CHAPTER 5 — The Night Bellamy Manor Went to War
The first gunshot echoed through the manor like thunder.
Then came another.
And another.
Emma flinched.
The lights inside the underground vault flickered before emergency generators cast the room in a dim red glow.
Somewhere above them, alarms screamed.
Tristan grabbed Emma's wrist.
"We have to move. Now."
"What about the video?"
He ripped the cassette from the player and shoved it into his jacket.
"If they're attacking tonight, it's because they know what's on it."
Another explosion shook the stone walls.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
They raced up the spiral staircase, but before they reached the library, Tristan suddenly stopped.
Voices.
Right outside the hidden door.
"...Search every room."
"...The girl is the priority."
"...Mr. Hawthorne wants her alive."
Emma frowned.
"Who's Hawthorne?"
Tristan's expression darkened.
"Someone my father trusted."
He paused.
"Or someone who betrayed him."
The bookshelf slowly swung open.
Three masked men stood only a few feet away.
For one frozen second...
Nobody moved.
Then Tristan shoved Emma behind him.
The first attacker raised his weapon.
A deafening crack shattered the silence.
But the masked man—not Tristan—collapsed.
A bullet hole appeared in the attacker's shoulder.
Another shot followed.
Then another.
The Bellamy security team stormed into the library from both sides.
Within seconds, the attackers fled through shattered windows into the storm outside.
Emma stood trembling.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
She had spent years saving lives.
She had never watched someone try to take hers.
—
An hour later...
Police lights flashed across the estate.
Detectives searched the grounds.
News helicopters circled overhead.
Officially, the incident was described as an attempted robbery.
Unofficially...
Everyone inside the manor knew better.
Someone had come for Emma.
Not Tristan.
Not Eleanor.
Emma.
Inside his father's old study, Tristan finally played the recovered videotape.
Richard Bellamy appeared once again.
His face looked exhausted.
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"If you're watching this..."
"...then Hawthorne has already betrayed me."
Emma's breath caught.
Richard continued.
"Twenty-two years ago, a child was born carrying evidence that could destroy billions of dollars in illegal fortunes."
"The child wasn't important because of money."
"She was important because she witnessed something no one believed a baby could remember."
Emma exchanged a confused glance with Tristan.
Richard shook his head sadly.
"They thought the child died in the fire."
"They were wrong."
"They changed her name."
"They erased every official record."
"They hid her..."
"...as Emma Carter."
Silence consumed the room.
Emma couldn't breathe.
"This isn't real..."
Richard looked directly into the camera.
"If Emma survives long enough to watch this..."
"...tell her."
"I loved her like my own daughter."
The screen filled with static.
Emma collapsed into the nearest chair.
Everything she believed about herself...
Had been a lie.
—
Across Manhattan...
A silver-haired man watched the same recording through a hidden backup feed.
Victor Hawthorne smiled coldly.
"So Richard..."
"You finally told her."
He turned toward the men standing behind him.
"Prepare the board meeting."
May you like
"It is time for the Bellamy family to disappear."
END OF CHAPTER 5
