The Heir
872 Words
Arya drove through the city without knowing where she was going.
Her father's life had been a secret for fifteen years.
She had protected that secret because it was the only thing her mother had left her with.
A promise.
A warning.
And a name.
She pulled into an underground parking garage and switched off the engine.
For a moment, she simply sat there.
Then her phone vibrated.
A message.
Come alone.
Below it was an address.
Arya stared at the screen.
She knew the place.
An abandoned warehouse on the eastern edge of the city.
It had once belonged to the Vale family.
The same place her father had disappeared from fifteen years ago.
Someone wanted her there.
And they knew about her father.
She should have called Adrian.
The thought irritated her immediately.
No.
She couldn't depend on him.
Not after everything.
Arya stepped out of the car.
She reached beneath her jacket and touched the small blade strapped to her thigh.
She had learned long ago that survival required preparation.
Then she drove toward the warehouse.
---
Adrian's car stopped outside his parents' mansion.
He barely waited for the driver to open the door before walking inside.
His mother was waiting in the drawing room.
His father stood beside the fireplace.
The older man's expression was cold.
"Where is she?" Adrian asked.
His father looked at him.
"Who?"
"Don't play games."
Adrian threw the document onto the table.
"Where is Arya?"
His father's eyes dropped to the paper.
For the first time, fear appeared in his expression.
"You found out."
"Everything?"
"No."
"Then start talking."
His father poured himself a drink.
"The Vales were dangerous."
"That's what you've always told me."
"They were powerful."
"So were we."
"They were different."
Adrian stepped closer.
"How?"
His father didn't answer.
His mother finally spoke.
"The Vale family controlled more than businesses."
Adrian turned toward her.
"What did they control?"
"The Blackwood empire was built from theirs."
Silence.
Adrian stared at her.
His father slammed his glass onto the table.
"Enough."
"No," Adrian said coldly. "Not anymore."
His mother continued.
"Fifteen years ago, your father betrayed them."
Adrian looked at his father.
"You destroyed the Vales?"
His father said nothing.
"Did you kill them?"
Still nothing.
Adrian's fists tightened.
"Did you kill Arya's family?"
His father's expression hardened.
"We did what was necessary."
Adrian took a step back.
For the first time in his life, he looked at his father as though he were a stranger.
"And Arya?"
His mother lowered her eyes.
"She was supposed to die with them."
Adrian's blood ran cold.
"But she survived."
"Yes."
"How?"
His father looked at him.
"Because someone helped her escape."
Adrian's mind raced.
All those years.
All those nights Arya had sat quietly beside him.
All those times she had looked at his family without saying a word.
She had known.
Perhaps she had known everything.
And yet she had never exposed them.
"Why did she marry me?" he asked.
His mother swallowed.
"Because she needed access to the Blackwood family."
Adrian closed his eyes.
It should have angered him.
Instead, he remembered Arya standing at his door.
Her calm voice.
Her tired eyes.
The way she had said she was leaving.
For the first time, he understood something.
She hadn't left because she hated him.
She had left because she had finally stopped waiting for him to choose her.
His phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Adrian Blackwood?"
"Who is this?"
"You need to find your wife."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Where is she?"
"That's the problem."
The caller laughed quietly.
"She has gone to the place where your family buried the truth."
The line went dead.
Adrian immediately called his security chief.
"Find Arya."
"We're already trying."
"Don't try."
His voice became dangerously cold.
"Find her."
---
The warehouse was darker than Arya remembered.
She stepped inside cautiously.
Dust covered the floor.
Broken windows allowed thin strips of moonlight to enter.
"Hello?"
Her voice echoed.
No answer.
Then a light switched on.
A man stepped from the shadows.
Arya stopped.
She knew him.
Her face went pale.
"You."
The man smiled.
"Welcome home, Arya."
She slowly reached for the blade beneath her coat.
"You told me my father was dead."
"I lied."
"Where is he?"
The man's smile disappeared.
"Alive."
Arya's heart slammed against her ribs.
"Take me to him."
"Not so fast."
He stepped closer.
"You have something we need."
"What?"
"The Blackwood inheritance."
Arya frowned.
"I don't have it."
"You do."
He pointed at her.
"You just don't know where it is."
Before Arya could respond, headlights suddenly flooded the warehouse through the broken windows.
Several vehicles screeched to a stop outside.
The man's face changed.
Arya turned toward the entrance.
A familiar figure stepped from the first car.
Adrian.
Her heart dropped.
He had followed her.
And judging from the armed men surrounding him, he hadn't come alone.
Adrian's eyes found hers.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then his gaze shifted to the man standing behind her.
His expression became lethal.
"Step away from my wife."
Arya's heart skipped.
My wife.
After everything...
He still called her that.
And she hated how much those two words affected her.
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