THE BRIDES DIARY

The Last Words

Martin Hayes collapsed onto the damp tunnel floor.

The sound of his walking stick striking the concrete echoed through the darkness before everything fell silent again.

Claire's scream bounced off the narrow walls.

"No!"

She rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside him.

Blood spread beneath his head, mixing with the water flowing through the tunnel.

Daniel raised his flashlight toward the darkness where the shot had come from.

"Show yourself!"

Only silence answered him.

The shooter was gone.

Or perhaps...

He had never intended to stay.

Adrian knelt beside Martin and pressed both hands against the wound.

"Stay with us."

Martin struggled to breathe.

His lips trembled as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Claire looked desperately at Adrian.

"We have to get him to a hospital."

Daniel shook his head.

"Not now."

"They're waiting for us outside."

"If we leave this tunnel, we'll walk straight into their hands."

Claire refused to listen.

She searched her handbag for anything that could stop the bleeding.

A scarf.

A bottle of water.

Nothing useful.

Her hands shook violently.

Martin slowly reached up and grabbed her wrist.

"It's..."

He coughed painfully.

"...too late."

"No!" Claire cried.

"You can't die."

"You promised Elena."

Martin smiled weakly.

"I made..."

"...many promises."

Adrian leaned closer.

"Who shot you?"

Martin slowly turned his eyes toward Adrian.

"They're..."

"...running out of time."

"What do you mean?"

Martin coughed again.

Every breath seemed harder than the last.

"The diary..."

Adrian immediately pulled it from inside his jacket.

Martin looked at the worn leather cover with relief.

"They didn't..."

"...take it."

"No."

"It's safe."

Martin nodded faintly.

"Good."

"Listen carefully."

"You must reach..."

He paused, fighting for another breath.

"...Page Forty-Two."

Adrian's eyes widened.

"The diary mentioned that page."

Martin managed the faintest smile.

"Everything..."

"...begins there."

Daniel glanced nervously into the darkness behind them.

"We don't have much time."

Martin ignored him.

His eyes remained fixed on Adrian.

"You've been asking..."

"...the wrong question."

Adrian frowned.

"What?"

"You keep asking..."

"...whether Elena is alive."

His breathing became shallow.

"That's..."

"...not the question."

Adrian leaned even closer.

"Then what is?"

Martin closed his eyes for a brief moment before whispering,

"You should ask..."

"...who Elena really is."

Silence filled the tunnel.

Adrian stared at him.

"What does that mean?"

Martin slowly reached inside his coat.

Daniel instinctively grabbed his arm.

"Easy."

Martin smiled weakly.

"No weapons."

With trembling fingers, he removed a small bronze key attached to a faded blue ribbon.

He placed it into Adrian's hand.

"What does it open?"

"The lighthouse."

Claire looked up sharply.

"The old Blackridge Lighthouse?"

Martin nodded.

"Beneath it..."

"...is the truth."

Adrian frowned.

"I don't understand."

"You will."

"But only..."

"...after Page Forty-Two."

His hand suddenly tightened around Adrian's wrist.

His eyes filled with urgency.

"Whatever happens..."

"...don't trust..."

His voice faded.

Adrian leaned closer.

"Don't trust who?"

Martin struggled to finish.

His lips moved.

No sound came out.

Then...

His hand slipped from Adrian's wrist.

His head fell gently to one side.

The tunnel became unbearably still.

Claire stared at him.

"No..."

She touched his neck.

Nothing.

Tears rolled silently down her face.

Daniel lowered his flashlight.

Martin Hayes was dead.

For several moments, none of them spoke.

Adrian looked down at the bronze key resting in his palm.

A lighthouse.

Another clue.

Another mystery.

Another dead person whose final words created more questions than answers.

He closed Martin's eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Claire wiped away her tears.

"He wasn't a bad man."

"You believed he betrayed Elena."

"I was wrong."

Daniel sighed heavily.

"We don't have time to mourn."

He pointed toward the darkness.

"The shooter could still be here."

As if answering him...

A faint clicking sound echoed somewhere ahead.

Metal against metal.

Adrian immediately recognized it.

A gun being reloaded.

"Move!" Daniel shouted.

The three of them sprinted deeper into the tunnel.

Behind them came another suppressed shot.

The bullet struck the wall inches from Adrian's shoulder.

Stone fragments exploded across the passage.

Claire stumbled.

Adrian caught her before she fell.

They kept running.

The tunnel twisted sharply to the left before opening into a massive underground chamber.

Daniel stopped abruptly.

"So this is where it leads."

The flashlight beam swept across the enormous room.

Old railway tracks crossed the floor.

Rusted freight carts stood abandoned where they had been left decades ago.

Water dripped steadily from the ceiling.

At the far end...

A single lantern burned.

Freshly lit.

Someone was already there.

A silhouette stepped into its warm glow.

Tall.

Broad-shouldered.

Wearing a long black coat.

His face remained hidden beneath the shadow of a wide-brimmed hat.

He spoke calmly.

"I've been waiting for you."

Adrian took one cautious step forward.

"Who are you?"

The stranger smiled.

"You've spent the entire day chasing ghosts."

He slowly removed his hat.

"I think..."

"...it's time you met the man who buried Elena Hart."