CHAPTER 5 – “The Bullet That Changed the Royal Bloodline Forever”
The gunshot echoed through the underground vault.
BANG!
Emily screamed.
But the bullet never reached her.
The Sheikh threw himself in front of her at the last second.
The impact sent him crashing to the stone floor.
Blood spread across his white robe.
"My Lord!"
The royal guards returned fire as chaos exploded through the corridor.
Bullets ricocheted off the ancient walls.
Smoke filled the vault.
Emily dropped beside the Sheikh, pressing both hands against the wound.
"No... no, please stay with me!"
He forced a weak smile.
"You're... family."
"I couldn't lose you twice."
Those words shattered Emily's heart.
For twenty years, she had believed she was alone.
Now, the first family member she had ever known was dying to protect her.
Meanwhile, the attackers fought desperately toward the wooden chest.
Their leader ignored the gold ornaments scattered around the room.
He wanted only one thing.
The letters.
Because if the truth became public...
Everything would collapse.
One guard tackled the gunman to the ground, but not before the man grabbed the final sealed envelope from the box.
He laughed.
"You think the birth certificate matters?"
"It doesn't."
"This letter is the only proof that names the traitor."
Then, before anyone could stop him...
He tossed the envelope into a burning lantern.
WHOOSH!
Flames swallowed the paper.
Emily reacted without thinking.
She dove into the fire, ignoring the heat as her hands searched through the burning ashes.
The guards shouted for her to stop.
But she refused.
She finally pulled out half of the letter.
Most of it had burned away...
Except for one surviving paragraph.
The Sheikh read the remaining words with trembling hands.
"...The person responsible for kidnapping my granddaughter was not an outsider... He sits at my table every night... He calls me Father..."
The room fell silent.
The Sheikh slowly lifted his eyes.
His own father.
King Hassan Al Rashid.
The man who had ruled the kingdom for twenty years...
...was the one who had ordered Emily's disappearance as a newborn.
"No..." the old advisor whispered.
"He actually did it..."
At that exact moment, every television inside the palace suddenly turned on.
The King's face appeared on every screen.
He looked calm.
Cold.
And terrifyingly confident.
"My beloved citizens..."
"It has come to my attention that dangerous impostors have entered the palace."
"They have stolen royal documents..."
"...and murdered your Sheikh."
Emily looked down.
The Sheikh was still alive.
Which meant...
The King had just announced his own son's death.
Then the King smiled into the camera.
"And beginning tonight..."
"I will personally oversee the arrest of the woman pretending to be my granddaughter."
Emily realized the horrifying truth.
The man who had stolen her childhood...
May you like
Was now preparing to hunt her again.
TO BE CONTINUED...
