Chapter 6: The Necklace Was Never Jewelry
Emily ripped the silver necklace from her neck and stared at it with trembling hands.
"This...?"
Victor Ashford smiled.
"Your mother was far smarter than any of us."
Mr. Harrison stepped forward.
"Don't open it!"
But it was too late.
Emily noticed something she had never seen before.
A tiny engraving.
"Press Twice."
Her thumb instinctively pushed the hidden clasp.
Click.
The pendant slowly unfolded.
It wasn't a necklace.
It was a miniature encrypted drive.
Victor's eyes lit up.
"There it is..."
After seventeen years...
The Blackwood Legacy.
The drive everyone had killed to obtain.
Before anyone could react, Victor's armed men flooded the library.
"Take it."
One guard lunged toward Emily.
Another aimed a pistol at Mr. Harrison.
Margaret suddenly screamed,
"No!"
To everyone's shock, she stepped between Emily and the gun.
The shot rang out.
Bang!
Margaret collapsed onto the marble floor.
Blood spread beneath her expensive dress.
Emily caught her before she hit the ground.
"Why... why would you save me?"
Margaret struggled to breathe.
"I stole... your childhood..."
"I won't let them steal... your future."
She grabbed Emily's wrist with surprising strength.
"The password..."
Emily leaned closer.
"What password?"
Margaret whispered only four words.
"Look inside the painting."
Her hand fell limp.
Margaret Blackwood was dead.
Victor cursed in fury.
"Search the mansion!"
His men scattered through every hallway.
Mr. Harrison dragged Emily toward the hidden gallery behind the library.
Portraits of generations of the Blackwood family lined the walls.
One painting caught Emily's attention.
It was the same portrait that had hidden the safe.
She pulled it from the wall.
Behind it was another secret compartment.
Inside lay a faded envelope addressed in elegant handwriting.
For My Daughter... Only If I Never Return.
Emily's hands shook as she unfolded the letter.
The first sentence stole the air from her lungs.
Emily... if you're reading this, then the man hunting you is not Victor Ashford.
She looked up in disbelief.
"What?"
Mr. Harrison's face turned pale.
Emily continued reading.
Victor is only the face they want you to see.
The person who ordered our murders...
...has worn a police badge for over twenty years.
Before Emily could read the name...
The front doors exploded inward.
Heavy boots thundered through the mansion.
A calm voice echoed through the hall.
"Police! Nobody move!"
Emily almost sighed in relief.
Until every officer slowly lowered their weapons...
Not at Victor.
At her.
The police captain stepped forward with a cold smile.
May you like
"Thank you for finding the drive, Miss Blackwood."
"You've just saved us seventeen years of searching."
