Before the Clock Strikes
1168 Words
The rain had not stopped.
It poured relentlessly over New York, turning the city into a blur of shimmering lights and restless shadows. Aurora Ellington stood motionless beside the office window, Michael Carter's warning replaying in her mind.
"Someone wants to destroy your family before you have a chance to accept his proposal."
It sounded absurd.
Yet everything that had happened during the past twenty-four hours felt too perfectly timed to be a coincidence.
She looked down at the photograph still resting on her father's desk.
William Blackwood.
Her father.
Standing side by side, smiling as though they were brothers instead of enemies.
The image contradicted everything she had believed her entire life.
She carefully slipped the photograph into her handbag.
There was only one person left who might know the truth.
The following morning arrived with gray skies and bitter winds.
Aurora parked her aging sedan outside St. Andrew's Retirement Home, a quiet brick building tucked away from Manhattan's endless traffic.
The receptionist recognized her immediately.
"Miss Ellington."
"Good morning."
"I'm here to see Mr. Charles Whitmore."
The elderly woman hesitated.
"He hasn't spoken much to anyone lately."
"I know."
"But he'll remember me."
After signing the visitor log, Aurora followed the nurse down a narrow hallway.
Charles Whitmore had served as Chief Financial Officer of Ellington Industries for nearly thirty years before retiring.
If anyone knew the history between the Ellingtons and the Blackwoods...
It was him.
The nurse gently opened the door.
Charles sat beside the window wrapped in a gray blanket, quietly reading yesterday's newspaper.
His silver hair had grown thinner over the years, but his sharp blue eyes remained unchanged.
He smiled faintly.
"Aurora."
She smiled back.
"It's been too long."
"It has."
She pulled a chair closer.
"I need your help."
Charles chuckled.
"You always come straight to the point."
Aurora reached into her handbag and placed the old photograph on the table.
His smile disappeared.
He stared at it for several seconds.
"...Where did you find this?"
"My father's office."
Charles slowly removed his glasses.
"I hoped this picture would never surface again."
Aurora leaned forward.
"Were they really friends?"
He looked toward the window instead of answering.
"For many years..."
"They were inseparable."
Aurora frowned.
"Then what happened?"
Charles sighed deeply.
"There was a project."
"What project?"
"A joint investment."
He paused.
"It was supposed to change both companies forever."
"And?"
"It ended in blood."
Aurora's heart skipped a beat.
"What do you mean?"
Before Charles could answer
His phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
"I... should take this."
He stepped outside into the hallway.
Aurora waited patiently.
Five minutes passed.
Then ten.
Something felt wrong.
She stood and looked into the corridor.
Empty.
"Mr. Whitmore?"
No answer.
Aurora hurried toward the nurses' station.
"The gentleman who was with me..."
The nurse looked confused.
"He left."
"What?"
"A black sedan picked him up."
Aurora's stomach tightened.
"He never leaves without telling me."
The nurse frowned.
"I assumed he was with your family."
"No..."
"He wasn't."
Aurora rushed outside.
The parking lot was nearly empty.
Only fresh tire tracks remained on the wet pavement.
Someone had taken Charles Whitmore.
Meanwhile...
Thirty floors above Manhattan...
Adrian Blackwood stood inside the executive boardroom.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city.
Around the polished table sat twelve directors.
None of them looked pleased.
An elderly board member adjusted his glasses.
"Mr. Blackwood."
"We've received troubling information."
Adrian remained standing.
"Go on."
"The Ellington foreclosure has been accelerated."
"I know."
Another director frowned.
"Then why haven't you stopped it?"
Adrian looked toward the skyline.
"Because I didn't order it."
Silence.
His grandfather slowly folded his hands.
"Someone is challenging your authority."
"Yes."
"Do you know who?"
Adrian's expression remained unreadable.
"I have my suspicions."
"Then act."
He turned calmly.
"I will."
The board meeting ended moments later.
As everyone filed out, Adrian's assistant entered.
"Sir."
"We've lost contact with Charles Whitmore."
Adrian stopped walking.
"When?"
"Thirty minutes ago."
His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly.
"And Aurora?"
"Our security team says she was there."
A dangerous silence filled the office.
"Find her."
"Immediately."
Aurora drove through Manhattan as fast as traffic allowed.
Her thoughts raced faster than the cars around her.
Charles had been about to reveal something.
Someone had interrupted him.
Someone powerful enough to make an old man disappear in broad daylight.
Her phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
She answered.
"...Hello?"
A distorted voice replied.
"Stop looking into the past."
Her grip tightened on the steering wheel.
"Who is this?"
"You've already lost enough."
"If you continue..."
"...you'll lose what's left of your family."
The line disconnected.
Aurora immediately tried calling back.
The number didn't exist.
Her pulse pounded in her ears.
For the first time...
She wasn't worried about debt.
That evening...
She returned to Ellington Manor.
Daniel was pacing nervously in the living room.
"There you are!"
"You've been calling?"
"I couldn't reach you."
Aurora quickly told him everything.
The retirement home.
Charles.
The mysterious phone call.
Daniel's face turned pale.
"We should go to the police."
"And tell them what?"
"That someone disappeared?"
"They'll ask for evidence."
"We don't have any."
A heavy silence settled between them.
Then
The doorbell rang.
Both froze.
Daniel walked toward the entrance.
Aurora instinctively followed.
He opened the door.
Standing outside was Adrian Blackwood.
Alone.
No bodyguards.
No assistant.
Just the same perfectly tailored black suit and unreadable expression
Rainwater glistened on his coat.
Daniel frowned.
"What are you doing here?"
Adrian ignored the question.
Instead, he looked directly at Aurora.
"You received the phone call."
It wasn't a question.
Aurora's eyes widened.
"...How do you know?"
"Because I received one too."
For the first time since they met...
Aurora saw something unfamiliar in Adrian's gray eyes.
Concern.
Not for himself.
For her.
He reached into his coat pocket and placed a folded newspaper on the table.
The headline covered the entire front page.
ELDERLY BUSINESSMAN FOUND DEAD AFTER SUSPECTED CAR ACCIDENT
Below the headline...
A photograph.
Charles Whitmore.
Aurora's breathing stopped.
"No..."
She grabbed the newspaper with trembling hands.
"No..."
The article claimed Charles had died instantly after losing control of his vehicle on a mountain road outside the city.
Aurora looked up.
"That's impossible."
"He never drove."
Adrian nodded once.
"I know."
Silence swallowed the room.
Aurora finally understood.
Charles hadn't disappeared.
He had been silenced.
Someone was erasing every person connected to the past.
Adrian spoke quietly.
"Now do you understand?"
She slowly lifted her eyes.
"This was never about your family's debt."
"It never was."
He took one step closer.
"They've started moving."
"And if we don't move first..."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"...you're next."
Aurora stared at him, unable to say a single word.
For the first time...
She realized Adrian Blackwood wasn't simply offering her a marriage.
He was offering her protection against an enemy they had yet to identify.
And somewhere in the darkness...
That enemy was already watching them both.
End of Episode 4
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