Chapter 4 — The Date on the Wall
1645 Words
Elena did not sleep that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the photograph.
The dark-haired woman.
The silver crescent necklace.
The strange date written beneath the missing portrait.
1887.
It kept running through her mind.
Who was that woman?
Why did she look so much like her?
And why did Alaric sound afraid when he talked about her?
Elena sat on the edge of her bed and looked at the photograph again.
Mia had gone home two hours earlier after making Elena promise not to investigate anything else.
That promise had lasted exactly eleven minutes.
Elena picked up her laptop.
“Just one search,” she whispered.
She typed the date.
1887 Elena Rose
Nothing useful appeared.
She tried another search.
1887 silver crescent necklace
Hundreds of old photographs and articles appeared.
None of them mattered.
Then she remembered the name.
Alaric Vane.
She searched him again.
This time, she added the date.
Alaric Vane 1887
The results loaded.
There was a single article.
It was from an old digital archive of historical newspapers.
The title was simple.
WEALTHY FAMILY DISAPPEARS AFTER WINTER ESTATE FIRE
Elena clicked it.
The article was more than a century old.
According to the report, a large estate outside the city had burned down in February 1887.
The owner was a man named—
Elena stopped breathing.
Alaric Vane.
She read the rest.
The article said the twenty-nine-year-old owner had disappeared after the fire.
No body had been found.
No family members had been found either.
Elena stared at the screen.
Twenty-nine.
The same age Alaric appeared to be now.
She scrolled.
A second article appeared.
MYSTERIOUS HEIR RETURNS TO CITY
The date was 1894.
Elena frowned.
The article described a wealthy businessman named Alaric Vane returning to the city after several years away.
His age was listed as twenty-nine.
Exactly twenty-nine.
Seven years had passed.
He hadn't aged.
Elena's stomach tightened.
“That isn't possible.”
She kept searching.
1905.
Another article.
ALRIC VANE OPENS NEW BANK
Twenty-nine.
1918.
ALRIC VANE INVESTS IN RAILWAY COMPANY
Twenty-nine.
1936.
BUSINESSMAN ALRIC VANE DONATES TO HOSPITAL
Twenty-nine.
1962.
VANE FAMILY OPENS NEW HOTEL
Twenty-nine.
1981.
Twenty-nine.
2003.
Twenty-nine.
2026.
Still twenty-nine.
Elena leaned away from the laptop.
Her hands felt cold.
She had spent the last few days convincing herself that something strange was happening.
Now she had proof that something was very wrong.
Her phone buzzed.
A message.
Unknown Number — Stop searching.
Elena stared at it.
Then another message arrived.
Unknown Number — You don't know what you're looking for.
She quickly locked her phone.
Her heart raced.
Someone was watching her.
The room suddenly felt too quiet.
She looked toward the windows.
The curtains moved slightly.
Elena stood.
“Who's there?”
Nothing.
She walked slowly toward the window.
She pulled the curtain aside.
The street below was almost empty.
A taxi passed.
A man walked beneath an umbrella.
Nothing unusual.
She closed the curtains.
Then she heard a soft knock.
Not at the front door.
At her bedroom window.
Elena froze.
The window was closed.
She heard it again.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
She stepped backward.
Then her phone rang.
Alaric.
She answered immediately.
“How did you know?”
“I know what you're doing.”
His voice was calm, but there was a sharp edge beneath it.
“Elaborate.”
“You searched the old records.”
“Yes.”
“You shouldn't have.”
“You knew this would happen, didn't you?”
“I suspected something.”
“You've known about me before we even met.”
“I suspected something.”
“You paid my hospital bill.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my mother.”
Another silence.
Elena's eyes widened.
“You did.”
“Not exactly.”
“That's not an answer.”
“No.”
“Then give me one.”
Alaric breathed slowly.
“Meet me tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“Vane Tower.”
Elena hesitated.
“Why?”
“Because there are things I can explain there.”
“Will you finally tell me the truth?”
“I'll tell you what I can.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means some answers are dangerous.”
Elena frowned.
“I can handle the truth.”
“I know.”
His voice became quieter.
“That is what worries me.”
The call ended.
Elena stared at the screen.
She should have been angry.
Instead, she felt strangely calm.
Maybe because she finally had a chance to get answers.
The next morning, she dressed simply.
A cream sweater.
Black trousers.
Her long brown hair fell over her shoulders.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
She still looked tired from the accident, but her face was soft and pretty, and the small crescent necklace rested against her neck.
She touched it.
Then she remembered her mother's voice.
Never take it off.
The memory was getting stronger.
A woman holding her.
A large room.
Fireplace.
Rain against windows.
And a man standing far away.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
Watching.
Elena's breath caught.
Alaric.
She couldn't see his face clearly.
But she knew it was him.
A car was waiting outside.
Alaric had sent a driver.
Elena almost refused.
Then she remembered the photograph.
She got in.
Vane Tower was the tallest building in the city.
Its black glass walls reflected the cloudy sky.
The lobby was enormous.
People moved quickly across polished floors.
Executives walked through security.
Assistants spoke quietly into phones.
Elena felt out of place immediately.
A woman in a dark suit approached her.
“Miss Rose?”
“Yes.”
“Mr. Vane is expecting you.”
She led Elena toward a private elevator.
The doors opened without anyone touching them.
Inside, Elena looked at the control panel.
There were no buttons.
The elevator simply moved.
Up.
Fast.
Too fast.
Elena frowned.
The woman beside her remained completely calm.
“What floor are we going to?”
“The top.”
Elena looked at the numbers.
There were no floor numbers.
Only a small silver symbol.
A crescent around a crown.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
Alaric stood waiting.
For a moment, Elena forgot what she wanted to say.
He looked impossibly handsome in a dark suit, his black hair neatly styled, his expression calm.
But today, something was different.
He looked tired.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
“Elena.”
She stepped out.
“You said you would explain.”
“I will.”
He led her through a long hallway.
The walls were covered with paintings.
Elena walked past one.
Then stopped.
It showed a woman beside a fountain.
The same woman from the photograph.
Her heart slammed against her chest.
“That's her.”
Alaric stopped.
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
He looked at the painting.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Finally, he answered.
“Her name was Isabel Rose.”
Elena felt her knees weaken.
“Rose?”
“Yes.”
“My mother?”
“No.”
“Then who was she?”
Alaric looked at Elena.
“Your grandmother.”
Elena stared at him.
“That makes no sense.”
“Your grandmother was born in 1863.”
Elena shook her head.
“My grandmother died before I was born.”
“Yes.”
“How could she possibly look that young?”
Alaric's face remained serious.
“Because she didn't age normally.”
Elena stepped closer.
“Who was she?”
Before he could answer, a strange sound came from somewhere behind the walls.
A low vibration.
Alaric's expression changed immediately.
He turned toward the hallway.
“Stay here.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You're lying.”
“Elena.”
His voice suddenly carried an authority that made her stop.
He walked away.
Elena watched him disappear around the corner.
Then she heard voices.
Two men.
One of them said something she couldn't hear clearly.
The other answered.
“She remembers.”
Elena's blood ran cold.
She moved toward the hallway.
Their voices became clearer.
“Then we don't have much time.”
“What about the king?”
“He will protect her.”
A pause.
“That is exactly what we want.”
Elena covered her mouth.
The king?
She stepped backward.
Her heel hit something.
A small wooden table shook.
A glass vase nearly fell.
Elena caught it just in time.
The voices stopped.
She looked toward the hallway.
Alaric appeared.
His expression was completely different now.
Cold.
Powerful.
Dangerous.
“Who told you to come here?”
“No one.”
“Elena.”
“I heard them.”
He walked toward her.
“What did you hear?”
“They called you the king.”
Silence.
Elena stared directly into his eyes.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Alaric looked away.
He knew.
There was no way to hide it anymore.
“You wanted the truth,” he said quietly.
Elena swallowed.
“Yes.”
Alaric turned toward the huge windows overlooking the city.
“I am not who you think I am.”
Elena waited.
His voice was steady.
“I have lived for a very long time.”
“How long?”
He looked back at her.
“Longer than your history books can explain.”
Elena's heart pounded.
“And the king?”
His eyes changed.
For the briefest moment, a deep red glow appeared inside them.
“I am the Vampire King.”
Elena couldn't move.
The world seemed to become completely silent.
Alaric watched her carefully.
He had seen humans react with fear before.
But Elena didn't run.
She didn't scream.
She simply stared at him.
And then she asked the one question he had never expected.
“Then why did you choose me?”
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