Chapter 6 – The Man Who Killed Her Mother
Victor Blackwood's voice rolled across the estate through the loudspeaker.
"Emma Carter..."
"You have one minute."
"Walk out alone..."
"...or I start counting the bodies inside."
The mansion fell into a suffocating silence.
Outside, dozens of armed men surrounded the property.
Inside, every heartbeat seemed louder than the alarms.
Emma's face turned pale.
Her breathing became shallow.
Eight years of forgotten memories were crashing back all at once.
She whispered,
"He's real..."
Julian immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"You're safe."
Emma looked at him with frightened eyes.
"No..."
"You don't understand."
"I've seen what he does."
Alexander Carter walked toward the reinforced security monitors.
His voice was calm, but his eyes betrayed years of buried hatred.
"Victor Blackwood doesn't bluff."
"He destroys everyone standing between him and what he wants."
Julian looked at the screens.
"What does he want now?"
Alexander answered without hesitation.
"Emma."
The young woman who had arrived earlier stepped forward.
"My name is Sophie."
"I've worked for Mr. Carter for twelve years."
She placed a thick folder on the table.
"I think it's time everyone saw the truth."
Inside were newspaper clippings.
Police reports.
Corporate records.
Photographs.
One picture immediately caught Julian's attention.
It showed Victor Blackwood shaking hands with a much younger businessman.
Julian's expression changed.
"I know him."
Alexander nodded.
"You should."
"He once sat on your company's board."
Julian stared at the name beneath the photograph.
Edward Hartwell.
His father.
"No..."
Julian whispered.
"My father would never..."
Alexander interrupted.
"Your father wasn't his partner."
"He was investigating him."
Julian looked confused.
"What?"
Alexander slowly removed another document.
It was an old newspaper dated twenty-six years earlier.
The headline read:
BUSINESS LEADER EDWARD HARTWELL SURVIVES MYSTERIOUS PLANE SABOTAGE
Julian's breathing stopped.
"My father always said it was mechanical failure."
Alexander quietly shook his head.
"It wasn't."
"He refused to sell Hartwell International to Blackwood Holdings."
"So Victor tried to eliminate him."
Julian suddenly understood.
His father had never explained the truth because he had been protecting his family.
Just as Emma had.
Outside...
Victor glanced at his watch.
"Thirty seconds."
He smiled.
"They never learn."
He nodded toward one of his men.
The mercenary aimed a rifle at one of the mansion's stone lion statues.
CRACK!
The bullet exploded the statue into hundreds of pieces.
Stone fragments scattered across the front lawn.
It wasn't meant to kill.
It was a warning.
Inside...
Alana woke with a frightened scream.
"Daddy!"
Julian sprinted upstairs.
He found his daughter sitting upright in bed, shaking uncontrollably.
She threw herself into his arms.
"What's happening?"
He held her tightly.
"Everything's going to be okay."
She looked toward the flashing lights outside.
"Are the bad people back?"
Julian froze.
"Back?"
Alana nodded.
"The ones Grandma always talked about."
Julian frowned.
"What did Grandma tell you?"
Alana hesitated.
Then quietly answered,
"She said Mommy ran away because dangerous people were looking for us."
Emma, who had followed Julian upstairs, stopped in the doorway.
Tears filled her eyes.
Victoria had been feeding Alana lies for years.
Emma slowly stepped into the room.
Alana looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a brief moment...
Neither spoke.
Emma's heart broke.
Her daughter had grown from a baby into a little girl.
Without her.
Without bedtime stories.
Without birthday hugs.
Without hearing the words,
"I love you, Mommy."
Emma knelt carefully.
"Hi..."
Her voice trembled.
"My name is Emma."
Alana studied her.
"You have kind eyes."
Emma smiled through tears.
"So do you."
Alana looked at the silver locket around Emma's neck.
Then at the identical rabbit she still held every night.
Something deep inside her stirred.
"I know you."
Emma's breathing stopped.
"You do?"
The little girl nodded slowly.
"I dreamed about you."
Every night."
Julian closed his eyes.
He couldn't hold back the tears anymore.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
Another explosion shook the mansion.
The security chief burst into the bedroom.
"Mr. Hartwell!"
"They've breached the east wall!"
"We won't hold them much longer!"
Alexander spoke calmly.
"There is another way."
Everyone turned toward him.
He reached into his pocket and removed a small brass key.
"This house has an emergency tunnel."
Julian frowned.
"A tunnel?"
"My father helped Edward build it twenty years ago."
Julian stared.
"Our families knew each other?"
Alexander nodded.
"Long before you and Emma ever met."
Mr. Harris smiled sadly.
"I wondered when someone would finally mention it."
Julian looked at him.
"You knew?"
The elderly butler nodded.
"Your father trusted Alexander Carter with his life."
"And Alexander trusted Edward."
"They were preparing to expose Victor Blackwood together."
Julian felt as though another piece of his life had been rewritten.
Everything connected.
Everything.
Outside...
Victor Blackwood grew impatient.
He lowered the loudspeaker.
"If she won't come out..."
He looked toward his men.
"Burn the house."
Several mercenaries immediately carried fuel containers toward the mansion.
Emma's face turned white.
"My daughter..."
Alexander grabbed her shoulders.
"Listen to me."
"You are no longer running."
"Not tonight."
He handed Julian the brass key.
"The tunnel exits three miles away near the old chapel."
Julian nodded.
"You'll come with us."
Alexander smiled faintly.
"No."
Julian frowned.
"What?"
"I have unfinished business."
Emma shook her head violently.
"Dad, no."
Alexander gently cupped her face.
"I already lost you once."
"I'm not losing you again."
He kissed her forehead.
"Take Alana."
"Live the life your mother dreamed of."
Julian understood immediately.
Alexander intended to stay behind.
To buy them time.
Julian grabbed his arm.
"We fight together."
Alexander smiled.
"That's exactly what your father used to say."
Before anyone could argue further...
The library doors burst open.
A servant stumbled inside, bleeding from the forehead.
"They're inside!"
Victor's men had entered the mansion.
Footsteps echoed through the grand hallway.
Closer.
Closer.
Then...
A calm voice drifted through the smoke-filled corridor.
"Emma..."
Victor Blackwood slowly walked into the entrance hall.
He removed his leather gloves one finger at a time.
His cold blue eyes settled on her.
Finally...
He smiled.
May you like
"I've been looking for you..."
"...for twenty-eight years."
