THE BLACK WOOD ARCHIVE
1223 Words
The Blackwood archives were hidden beneath the oldest building owned by the company.
Emma had expected a library.
Instead, Alexander led her through a private elevator beneath Blackwood Enterprises, down three floors below the basement.
The doors opened with a soft chime.
A long corridor stretched ahead.
There were no windows.
No employees.
Only locked doors and security cameras.
Emma looked at Alexander.
“You've never brought anyone here?”
“No.”
“Not even your father?”
“My father was the one who built this place.”
That answer made her uneasy.
Daniel remained in the car outside. Alexander had insisted that they couldn't all enter the archives without attracting attention.
Emma wasn't sure leaving her father behind was a good idea.
But she trusted Alexander enough to follow him.
At least, she thought she did.
They reached a steel door.
Alexander entered a code.
The lock clicked.
Inside were hundreds of filing cabinets.
Old boxes filled the shelves from floor to ceiling.
Emma looked around.
“This is everything?”
“Everything my father didn't want digitized.”
“Why?”
“Because some secrets are harder to erase when they're on paper.”
Emma gave him a look.
“You really know how to make a place sound welcoming.”
He almost smiled.
Almost.
Then he turned serious.
“We need to find anything connected to October 14.”
Emma nodded.
They separated.
For nearly twenty minutes, the only sound was the opening and closing of drawers.
Emma searched through old medical records, legal documents and company reports.
Nothing.
Then she noticed a cabinet marked M.B. — PERSONAL.
She pulled it open.
Inside were dozens of files.
She scanned the labels.
Sophia Carter.
Her heart stopped.
She grabbed the file.
“Alexander.”
He immediately came over.
“What did you find?”
She held it up.
His expression darkened.
“Open it.”
Emma did.
The first pages contained photographs of Sophia.
There were pictures of her outside restaurants, walking through Manhattan and entering Blackwood offices.
Someone had been following her long before Emma knew anything about the Blackwoods.
Then Emma found a medical report.
Her hands trembled.
“Alexander.”
He read over her shoulder.
The report was dated eighteen years ago.
Patient: Sophia Carter.
Condition: Pregnancy — high risk.
Emma stared at the page.
“She was pregnant before I was born.”
Alexander nodded.
“This confirms it.”
She continued reading.
Then she stopped.
There was another name.
Attending physician: Dr. Jonathan Reed.
Below it was a handwritten note.
Michael insists the child's identity remain confidential.
Emma frowned.
“Why would Michael care about keeping my identity secret?”
Alexander didn't answer.
She turned the page.
There was a second note.
This one was written in Michael's handwriting.
If anything happens to me, make sure the child never learns about the agreement.
Emma's stomach tightened.
“What agreement?”
Alexander took the paper.
His eyes moved across the words.
“I don't know.”
Emma looked at him.
“That's what everyone keeps saying.”
Before he could respond, a noise came from the corridor.
Both of them froze.
Someone was outside.
Alexander quickly closed the file.
“Stay here.”
He moved toward the door.
Emma followed.
He looked back.
“I said stay here.”
“And I said I'm not staying behind anymore.”
He stared at her for a second.
Then he shook his head.
“Fine. But stay close.”
They stepped into the corridor.
No one was there.
Alexander looked at the security camera.
The red light was blinking.
Then it went dark.
He frowned.
“Someone disabled the cameras.”
Emma's heart raced.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
They hurried back into the archives.
The file was gone.
Emma stopped.
“No.”
The cabinet stood open.
Everything else was untouched.
Only Sophia's file had disappeared.
Alexander's expression hardened.
“Someone was watching us.”
Emma looked around.
“From where?”
He pointed toward the ceiling.
A small black camera was hidden behind a ventilation cover.
Emma felt a chill.
“They saw us.”
“Yes.”
“Then whoever took the file knows what we're looking for.”
Alexander nodded.
Suddenly his phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
There was silence.
Then a man's voice spoke.
“You should have left the past alone, Alexander.”
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
“Who is this?”
“You know who I am.”
The call ended.
Emma stared at him.
“Was it Richard?”
“I don't know.”
“You recognized his voice.”
Alexander said nothing.
“Alexander.”
He finally looked at her.
“Yes.”
“It was him.”
“Yes.”
Emma's heart pounded.
“Then why is he doing this?”
“I don't know.”
She stepped closer.
“Do you trust him?”
“No.”
“Has he ever threatened you?”
Alexander hesitated.
“Not directly.”
“But?”
“He warned me to stop looking into my father's disappearance.”
“When?”
“Two weeks before I met you.”
Emma stared at him.
“So this started before the contract.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I thought I could handle it.”
She shook her head.
“You keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Trying to carry everything alone.”
Alexander looked at her.
“You're not exactly good at asking for help either.”
Despite everything, Emma almost smiled.
Then the lights went out.
She gasped.
Alexander immediately caught her hand.
“Don't move.”
“I can't see.”
“I've got you.”
The darkness felt endless.
Then a loud metallic sound echoed from the far end of the room.
A drawer had opened.
Alexander pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight.
They followed the sound.
Another cabinet stood open.
Inside was a single envelope.
Emma slowly removed it.
Her name was written across the front.
EMMA CARTER.
She opened it.
Inside was a birth certificate.
Her original birth certificate.
She stared at it.
Her eyes moved to the father's name.
For several seconds, she couldn't understand what she was seeing.
Then she whispered,
“Alexander…”
He looked at the document.
His face went pale.
The father's name wasn't Daniel Carter.
It wasn't Michael Blackwood either.
It was someone else.
Someone whose name Emma recognized.
Someone she had trusted for years.
Richard Hale.
Emma's fingers went cold.
“No.”
Alexander looked at her.
“Emma…”
She shook her head.
“This can't be real.”
Before either of them could move, the archive door slammed shut.
A lock clicked from the outside.
Then a voice came through the speakers.
“You finally found the truth.”
Emma stepped closer to Alexander.
The voice continued.
“But you're not ready for what comes next.”
A pause.
Then:
“Ask Daniel why he lied about being your father.”
The lights came back on.
Emma looked at Alexander.
The birth certificate was still in her hands.
And for the first time, she wasn't sure whether Daniel had come back to protect her…
or to hide the truth.
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