ethan was born.

“Impossible…”

Ethan whispered.

Because the woman in the photograph was holding a secret that could destroy everything he believed about his family.

At the hospital, Emma noticed immediately.

Something was wrong.

Ethan had barely spoken since arriving.

He sat beside the window, staring at the photograph.

“Ethan?”

He looked up.

Emma saw the fear in his eyes.

Not anger.

Not confusion.

Fear.

“What happened?”

He hesitated.

Then handed her the phone.

Emma looked at the picture.

Her expression changed.

“Who is she?”

Ethan shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

A pause.

“But I think my family does.”

For years, Ethan believed he knew the Blackwood family.

The perfect empire.

The perfect bloodline.

The perfect legacy.

But he was starting to understand something.

The Blackwoods weren’t built on perfection.

They were built on secrets.

At that moment, Detective Ryan Cole entered the room.

He immediately noticed their expressions.

“What happened?”

Ethan showed him the photograph.

Ryan became serious.

“Where did you get this?”

“Someone sent it.”

“Who?”

Ethan looked away.

“That’s what we need to find out.”

Ryan studied the picture carefully.

Then his eyes narrowed.

“Interesting.”

Emma looked at him.

“You know something?”

Ryan pointed at the woman.

“I’ve seen her before.”

Ethan immediately looked up.

“Where?”

“In another investigation.”

A pause.

“Twenty years ago.”

The room became silent.

Emma touched her stomach instinctively.

Because she understood.

This wasn’t just about her anymore.

Someone had been hiding the truth for decades.

Ryan explained.

“The woman in this picture is Elena Voss.”

Ethan frowned.

“That name means nothing to me.”

“It should.”

Ryan looked at him.

“She was connected to your father’s biggest business rival.”

Ethan’s face changed.

“My father hated the Voss family.”

Ryan nodded.

“According to public records.”

A pause.

“But private records tell a different story.”

Meanwhile…

At the Blackwood mansion…

Margaret Blackwood sat in her private office.

She watched the news reports.

“Blackwood Family Investigation Expands After Mansion Incident.”

Her face showed no emotion.

Until Claire entered.

“You knew.”

Margaret didn’t look up.

“Knew what?”

Claire closed the door.

“You knew about Emma’s investigation.”

Silence.

“You knew she was collecting evidence.”

Margaret slowly lifted her eyes.

“Yes.”

Claire was shocked.

“And you didn’t stop her?”

Margaret smiled.

“Because I underestimated her.”

Claire walked closer.

“She called the detective.”

“Yes.”

“What do we do now?”

Margaret looked outside.

The city skyline reflected in her eyes.

“We remind everyone what happens when they challenge the Blackwood family.”

Back at the hospital…

Emma finally asked the question Ethan feared.

“Who is Elena Voss?”

Ethan remained quiet.

“My father never mentioned her.”

“Maybe because he wanted you to forget.”

The words hurt.

Because they sounded possible.

Ryan placed a file on the table.

“I found something.”

Inside were old newspaper articles.

One headline stood out.

“Business Heiress Elena Voss Disappears After Blackwood Merger Collapse.”

Ethan read the article.

His expression changed.

“She disappeared?”

Ryan nodded.

“Twenty years ago.”

“Why?”

“That’s the question.”

Then Ryan placed another document down.

A birth record.

Ethan looked at it.

His eyes widened.

“This…”

Emma leaned closer.

“What is it?”

Ryan answered:

“A birth certificate.”

Ethan stared.

Because the name on it was familiar.

Too familiar.

Mother: Elena Voss

Father: William Blackwood

Ethan stepped back.

“My father…”

He couldn’t finish.

Ryan nodded.

“Your father had another relationship.”

Emma looked shocked.

“Another child?”

Ryan didn’t answer immediately.

Because the truth was worse.

“There was a child.”

A pause.

“But the child was never officially recorded.”

Ethan’s face turned pale.

“Are you saying…”

Ryan looked at him.

“I’m saying someone erased a person from the Blackwood family history.”

Suddenly, Ethan’s phone rang.

Unknown number.

Everyone froze.

He answered.

No one spoke at first.

Then a man’s voice came through.

“You found the photograph.”

Ethan’s grip tightened.

“Who are you?”

A cold laugh.

“You really don’t remember me, do you?”

Ethan frowned.

“I don’t know you.”

The voice became darker.

“That’s because your family made sure you never would.”

Emma held Ethan’s hand.

The voice continued:

“Your father stole my life.”

A pause.

“And your mother helped him.”

Ethan’s eyes widened.

“My mother?”

“Yes.”

The man whispered:

“She knew everything.”

The call ended.

Ethan stood frozen.

Because the two people he trusted most…

His parents…

Might have been part of the biggest lie in Blackwood history.

That evening, Detective Ryan discovered something else.

A hidden file inside the old Blackwood archives.

A file that had been sealed for twenty years.

The title:

PROJECT HEIR

Inside was a list of names.

One of them belonged to Emma.

Another belonged to Ethan.

And the final name…

Was a person who should not have existed.

Noah Voss Blackwood.

Ethan stared at the document.

“Noah…”

Emma looked at him.

“Who is Noah?”

Ethan slowly shook his head.

“I don’t know.”

Ryan closed the file.

“But someone does.”

At that exact moment…

A man stood outside the hospital.

Watching Emma.

Watching Ethan.

Holding the same photograph.

The photograph that started everything.

He whispered:

“Twenty years ago, they stole my family.”

A pause.

“Now…”

His eyes hardened.

“I’m taking theirs.”

The Blackwood family thought the truth was buried forever.

They were wrong.

Because the person they erased…

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Was coming back.

And he knew every secret they had hidden.