CHAPTER 5 – The Countdown to Midnight
The ballroom was no longer a wedding venue.
It had become a crime scene.
Police officers surrounded Alexander Blackwood, but none of them dared handcuff him.
Not while Emily's father was still missing.
Emily stared at the photograph in her trembling hands.
Her father's face was bruised.
His wrists were tied behind an old wooden chair.
A digital clock on the wall read:
10:17 PM.
There were less than two hours until midnight.
Her breathing became shallow.
"Where is he?"
Alexander simply smiled.
"You've always underestimated how patient I can be."
Emily stepped closer, her eyes burning with anger.
"If he dies..."
"I swear I'll destroy everything you've ever built."
Alexander chuckled.
"You can't destroy what's already prepared to survive without me."
Detective Samuel Hayes carefully examined the photograph.
His experienced eyes stopped at one tiny detail.
A faded sticker on a rusty metal cabinet.
Most people wouldn't have noticed it.
Samuel did.
He whispered to one of the officers.
"I've seen that logo before."
The officer frowned.
"Where?"
Samuel didn't answer immediately.
His face suddenly changed.
"Oh my God..."
"The old Blackwood shipyard."
Everyone looked at him.
"The abandoned shipyard outside Harbor Point."
"It closed twelve years ago."
Alexander's smile faded for the first time.
Samuel had guessed correctly.
"Move!" the detective shouted.
"We're leaving now!"
Within seconds, police vehicles roared out of the estate.
Emily climbed into Samuel's SUV.
Olivia followed without asking permission.
Behind them, dozens of officers formed a convoy.
As they sped through the rain-soaked streets, Samuel explained.
"The Blackwood family used that shipyard before they built their international shipping empire."
"There are underground storage tunnels beneath the docks."
Emily tightened her fists.
"You think my father is there?"
Samuel nodded.
"If Alexander wanted somewhere no one would search..."
"...that's exactly where I'd hide him."
Back at the ballroom...
Alexander remained astonishingly calm.
A young FBI agent approached him.
"You understand that if Mr. Carter dies tonight..."
"You'll never leave prison."
Alexander smiled.
"You still think I'm the one holding him."
The agent frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Alexander leaned closer.
"I lost control of this game three days ago."
The agent's expression froze.
"What?"
Alexander laughed quietly.
"You arrested the wrong monster."
Meanwhile...
The convoy arrived at the abandoned shipyard.
Thunder shook the harbor.
Rusted cranes towered over the dark water like giant skeletons.
Everything was silent.
Too silent.
Samuel raised his hand.
"No lights."
"No sirens."
"We go in quietly."
The officers spread out.
Emily insisted on following despite repeated warnings.
She couldn't leave without her father.
Inside the largest warehouse...
They found the chair.
The ropes.
The digital clock.
Everything from the photograph.
But the chair was empty.
Emily's heart shattered.
"Dad?"
Only silence answered.
Then...
A weak voice echoed from somewhere below the floor.
"Emily..."
She froze.
"I heard him!"
Everyone stopped.
Another faint cry came from beneath the concrete.
"Help..."
Samuel quickly searched the ground.
His flashlight revealed fresh scrape marks leading to a massive steel hatch hidden beneath old crates.
"It opens," one officer said.
Together, four officers pulled the hatch upward.
A cold blast of damp air rushed out.
Stone steps disappeared into darkness.
Emily started running down them.
"Emily, wait!" Samuel shouted.
But she was already gone.
The underground tunnel stretched deep beneath the harbor.
At the end of it...
She found her father.
Still alive.
Barely conscious.
She dropped to her knees and untied his wrists.
"Dad!"
Tears streamed down her face.
"We're getting you out."
Her father grabbed her arm with surprising strength.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"No..."
"You have to leave..."
Emily stared at him.
"What?"
He looked over her shoulder, terrified.
"I wasn't kidnapped..."
"I came here willingly."
Emily's blood turned cold.
Before she could ask another question...
Every light inside the tunnel suddenly switched on.
A slow clap echoed through the chamber.
From the shadows emerged a tall man dressed in an expensive charcoal suit.
Silver hair.
Cold gray eyes.
A face that looked hauntingly similar to Alexander's.
He smiled.
"Congratulations, Emily."
"You found the wrong prisoner."
Emily looked at him in confusion.
"Who are you?"
The stranger extended his hand politely.
"My name is Jonathan Blackwood."
"I'm Alexander's older brother."
He paused, his smile widening.
May you like
"And I'm the man who's been pulling the strings... from the very beginning."
End of Chapter 5...
