Chapter 7 – The Night the Past Came Hunting
Victor Blackwood stood in the center of the Hartwell mansion as though he already owned it.
Smoke drifted through the shattered entrance.
Broken glass glittered across the marble floor.
Behind him, heavily armed men spread through the mansion with practiced precision, securing every hallway, every staircase, every exit.
The estate that had once hosted presidents, billionaires, and royalty had become a battlefield.
Victor slowly removed his leather gloves.
His expression remained calm.
Almost amused.
Finally, his icy blue eyes settled on Emma.
"There you are."
He smiled.
"I've spent twenty-eight years searching for the little girl who escaped the river."
Emma instinctively stepped behind Julian.
Her hands trembled.
Not because she was weak.
Because buried memories were tearing through her mind like lightning.
Rain.
Screaming.
A sinking car.
Her mother's desperate voice.
"Run, Emma! Don't look back!"
She gasped and clutched her head.
Julian immediately caught her.
"Emma!"
She looked at him, terrified.
"I remember..."
Victor watched quietly.
"Excellent."
"I was beginning to think you'd never remember."
Alexander Carter stepped forward.
"You don't belong here."
Victor chuckled.
"My old friend."
"I was wondering how long you'd hide behind security guards."
Alexander's voice remained cold.
"I stopped hiding years ago."
Victor tilted his head.
"Then why did you spend twenty-eight years pretending your daughter was dead?"
Silence.
Emma slowly looked toward her father.
Alexander lowered his eyes.
"It was the only way to keep you alive."
Julian frowned.
"What does he mean?"
Victor answered before Alexander could.
"The night your family was attacked..."
He smiled.
"I wasn't after the money."
Emma stared at him.
"Then why?"
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Your mother possessed something that belonged to me."
Alexander shouted,
"That's a lie!"
Victor ignored him.
"It wasn't gold."
"It wasn't land."
"It wasn't stock."
He looked directly at Emma.
"It was information."
Everyone in the room fell silent.
Victor slowly reached into his coat pocket.
He removed an old photograph.
The edges were burned.
The image faded with time.
He tossed it onto the marble floor.
Julian picked it up.
It showed Emma's mother standing beside Edward Hartwell...
And Alexander Carter.
Behind them stood a massive steel vault.
Julian frowned.
"My father knew your family."
Alexander nodded.
"They were partners."
Victor smiled.
"They were planning to destroy me."
Julian looked back at Victor.
"My father wasn't a criminal."
"No."
Victor admitted.
"He was an honest man."
"Which made him dangerous."
Emma suddenly spoke.
"My mother hid something."
Victor's smile widened.
"So you do remember."
Fragments flooded back.
A rainy night.
Her mother kneeling in front of her.
A silver music box.
A tiny brass key.
Then...
A whisper.
"If anyone asks... tell them you don't remember the song."
Emma's eyes flew open.
"The music box..."
Victor took one slow step forward.
"Where is it?"
Emma stared at him.
"I don't know."
He smiled again.
"You will."
Behind Victor...
One of his men approached.
"Sir."
"We've searched the first floor."
"No sign of the tunnel."
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
Victor didn't know.
He didn't know about Edward's escape route.
Alexander subtly looked toward Julian.
Run.
Now.
Julian understood immediately.
He gently squeezed Emma's hand.
Without speaking.
Without alerting Victor.
He slowly began guiding Emma and Alana toward the hallway leading to the hidden library.
Victor noticed.
"You should know..."
His calm voice echoed through the room.
"I hate it when people leave before a conversation ends."
He snapped his fingers.
Two mercenaries blocked the hallway.
Julian stepped forward.
"If you want them..."
"You'll have to go through me."
Victor laughed softly.
"That sounds exactly like your father."
Julian froze.
"You knew Edward well."
Victor nodded.
"I watched him die."
The words hit Julian like a gunshot.
"What did you say?"
Victor's smile disappeared.
"The plane crash wasn't an accident."
"He refused my offer."
"So I removed the obstacle."
Julian's fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
"My father..."
"You murdered him."
Victor shrugged.
"I gave him a choice."
"He chose principles."
"Principles rarely survive business."
Without warning—
Julian threw the first punch.
His fist crashed into Victor's jaw.
Victor stumbled backward.
The room erupted into chaos.
Mercenaries rushed forward.
Hartwell security charged to intercept them.
Furniture shattered.
Gunfire echoed through the mansion.
Alexander grabbed Emma.
"Go!"
Mr. Harris pulled a hidden lever behind a bookshelf.
The massive oak shelf slowly swung open.
A narrow stone staircase appeared.
"The tunnel!"
Julian scooped Alana into his arms.
"Move!"
Emma stopped halfway to the entrance.
She looked back.
Victor had recovered.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Yet...
He was smiling.
Not angry.
Satisfied.
He slowly reached into his coat.
Pulled out a small silver remote.
Alexander's face changed instantly.
"No!"
Victor pressed the button.
BEEP.
Nothing happened.
Then...
Every light in the mansion flashed bright white.
A mechanical voice echoed through the estate.
Self-defense protocol disabled.
Vault access authorized.
Alexander stared in horror.
"Impossible..."
Victor smiled.
"I told you."
"I wasn't looking for Emma."
He turned toward the hidden staircase.
"I was looking..."
"...for what Edward hid beneath this house."
Julian's heart sank.
The tunnel wasn't just an escape route.
It led somewhere far more important.
Somewhere Edward Hartwell had spent decades protecting.
Victor calmly pointed toward the open passage.
"After them."
Dozens of mercenaries rushed toward the hidden staircase.
Julian tightened his grip on Alana.
Emma looked back one final time at the home where their nightmare had begun.
Then, together, they disappeared into the darkness beneath the mansion.
Behind them...
Victor Blackwood smiled.
May you like
Because for the first time in twenty-eight years...
He believed he was only moments away from finding the secret that had cost so many lives.
