DEADLY INVITATION

Chapter three :choosen

Two weeks passed.

Life in the Vale household continued as usual.

Amaya spent most of her days talking about the Blackthorne competition, watching videos about Damian Blackthorne, and constantly checking her email for updates.

Meanwhile, Elena tried not to think about it.

At first, she had checked her inbox every few hours.

Then every day.

Then every few days.

Eventually, she convinced herself that she hadn’t been selected.

After all, what were the chances?

Hundreds of thousands of women had applied.

The idea that she would be among the chosen few seemed impossible.

So she stopped hoping.

Stopped waiting.

Stopped thinking about it.

Until that morning.

Elena had been in her room getting ready when a notification appeared on her laptop screen.

At first, she almost ignored it.

Then she noticed the sender.

Blackthorne Estate.

Her heart nearly stopped.

With trembling fingers, she opened the email.

For several seconds, she simply stared.

Unable to process what she was seeing.

Then she read it again.

And again.

And again.

Congratulations, Miss Elena Vale.

You have been selected as one of the official candidates for the Blackthorne Marriage Competition.

A formal invitation package will be delivered to the address provided in your application.

Elena sat frozen.

Shock.

Confusion.

Disbelief.

Excitement.

Every emotion crashed into her at once.

She had actually been chosen.

Out of hundreds of thousands of applicants.

Her.

A laugh almost escaped her lips.

Then she quickly covered her mouth.

This couldn’t be real.

She reread the email one final time before closing her laptop.

No matter how excited she felt, she wasn’t about to announce it downstairs.

Especially not to Amaya.

So she took a deep breath.

Composed herself.

And headed downstairs as though nothing had happened.

That evening, the family gathered around the dining table.

The room was illuminated by a sparkling chandelier hanging overhead.

Silver cutlery gleamed beneath the warm lights.

The dining room looked elegant and refined.

A perfect picture of a wealthy family.

Elena sat quietly in her usual seat, eating in silence.

Across from her, Amaya was scrolling through her phone while pretending to pay attention to dinner.

Suddenly..

Ding!

The notification sound came from Amaya’s phone.

She glanced down absentmindedly.

Then froze.

Her eyes widened.

The fork slipped from her hand and clattered onto the plate.

“OH MY GOD!”

The scream nearly made Catherine choke on her drink.

“Amaya!”

But Amaya wasn’t listening.

She had already jumped to her feet.

“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!”

“What happened?” Catherine demanded.

With shaking hands, Amaya shoved her phone toward her mother.

“I got in!”

“What?”

“I got selected!”

Catherine quickly grabbed the phone.

Her eyes scanned the email.

Then she gasped.

“Amaya!”

A huge smile spread across her face.

“You actually got chosen!”

“I know!”

Amaya squealed excitedly.

“I told you I would!”

Mother and daughter immediately hugged each other.

Neither noticed Elena quietly sitting at the table.

Unlike Amaya, Elena had received her email hours earlier.

She had stared at the message for almost ten minutes before finally accepting that it was real.

Selected.

Out of hundreds of thousands of applicants.

The thought still felt unreal.

Yet she gave nothing away.

She simply continued eating as though nothing had happened.

Inside, however, her heart was racing.

Because there was one important difference between her application and Amaya’s.

Elena hadn’t used the Vale residence as her delivery address.

She had been careful.

Very careful.

The last thing she wanted was for Catherine or Amaya to know she had applied.

So she had entered the address of a small parcel collection center across town.

If an invitation arrived, it would go there.

And no one in this house would ever know.

At least that had been the plan.

“Did you hear me?” Amaya suddenly asked.

Elena looked up.

“What?”

“I said I got selected.”

“Congratulations.”

Amaya smirked.

“I knew I’d make it.”

Elena simply nodded.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Catherine smiled immediately.

“That must be the invitation package.”

Amaya practically ran toward the door.

Moments later, her excited scream echoed through the house.

“It is!”

Standing in the hallway was a delivery man holding an elegant black box decorated with gold lettering.

The official Blackthorne Estate invitation.

Amaya accepted it with trembling hands.

The moment the door closed, she hugged the box to her chest as if it contained treasure.

Meanwhile, across town, another black-and-gold package sat waiting at the parcel collection center.

Addressed to one person.

Miss Elena Vale.

And by tomorrow morning, Elena intended to collect it herself.

The elegant black box sat proudly on her lap as she rushed back to the dining room.

“Mom, let’s open it!”

Catherine was just as eager.

“Go ahead.”

Carefully, Amaya untied the gold ribbon and lifted the lid.

Inside lay a thick black envelope embossed with a gold Blackthorne crest.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

The letter inside was written on expensive cream-colored paper.

Amaya immediately began reading aloud.

The elegant black box sat proudly on her lap as she rushed back to the dining room.

“Mom, let’s open it!”

Catherine was just as eager.

“Go ahead.”

Carefully, Amaya untied the gold ribbon and lifted the lid.

Inside lay a thick black envelope embossed with a gold Blackthorne crest.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

The letter inside was written on expensive cream-colored paper.

Amaya immediately began reading aloud.

Congratulations, Miss Amaya Vale.

You have successfully been selected as one of the official participants of the Blackthorne Selection Program.

Your presence is required at Blackthorne Estate on October 25th.

A transportation team will collect you from the location submitted during registration.

All participants must arrive at the designated pickup point no later than 8:00 PM sharp.

Failure to arrive on time will result in immediate disqualification.

Further instructions will be provided upon arrival.

We look forward to welcoming you.

The moment she finished reading, Amaya screamed again.

“Three days!”

She jumped from her seat.

“Mom, it’s only three days away!”

Catherine laughed.

“I can see that.”

“Oh my God. I’m actually going.”

Amaya hugged the letter to her chest.

The excitement never left her face for the remainder of the day.

She spent hours planning outfits.

Researching Blackthorne Estate.

Watching every interview Damian Blackthorne had ever given.

Talking nonstop about what life would be like if she won.

Meanwhile, Elena stayed quiet.

Very quiet.

No one noticed.

No one suspected.

And she intended to keep it that way.

The next morning, Elena left the house shortly after breakfast.

She told Catherine she was running errands.

To her relief, no questions were asked.

An hour later, she arrived at the parcel collection center she had listed on her application.

The small office sat between two stores on a busy street.

Her heart pounded as she stepped inside.

“Good morning,” the attendant greeted.

Elena approached the counter.

“I’m here to collect a package.”

After confirming her identity, the attendant disappeared into the back room.

A minute later, he returned carrying a familiar black box tied with a gold ribbon.

The sight of it made Elena’s stomach flip.

It was real.

She had actually been selected.

The attendant handed it over.

“Here you go, Miss Vale.”

“Thank you.”

She carefully carried the box outside.

For a moment, she simply stood there staring at it.

Then she found a quiet bench nearby and opened it.

Inside was the same elegant envelope.

The same gold crest.

The same luxurious paper.

Elena unfolded the letter.

Her eyes quickly scanned the contents.

Everything was nearly identical to Amaya’s invitation.

Except for one detail.

The pickup location.

Her designated pickup point was completely different.

Elena’s eyes narrowed as she reread the address.

Amaya had been instructed to report to The Blackthorne Grand Hotel, one of the company’s most famous luxury hotels in the city.

But Elena’s invitation directed her to The Blackthorne Royal Hotel, another Blackthorne-owned property located several miles away.

“That’s strange,” she murmured.

She checked the letter again.

The address remained the same.

Different hotel.

Different pickup point.

For a moment, Elena wondered why participants were being divided between locations.

Perhaps there were simply too many contestants.

That explanation made sense.

After all, fifty women had been selected from hundreds of thousands of applicants.

Organizing transportation for everyone at one hotel would probably be difficult.

Satisfied with the answer, Elena carefully folded the letter and returned it to the envelope.

A small smile appeared on her face.

Three days.

Just three more days.

Then she would finally leave the Vale house behind.

Whether she won or lost the competition didn’t matter.

For the first time in years, Elena felt as though she was walking toward a future that belonged to her.

What she didn’t know was that her invitation wasn’t different by accident.

And the reason for that difference was waiting for her at Blackthorne Estate.