THE SECRET BEHIND THE BLAKE NAME
639 Words
The atmosphere in the room changed the moment Ethan's father spoke.
"We need to talk."
Four simple words.
But to Ethan Blake, they carried the weight of ten years of unfinished conversations.
His mother's smile disappeared for a brief second before she quickly covered it.
"James," she said softly. "Not tonight."
His father didn't look away from Ethan.
"It won't take long."
Ethan noticed the tension.
The same tension he had witnessed throughout his childhood.
The same silent battle that had made him leave this mansion years ago.
"It's fine, Mother."
His voice was calm.
"I'll talk to him."
He followed his father into the old study.
The room had not changed.
Dark wooden shelves.
Leather chairs.
Awards and photographs of generations of Blake men who had built the empire.
There was a picture of Ethan as a young boy standing beside his father.
Both smiling.
Both happy.
A version of them that no longer existed.
The door clicked shut behind them.
His father remained standing.
"I don't know what game you are playing."
Ethan's eyes hardened.
"Excuse me?"
"That woman."
Ethan clenched his jaw.
"Her name is Elisa."
"That woman," his father repeated, "is not someone you should have brought into this house."
Anger rose in Ethan's chest.
"You don't even know her."
"That is exactly what worries me."
The old man walked toward his desk and opened a drawer.
He pulled out an old photograph.
A photograph he had hidden for years.
"Look at her."
Ethan took it.
The color drained from his face.
The woman in the picture had the same eyes.
The same smile.
The same face shape.
It was impossible.
"Who is she?"
His father's expression became cold.
"The woman who destroyed this family."
At the same time, upstairs, Elisa sat on the edge of Ethan's bed.
The excitement from moments ago had disappeared.
For the first time since entering Blake Manor, she felt the weight of the lie.
His mother had called her daughter.
His sister had embraced her.
They were good people.
People who had welcomed her without asking for her status or her bank account.
And she was deceiving them.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
She looked toward the door.
"Ethan?"
No answer.
Another knock.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Her heartbeat increased.
She walked carefully toward the door.
When she opened it, she found a maid standing there holding a silver tray.
"Good evening, Miss Elisa."
She smiled nervously.
"Good evening."
"Mrs. Blake sent you some tea."
"That is very kind of her."
The maid hesitated.
Almost as though she wanted to say something.
"Is something wrong?"
The woman lowered her voice.
"You should be careful in this house."
Elisa's smile disappeared.
"What do you mean?"
The maid looked around to make sure no one was listening.
Then she whispered:
"Everyone who tries to uncover what happened to Mrs. Amelia disappears."
Back in the study, Ethan's hands trembled.
For the first time in years, his father had managed to shake him.
"Who is she?" he repeated.
His father walked toward the window.
"A woman I loved before your mother."
The words hit Ethan like a thunderstorm.
"She was the greatest mistake of my life."
Ethan looked back at the picture.
Then he remembered Elisa.
Her eyes.
Her smile.
Her face.
A terrible thought entered his mind.
"No."
His father turned.
"Yes."
"You're lying."
"I wish I was."
The older man's voice broke.
"Because if I am right..."
He looked directly at his son.
"The woman sleeping in your room may be connected to the darkest secret the Blake family has buried for thirty years."
Elisa thought the biggest lie in Blake Manor was her fake relationship with Ethan.
She was wrong.
A secret buried for three decades has just awakened.
And somehow...
she may be the key to destroying the Blake family forever.
- Writer
