Chapter 9: Secrets Behind Closed Doors.
818 Words
Chapter 9: Secrets Behind Closed Doors
The mansion was unusually quiet after the intruder escaped.
Every guard was on high alert.
Every entrance was being monitored.
And every employee looked nervous.
Ava sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the bruises on her wrist.
The encounter replayed repeatedly in her mind.
The masked man.
The photograph.
The hidden passage.
Most importantly, his words.
"You're important."
She still didn't understand what that meant.
Why her?
What made her so important?
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
Before she could answer, the door opened.
Ethan entered.
Ava immediately frowned.
"Have you ever heard of waiting for permission?"
Ethan ignored the question.
As usual.
His eyes moved to her wrist.
"The doctor is here."
"I'm fine."
"The doctor is here."
Ava groaned.
"You know, repeating yourself doesn't make you more convincing."
"It usually does."
She rolled her eyes.
A few minutes later, the doctor finished examining her.
"Nothing serious," he said. "Just bruising."
Ava smirked triumphantly.
"Told you."
Ethan remained unimpressed.
Once the doctor left, silence settled over the room.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ava stood.
"Alright."
Ethan looked at her.
"Alright what?"
"You're finally going to tell me the truth."
His expression remained unreadable.
"What truth?"
"The truth about who wants to kill you."
Ethan walked toward the window.
"The fewer details you know, the safer you'll be."
Ava laughed.
Actually laughed.
The sound was filled with disbelief.
"Safer?"
She pointed at her bruised wrist.
"A man broke into your mansion, attacked me, and escaped through a secret passage hidden inside your walls."
Her voice rose with every word.
"I think we're way past safe."
For several seconds, Ethan said nothing.
Because she wasn't wrong.
Finally, he sighed.
Ava almost fell over.
She had never seen him voluntarily admit defeat before.
"My parents died when I was sixteen."
The sudden statement caught her off guard.
Ethan rarely spoke about himself.
Ever.
"The police called it an accident."
Ava remained silent.
"But it wasn't."
The room grew still.
"I spent years proving it."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
The kind of calm that usually hid something painful.
"Someone arranged it."
Ava's chest tightened.
"And now?"
Ethan turned toward her.
"Now I'm close to discovering who."
The pieces slowly began falling into place.
The attacks.
The enemies.
The danger.
Everything connected back to his parents.
Before Ava could respond, a loud crash echoed somewhere downstairs.
Both of them froze.
Another crash followed.
Then shouting.
Lots of shouting.
Ethan's expression darkened instantly.
The office conversation was forgotten.
He moved toward the door.
Ava followed.
"What happened?"
No answer.
By the time they reached the main staircase, guards were already rushing through the mansion.
Lucas appeared from the opposite hallway.
His face was pale.
Very pale.
Ethan immediately knew something was wrong.
"What is it?"
Lucas swallowed.
"The archive room."
Ava frowned.
"The what?"
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
The archive room contained decades of Blackwood family records.
Documents.
Evidence.
Files.
Information.
The kind of information people killed for.
Without another word, Ethan headed downstairs.
Everyone followed.
When they reached the archive room, Ava understood why everyone looked horrified.
The massive steel door stood open.
The lock had been destroyed.
Inside, papers were scattered everywhere.
Cabinets had been broken into.
Files lay across the floor.
Someone had searched the room.
Recently.
Very recently.
Lucas inspected the damage.
"They knew exactly what they wanted."
Ethan stepped deeper into the room.
His gaze scanned the empty shelves.
Then he stopped.
For the first time since Ava met him, genuine anger appeared on his face.
Not irritation.
Not frustration.
Pure rage.
"What is it?" Lucas asked carefully.
Ethan pointed.
A section of the shelf was completely empty.
One file was missing.
Just one.
Lucas cursed immediately.
Ava looked between them.
"What was in it?"
Neither answered.
Which meant it was important.
Very important.
Finally, Ethan spoke.
"The file contained everything I discovered about my parents' deaths."
Silence.
Ava felt a chill travel down her spine.
The intruder hadn't entered the mansion to attack her.
That had simply been a bonus.
His real mission had been the file.
And now it was gone.
Someone was desperately trying to bury the truth.
Someone powerful.
Someone dangerous.
Someone willing to kill.
Ethan stared at the empty shelf.
His eyes cold enough to freeze the room.
Then he made a promise.
A promise so quiet that everyone had to listen carefully to hear it.
"They just made a mistake."
Lucas frowned.
"What mistake?"
A dangerous smile appeared on Ethan's face.
"The mistake of making this personal."
For the first time, Ava genuinely feared for whoever was on the other side of this war.
Because she was beginning to realize something.
The most dangerous person in the mansion wasn't the intruder.
It was Ethan Blackwood.
And whoever stole that file had just given him a reason to stop holding back.
- Writer
