Chapter 5:The Thirteenth Name
902 Words
The explosion above them shook the underground chamber with terrifying force.
Chunks of stone crashed onto the floor.
The emergency lights flickered, painting the walls in a deep crimson glow.
"Move!" Elena shouted.
She grabbed Adrien's wrist just as a heavy beam crashed where he had been standing seconds earlier.
Smoke poured through the ceiling.
The ancient chamber groaned as if it were waking from a nightmare buried for decades.
"This way," Adrien said.
He remembered the tunnels.
His grandfather had once forced him to memorize every hidden passage beneath Aurora Club. At the time, it had seemed like another lesson for a privileged heir.
Now it was the only reason they were still alive.
They sprinted through a narrow stone corridor until they reached an old iron staircase leading into the abandoned wine cellar.
When they finally emerged, chaos had consumed the club.
Guests screamed.
Security guards rushed in every direction.
Crystal chandeliers swayed above the ballroom.
The body that had been lying in the center of the dance floor...
...was gone.
Elena froze.
"The victim..."
Adrien scanned the room.
"No blood."
"What?"
She looked down.
The polished marble floor had been cleaned.
Only a single crimson rose remained.
As if the murder had never happened.
---
Two hours later...
Police officers searched every inch of Aurora Club.
Nothing.
No corpse.
No fingerprints.
No security footage.
Every camera had stopped recording exactly twelve minutes before the explosion.
Captain Holloway slammed his fist onto the conference table.
"This is impossible!"
Elena remained calm.
"No."
She placed the Blood Oath journal on the table.
"It's planned."
Every officer turned toward the journal.
Captain Holloway opened it.
His face drained of color.
"Where did you find this?"
"In the underground chamber."
"You shouldn't have brought it here."
Elena narrowed her eyes.
"You've seen this before."
Silence.
The Captain slowly closed the journal.
"I hoped it had been destroyed."
Adrien leaned forward.
"You know what the Aurora Circle is."
"I know enough to tell you both to stop digging."
"People are dying."
"And more people will die if you keep asking questions."
Without another word, Holloway walked out.
The room fell silent.
Elena stared after him.
"He knows everything."
Adrien nodded.
"And he's terrified."
---
That evening, Elena returned to her apartment.
She checked every room.
Locked every window.
Loaded her service pistol.
Only then did she allow herself to breathe.
A soft knock echoed through the apartment.
She opened the door.
Adrien stood outside.
His tie was loose.
Dark circles framed his eyes.
"I brought dinner."
She looked at the paper bag in his hand.
"You think food fixes serial killers?"
"No."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"But it helps detectives think."
For the first time in days...
Elena smiled back.
Not because the world felt safer.
But because she wasn't carrying its weight alone anymore.
They ate in silence.
Comfortable silence.
The kind that didn't demand explanations.
Adrien's phone vibrated.
His expression changed the moment he read the message.
"What is it?" Elena asked.
He turned the screen toward her.
One sentence.
You're next, Mr. Vale. Come home before midnight. Come alone.
No number.
No sender.
Only the image of a black raven beneath the message.
"I can't let you go alone," Elena said.
"You won't."
"You think I'm staying behind?"
"I think whoever sent this expects you to follow me."
She folded her arms.
"They're right."
Adrien sighed.
"I was afraid you'd say that."
---
Just before midnight, a black luxury sedan stopped outside the Vale Estate.
The mansion rose above the cliffs overlooking Blackridge, its stone walls disappearing into thick fog.
Every window was dark.
Every gate stood open.
As though someone had been waiting for them.
The silence felt unnatural.
Even the wind refused to move.
Elena stepped out of the car.
"We're not alone."
Adrien looked toward the fountain.
Fresh rose petals floated across the water.
A trail of them led to the mansion's front door.
Someone had arranged them deliberately.
Like an invitation.
Or a warning.
The massive doors creaked open on their own.
Inside, candles illuminated the grand hall.
At the center of the marble floor rested an antique wooden chair.
A woman was tied to it.
Her head hung forward.
Dark hair covered her face.
"Lily!" Elena ran toward her.
Just before she reached the chair, Adrien grabbed her arm.
"Wait."
"What are you doing?"
"Look at the floor."
She looked down.
Thin silver wires stretched across the marble, almost invisible in the candlelight.
One more step...
...and she would have triggered them.
Adrien carefully followed the wires with his eyes.
They disappeared beneath the chair.
Attached to a small metal device.
A bomb.
Elena's heart pounded.
Someone had turned her sister into bait.
Then, from somewhere high above the grand staircase, slow applause echoed through the mansion.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
A tall figure dressed in black stepped into the candlelight.
His face remained hidden behind a raven mask.
"You've impressed me," he said calmly.
His voice filled the silent hall.
"But every game must become more difficult."
He lifted a small silver pocket watch.
It began to tick.
Five minutes.
The masked man smiled.
"You may save the woman..."
His gaze shifted from Elena to Adrien.
"...or uncover the truth."
He snapped the watch shut.
"You don't have enough time to do both."
The mansion doors slammed shut behind them.
The countdown had begun.
- Writer
