BEHIND THE THRONE

Chapter Two: The House of Secrets

The rain had almost stopped by the time Elias reached the edge of the old district.

His clothes were soaked.

His breathing was heavy.

And his mind refused to slow down.

Every few seconds, he looked over his shoulder.

Nothing.

No black car.

No footsteps.

No men chasing him.

But that didn’t make him feel safe.

Adrian’s final words continued to echo inside his head.

They found you.

Elias touched the pocket of his jacket.

The small black key was still there.

He had no idea what it opened.

He had no idea whether Adrian had told him the truth.

And he had no idea whether the people who had followed him were still searching.

But there was one thing Elias knew.

He couldn’t go home.

His apartment was no longer safe.

If those men had found him there once, they could find him again.

He continued walking until he reached an old bus stop.

The city was nearly empty.

He sat on the bench beneath the shelter and pulled out the piece of paper Adrian had given him.

There was only an address.

17 Veyron Estate Road.

Elias had heard of the place.

Everyone had.

The Veyron Estate had once been the most beautiful private residence in the city.

Years ago, it had belonged to Alexander Veyron.

Then, after his death, the property had been abandoned.

People said the house was cursed.

Some said servants had heard footsteps inside long after the family had left.

Others claimed that the previous owners had hidden millions of dollars beneath the estate.

There were even rumors that someone had died inside the house under mysterious circumstances.

Elias had never believed those stories.

Now he wasn’t so sure.

A bus approached.

He stood and climbed aboard.

There were only four passengers.

Elias sat at the back.

As the bus moved through the wet streets, he stared out the window.

The city he had known his entire life suddenly looked different.

Every building seemed to hold a secret.

Every stranger looked suspicious.

And every time he saw the name Veyron on a billboard or building, something strange happened inside his chest.

That name was his.

The realization still felt impossible.

He closed his eyes.

He remembered his childhood.

His mother holding his hand.

Her voice telling him to stay inside.

The nights when she would suddenly wake him and tell him they had to leave.

The different houses.

The different schools.

The different names.

At the time, Elias had thought his mother was simply afraid of losing him.

Now he wondered what she had been running from.

The bus finally stopped.

Elias stepped down.

The road ahead was dark and almost completely empty.

He walked for another twenty minutes.

Then he saw it.

Two enormous stone pillars stood at the entrance to a long private road.

The words engraved into the stone were barely visible beneath years of dirt.

VEYRON ESTATE.

Elias stopped.

For the first time in his life, he was standing at the place that had once belonged to his family.

He took a deep breath.

Then he walked through the gate.

The road seemed endless.

Trees stood on both sides, their branches moving gently in the wind.

At the end of the road stood a massive mansion.

Even in darkness, it was impressive.

The windows were broken in several places.

Ivy covered much of the walls.

The front doors were old and stained.

But beneath the decay, Elias could see what the house had once been.

Powerful.

Elegant.

Untouchable.

He approached the entrance.

The door was unlocked.

He pushed it open.

A cold wind passed through the hallway.

Dust covered the floor.

The furniture was covered with white sheets.

Portraits hung on the walls.

Elias raised his phone and turned on the flashlight.

He slowly moved forward.

Then he saw a portrait.

He stopped.

The man in the painting was Alexander Veyron.

His father.

Elias stared at the portrait.

For several seconds, he couldn’t move.

He had never seen his father before.

Yet somehow, looking at that face felt strangely familiar.

He stepped closer.

There was a small inscription beneath the painting.

Alexander Veyron — Founder and Chairman of Veyron Empire.

Elias touched the frame.

“I don’t know you,” he whispered.

“But apparently, you knew me.”

A noise came from upstairs.

Elias immediately turned.

Silence.

He waited.

Nothing.

Then another sound.

A soft creak.

Someone was walking.

Elias reached for the nearest object he could use as a weapon.

He found an old metal candle holder.

He held it tightly.

“Who’s there?”

No answer.

He slowly climbed the staircase.

Each step made a loud noise beneath his feet.

At the top was a long hallway.

Three doors stood on the left.

Two on the right.

At the end of the hallway was a large wooden door.

Something about it caught Elias’s attention.

There was a symbol carved into the wood.

A crown.

He walked toward it.

His hand reached for the handle.

Locked.

Elias remembered the key.

He pulled it from his pocket.

For a moment, he simply stared at it.

Then he inserted it into the lock.

Click.

The door opened.

Elias stepped inside.

The room was completely different from the rest of the house.

There was almost no dust.

A large desk stood in the center.

Bookshelves covered the walls.

Documents filled the shelves.

And directly behind the desk was another portrait of Alexander Veyron.

Elias approached the desk.

There was a leather folder on top.

His name was written across it.

ELIAS VEYRON.

His heart began beating faster.

He opened it.

Inside were documents.

His birth certificate.

Medical records.

Photographs.

Letters.

And one handwritten note.

Elias unfolded it.

The handwriting was unfamiliar.

But the words made his blood run cold.

If Elias is reading this, then I failed to protect him.

Elias stopped breathing.

He continued.

My son, if you are alive, there is something you must understand. Your greatest enemy is not outside this family. He is already inside it.

Elias read the sentence again.

Then again.

His hands trembled.

Who was the enemy?

He continued reading.

Do not trust the person who claims to love you. Do not trust the person who claims to protect you. The truth is hidden beneath the house.

The note ended with a single sentence.

Find the room beneath the throne.

Elias stared at the paper.

“The room beneath the throne?”

He looked around.

There was no throne.

Or at least, not that he could see.

He searched the room.

Nothing.

He opened drawers.

Nothing.

He checked the bookshelves.

Still nothing.

Then his eyes landed on the portrait.

The portrait of Alexander.

Elias walked toward it.

He examined the frame.

There was something unusual about the bottom corner.

A small metal switch.

He pressed it.

Click.

The bookshelf moved.

Elias jumped backward.

A narrow passage appeared behind it.

Darkness stretched into the wall.

He stared at the hidden entrance.

For a moment, fear told him to leave.

But curiosity won.

He stepped inside.

The passage was narrow.

Stone walls surrounded him.

There were old lamps along the walls, but none of them worked.

He used his phone flashlight.

After several minutes, the passage began to slope downward.

Then he heard something.

Water.

A slow dripping sound.

He continued.

At the bottom of the passage was a large underground chamber.

In the center stood a stone structure shaped like a throne.

Elias stared.

“The throne.”

He remembered the note.

Find the room beneath the throne.

He walked toward it.

There was a small metal plate beneath the throne.

It had the same crown symbol as the door upstairs.

Elias pressed it.

Nothing happened.

He pressed again.

Still nothing.

Then he noticed four letters engraved beneath the crown.

A V E E.

His father’s initials?

Alexander Veyron.

Elias touched the letters.

Suddenly, the stone floor moved.

A section opened.

A metal box rose from beneath the floor.

Elias stepped back.

His heartbeat was pounding.

He slowly approached the box.

There was no lock.

He opened it.

Inside were dozens of documents.

But one item immediately caught his attention.

A small photograph.

It showed three people.

Alexander Veyron.

A young woman Elias recognized immediately.

His mother.

And a third man.

Elias stared at the stranger.

There was something familiar about him.

Very familiar.

He turned the photograph over.

Three words had been written on the back.

The second son.

Elias frowned.

“Second son?”

His father had another son?

Before he could think further, his phone vibrated.

A message.

Unknown number.

You shouldn’t have gone there.

Elias froze.

Another message arrived.

Leave the estate immediately.

Then another.

They are already inside.

Elias slowly looked toward the entrance of the underground chamber.

Silence.

Then he heard footsteps.

Someone was coming down the passage.

Elias grabbed the documents.

He turned off his phone flashlight.

Darkness swallowed everything.

The footsteps grew louder.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

Elias pressed himself against the stone wall.

A shadow appeared at the end of the passage.

Someone was coming.

He held his breath.

The person entered the chamber.

Elias couldn’t see the face.

But he heard the voice.

A man’s voice.

Cold.

Calm.

Familiar.

“Come out, Elias.”

Elias’s blood ran cold.

The stranger knew his name.

“You have something that belongs to my family.”

Elias remained silent.

The man took another step.

“You don’t understand what you’re involved in.”

Elias looked down at the documents in his hand.

Then at the photograph.

Then back toward the stranger.

The man continued.

“Your father made a mistake twenty-six years ago.”

He paused.

“And now you’re about to make the same mistake.”

Elias’s eyes narrowed.

“Who are you?”

The man laughed quietly.

“You really don’t remember me?”

Elias stared into the darkness.

The voice was familiar.

But he couldn’t place it.

Then the man stepped into the faint light coming from the passage.

Elias’s eyes widened.

He knew that face.

Everyone in the city knew that face.

It was Lucian Veyron.

The man currently preparing to become the head of the Veyron Empire.

Lucian smiled.

“Hello, little brother.”

Elias couldn’t speak.

Little brother.

The words echoed inside his mind.

The photograph suddenly made sense.

The second son.

Lucian.

His brother.

But if Lucian was his brother…

Then why had he spent twenty-six years believing Elias was dead?

Lucian took another step.

“You’ve been searching for answers.”

Elias tightened his grip on the documents.

“And you’ve been hiding them.”

Lucian smiled.

“Not hiding.”

He looked around the underground chamber.

“Protecting them.”

“From who?”

Lucian’s smile disappeared.

“From you.”

Silence.

Elias felt anger rising inside him.

“You knew I was alive.”

“Yes.”

“All these years?”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you find me?”

Lucian stared at him.

“Because I wanted to know what kind of man you would become.”

Elias stepped forward.

“You sent those men after me.”

Lucian didn’t deny it.

“I sent them to bring you here.”

“They tried to kill me.”

“No.”

Lucian’s expression became cold.

“They were instructed not to kill you.”

Elias laughed bitterly.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I don’t care what you believe.”

Lucian looked at the documents.

“Give them to me.”

“No.”

For the first time, anger appeared in Lucian’s eyes.

“Elias.”

“You’re not taking anything.”

Lucian stepped forward.

Then suddenly, a loud explosion came from somewhere above them.

The entire chamber shook.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

Lucian looked toward the passage.

His expression changed.

“What was that?”

Another explosion.

This time, much closer.

Elias stared at him.

Lucian grabbed his arm.

“We need to leave.”

Elias pulled away.

“Why should I trust you?”

“You shouldn’t.”

Lucian looked directly into his eyes.

“But if you stay here, both of us will die.”

A third explosion shook the mansion.

The lights suddenly came on.

Red emergency lights illuminated the underground chamber.

A siren began to scream.

Lucian looked toward the entrance.

“They’re here.”

Elias swallowed.

“Who?”

Lucian’s expression was darker than Elias had ever seen.

“The people who killed our father.”

For the first time that night, Elias realized something terrifying.

Maybe Lucian wasn’t his greatest enemy.

Maybe the real enemy had been watching both brothers from the shadows all along.

And if that was true, then the mystery surrounding the Veyron family was far bigger than Elias had imagined.

Lucian grabbed the documents.

Elias held on.

Neither brother released them.

Then a voice echoed through the passage.

“Neither of you is leaving this house alive.”

Elias and Lucian looked at each other.

For the first time in twenty-six years, the two brothers stood together.

Not as family.

Not yet.

But as two men who had just discovered that someone wanted them both dead.

And somewhere above them, the doors of the Veyron Estate began to burn.