CHAPTER 8 — The Secret Beneath Blackwood Manor
By dawn, the four of them reached Blackwood Manor.
The mansion had been abandoned for nearly thirty years.
Its broken windows stared back like empty eyes.
"This place gives me chills," Emily whispered.
Daniel pushed open the rusted iron gate.
Inside, dust covered everything.
Family portraits lined the walls.
Every Harrington generation watched them in silence.
Lily suddenly stopped.
"My mom said..."
"...the truth is underneath."
They searched every room until Emily noticed a loose stone beneath the grand staircase.
Daniel pulled it free.
Hidden below was an old elevator.
There was no electricity.
Only one red button still worked.
The elevator groaned as it descended deep beneath the mansion.
The doors finally opened.
A cold underground chamber stretched into darkness.
Shelves filled with thousands of confidential files.
Boxes labeled with children's names.
Adoption records.
Medical reports.
Birth certificates.
Every file represented a stolen life.
Emily opened one at random.
Inside was her own birth record.
The words at the top made her blood freeze.
SUBJECT #27 — SUCCESSFUL IDENTITY REASSIGNMENT
Lily whispered, "There were dozens..."
Daniel shook his head.
"No..."
"Hundreds."
Then Emily noticed something even more horrifying.
At the end of the chamber stood a steel door with a fingerprint scanner.
Above it was a faded warning:
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
Next to the scanner...
Someone had already placed their hand.
The green light was on.
The door slowly creaked open by itself.
A familiar voice echoed from inside.
"Welcome home... children."
Margaret Harrington stepped out of the darkness.
But she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her...
Was Sophia.
Alive.
Smiling.
May you like
And the first words she spoke shattered everything they thought they knew.
"I'm sorry... but I've been working with Margaret all along."
