Ashes Of The Hidden Heir

The Debt Is Due

CHAPTER TWO

Kael’s Aston Martin roared through the rain-soaked streets of Blackhaven City, weaving between cars with reckless precision. Behind, horns blared but he never looked back – his eyes were fixed on the road ahead, the frightening phone call ringing in his ears. They took her… Every second was an hour. He called Lena again. Voice mail. He tried again. Voice mail. By the fifteenth call, his chest felt as if it were bound by chains. She promised to stay inside and she listened. But still, someone had gotten to her.

At the end of the street the apartment building finally flashed with blue lights. Police tape blocked the door, and frightened neighbors huddled under umbrellas, whispering to each other. Kael slammed the brakes and jumped out before the engine shut off.

A policeman stood in front of him. “Sir, this is an active crime scene.

My fiancée lives here.

"I'm sorry, nobody is allowed in."

Kael lost his patience. He pushed past the policeman and hurried to the entrance.

"Sir!" Another officer went for his arm. Kael twisted free in one smooth movement without hurting the man, and continued up the staircase two steps at a time.

The hallway on the fourth floor was a war zone. Lena's apartment door was torn from its hinges and broken glass crunched beneath his shoes as he stepped inside. His heart fell. The lounge was a mess – the coffee table was split in two, cushions were cut open and family pictures were strewn across the floor. One frame was cracked right across Lena’s smiling face.

Lena?” He got silence in reply.

He went into every room. The kitchen was deserted. The mattress had been turned in the bedroom, the wardrobe doors left open. Then he went into the nursery. The walls were still a pale cream color with little stars in one corner where Lena had insisted the baby would love them. The crib they'd built together was on its side, one rail broken clean in two.

Kael knelt down slowly. There was a tiny knitted baby sock near the crib—Lena had said when she bought it that it was too small to fit a real child. He extended a trembling hand to take it. The wood floor was darkly stained nearby. Blood. His breath began to come in ragged gasps.

“No..

“It isn’t hers,” said a cool voice at his back.

Kael whirled around. In the doorway was a tall man in a dark overcoat. His sharp grey eyes took in the room.

“Detective Elias Mercer.

"I don't care who you are.

"I think you ought to." Mercer ducked inside, not wanting to step on the evidence markers. One of the attackers has the blood. “Three different blood samples were found by our forensic team.”

Kael felt a flicker of hope. "Then she is alive?"

Mercer was truthful. "We don't know." And I ain't gonna lie to you. He squatted down next to the broken crib. The person who took Miss Okoye was not after the valuables. “They came after her.” He looked straight at Kael. "Meaning they weren't chasing after her.

“They were after me.

The detective did not speak. His silence said it all.

Before Kael could say anything else, a small voice came from the hallway. " “Mr.

A little girl peeked around the doorway, clutching a worn teddy bear. She couldn't have been older than eight. A female officer gently encouraged her forward.

"This is Mia," Mercer explained quietly. "She lives next door."

Kael knelt until they were eye level. "Were you the one who called me?"

The little girl nodded, tears filling her eyes. "I was hiding."

"You were very brave."

Her lower lip trembled. "I heard Aunty Lena scream."

Kael swallowed hard. “What was it?”

"They knocked first." She squeezed the teddy bear tighter. "When she didn't open, they broke the door."

"Were there many of them?"

"Four." She hesitated before continuing. "One of them told the others not to hurt the baby."

Kael's heartbeat stopped. "They knew she was pregnant?"

Mia nodded. "They kept saying… 'The boss wants her alive.'"

Mercer exchanged a quick glance with Kael. That detail changed everything. The kidnappers hadn't acted out of panic — everything had been planned, down to every movement, every word, every escape route.

Kael stood abruptly. "I need to leave."

Mercer folded his arms. "Where?"

"I know who's behind this."

"Do you?"

Kael didn't answer, because he wasn't sure. He only knew one thing: this wasn't a random kidnapping. Someone had declared war on the Ashcroft family, and Lena had become the battlefield.

As he reached the apartment door, Mercer spoke again. "Mr. Ashcroft." Kael stopped. "If you're hiding something…" the detective's voice remained calm, "…tell me now."

Kael looked back. Rain drummed against the shattered windows, and blue police lights reflected across the broken glass.

"I wish I knew enough to hide it."

Then he walked away. Behind him, Detective Mercer watched in silence. Years of investigating organized crime had taught him one lesson: men only looked that terrified when they knew the nightmare was just beginning.

The drive back to Blackthorn Estate passed in a blur. Kael barely noticed the rain beating against the windshield or the city lights disappearing behind him. His thoughts were consumed by Lena's frightened face and Mia's words. *The boss wants her alive. * Whoever had taken her hadn't come to kill — they had come to bargain, or to punish. Neither possibility brought him any comfort.

Blackthorn Estate stood in complete silence when he arrived. The gates opened immediately; someone had been expecting him. Inside the mansion, Victor Romano was already waiting at the entrance hall.

"You took longer than expected," Victor said.

"The police delayed me."

"They'll become a problem."

"They're the least of my problems."

Victor nodded toward the study. "He's waiting." Kael didn't need to ask who.

Damien Ashcroft stood beside the fireplace exactly as he had the night before, a glass of whiskey untouched in his hand. Several photographs were spread across his desk alongside maps, surveillance reports, and satellite images. He looked up as Kael entered.

"Did you find her?"

"Not."

"What did you find?"

Kael tossed Lena's engagement ring onto the desk. Damien glanced at it before returning his attention to his son.

"So they left you a message."

"They left you a message." Kael stepped closer. "They knew Lena was pregnant."

A flicker crossed Damien's face, gone almost as quickly as it appeared. "They're sending a signal."

"They kidnapped an innocent woman."

"No." Damien's voice remained steady. "They kidnapped the woman carrying my heir."

Kael slammed both hands onto the desk. "Stop talking about my child like it's another asset!"

The room was silent. Victor wisely remained near the door. Damien slowly set his glass down.

"You still refuse to understand."

"And you refuse to care."

"I care more than you know."

Kael laughed bitterly. "You've got a strange way of showing it."

Damien walked around the desk until they stood face-to-face. "Do you think you're the first Ashcroft to fall in love?"

Kael said nothing.

"Every generation makes the same mistake."

"What mistake?"

"Believing enemies fight fairly."

Victor broke the silence. "We've identified the symbol found on one of the kidnappers." He placed a photograph on the desk — a silver serpent coiled around a dagger.

Kael stared at it. "I've seen this before."

Damien answered without looking at the picture. "The Serpent Circle."

"I thought you destroyed them."

"So did everyone else."

Victor opened another file. "Our contacts confirmed the symbol hasn't appeared in over two decades."

Kael frowned. " "So why now?"

No one answered. Instead, Victor produced a sealed black envelope. "It arrived twenty minutes ago. There was no courier — it was left on the front gate."

Damien opened the envelope. Inside was a single sheet of paper with five words typed across the center: *Your debt is finally due.* Nothing else. No signature, no ransom demand, no instructions.

Kael looked from the letter to his father. "What debt?"

Damien folded the paper carefully. "The kind that never disappears."

Before Kael could press him further, one of the estate guards hurried into the study. "Sir."

Damien turned. “What is that?”

"We captured someone watching the eastern wall."

Victor's posture stiffened. "Alive?"

"Yes,"

"Bring him downstairs."

The underground holding room smelled of damp concrete and rusted steel. A single light bulb swayed gently above a man tied to a metal chair. His clothes were soaked from the rain, and blood stained the corner of his mouth. Yet he smiled when Damien entered.

"So…" His voice was rough but amused. "The king finally leaves his throne."

Damien remained standing. "Who sent you?"

The prisoner chuckled. "You already know."

"The Serpent Circle?"

"The name still frightens people."

"It doesn't frighten me."

"No." The man tilted his head. "It haunts you."

Victor stepped forward. "Where is Lena Okoye?"

The prisoner ignored him completely. Instead, he looked at Kael. "So… you're the son."

Kael tightened his jaw. "If you've touched her—"

"You ask the wrong questions." The prisoner laughed softly. "You should be asking your father what happened twenty-six years ago."

Kael turned toward Damien. His father remained expressionless.

"What is he talking about?"

Damien didn't answer.

The prisoner's smile widened. "He never told you?"

"Told me what?"

"That the Ashcroft empire wasn't built." His eyes locked onto Kael's. "It was stolen."

The words struck the room like a gunshot. Victor stepped forward angrily. "Enough." The prisoner ignored him.

"Your father buried an entire family to become king."

Kael looked back at Damien. For the first time in his life, his father looked away first.

Before anyone could speak again, the prisoner suddenly bit down hard. Victor lunged toward him. "No!" Too late. A hidden poison capsule cracked between the prisoner's teeth. Foam gathered at his lips, and within seconds his body went limp. Dead.

Silence settled over the room. Their only witness was gone. Victor cursed under his breath. Kael stared at the lifeless body, his thoughts racing — everything he believed about his family suddenly felt uncertain.

Damien closed the prisoner's eyes himself. Then he spoke. "Prepare the vehicles."

Kael looked at him. "We're going after Lena."

Damien shook his head. "No. We're going to finish something that should have ended years ago."

Victor frowned. "The cathedral?"

Damien nodded once. "They've chosen the battlefield." He looked straight at Kael. "You wanted the truth." His voice grew colder. "Be careful what you ask for."

Miles away, beneath the crumbling ruins of Saint Gabriel Cathedral, Lena sat alone inside a candlelit chamber. Her wrists were still bound, but no one had harmed her. The masked leader entered quietly, carrying an old leather folder. He stopped in front of her and removed a faded photograph. It showed a much younger Damien Ashcroft standing beside another man — both were smiling, both wore the same silver serpent emblem on their jackets.

Lena frowned. "They were friends?"

The masked man didn't answer immediately. He placed the photograph gently into her hands.

"No." His voice echoed through the underground chamber. "They were brothers."

Lena's eyes widened. Before she could speak, footsteps echoed through the cathedral above. The masked man smiled for the first time.

"They're here."

He extinguished the final candle, and darkness swallowed the room. Somewhere overhead, the heavy cathedral doors groaned open.