CHAPTER 5 – THE HEIR THEY HAD TO ERASE
The words hit Ethan harder than the bullets outside.
"$480 billion..."
He stared at the old man.
"No... that's impossible."
The old man slowly removed a gold signet ring from his finger.
Engraved on it was the unmistakable crest of the Blackwood family.
"For over a century," he whispered, "this ring has belonged to the rightful head of our family."
He placed it in Ethan's trembling hand.
"It belongs to you now."
Before Ethan could answer—
BOOM!
The church's front doors exploded inward.
Wood splintered across the floor.
Smoke poured into the sanctuary.
Masked men rushed inside with military precision.
"Secure the target!"
"Take the boy alive!"
Claire fired a flare toward the ceiling.
The blinding flash bought them only seconds.
"This way!"
She pulled Ethan and the old man toward a hidden staircase beneath the altar.
As the stone door slammed shut behind them, gunfire echoed above.
The narrow tunnel smelled of dust and damp earth.
"How did you know this place had a tunnel?" Ethan asked.
Claire looked straight ahead.
"Because I built it."
"You... what?"
"I've been preparing for this day for seventeen years."
The old man suddenly stumbled.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Ethan froze.
"Grandpa!"
A bullet had struck him during the escape.
The old man leaned against the cold stone wall, struggling to breathe.
"No..."
"We have to keep moving."
Claire shook her head.
"He can't."
The old man smiled weakly.
"My journey ends here."
Tears streamed down Ethan's face.
"No! You're coming with us!"
The old man reached into his coat one last time.
Instead of another document...
He pulled out a small brass key.
"This opens Vault Seven."
Ethan frowned.
"What's inside?"
The old man's eyes filled with regret.
"Everything."
"The original will."
"The financial records."
"The names of every person who betrayed our family."
"And..."
He hesitated.
"...the proof that Richard Blackwood is innocent."
Ethan's breathing stopped.
"My father... didn't steal the company?"
The old man slowly shook his head.
"No."
"He was framed."
"For seventeen years..."
"The world has been celebrating the wrong man."
Claire's face turned pale.
"If that's true..."
"...then the current CEO..."
The old man finished her sentence.
"...ordered the kidnapping of his own nephew."
Silence.
Ethan couldn't process what he had just heard.
"The CEO..."
"...is family?"
The old man nodded.
"Richard's younger brother."
"Victor Blackwood."
"The man everyone calls a genius."
"The man who stole everything."
Suddenly...
The tunnel lights flickered.
A calm voice echoed through hidden speakers.
"Impressive, Father."
The old man's eyes widened in horror.
"No..."
"Not here..."
A large steel door slowly opened at the end of the tunnel.
Standing there in a perfectly tailored black suit was Victor Blackwood himself.
He smiled as if greeting old friends.
He began to clap.
"After seventeen years..."
"You finally brought Ethan to me."
Ethan stared at the man who looked almost identical to Richard.
Victor smiled warmly.
Then said the one sentence that shattered everything Ethan believed.
"Richard isn't your enemy..."
He pointed directly at the dying old man.
"...he is."
The old man closed his eyes in despair.
Because for the first time...
May you like
He couldn't deny that Victor knew a secret Ethan had never heard.
TO BE CONTINUED...
