Chapter 3 - The Blackout and the MessageThe grand ballroom plunged into absolute darkness. Emergency red backup strips flickered to life along the baseboards, casting eerie, distorted shadows across the panicked crowd.
"Stay close to me, kids!" Marcus shouted over the rising murmur of confusion, pulling Lucas, Mateo, and Sofia tightly behind his back.
Isabella’s heart hammered against her ribs. Her instincts—forged in alleys and abandoned warehouses—screamed that this wasn't a simple electrical failure. She scanned the room through the flashing red emergency light.
On the massive projector screen above the stage, where a smiling portrait of the triplets had been displayed moments before, the image abruptly cut to black.
Then, white digital text began to type itself across the screen line by line:
“TEN YEARS IS A LONG TIME TO HIDE. BUT DEBT IS NEVER FORGOTTEN. THE VANCES THINK THEY WON. TOMORROW, THE REAL PAYMENT BEGINS.”
A collective gasp echoed through the ballroom. Evelyn Vance clutched her chest, trembling as Marcus pulled her close.
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Isabella stepped forward, her eyes locked on the glowing text. At the bottom of the screen, a small, encrypted symbol flashed—a stylized thorn piercing a shield.
Victor Thorne. He wasn't dead. He wasn't across the ocean. He was right here in Santa Esperanza, watching them.
