Chapter 14: The Second Heir
899 Words
Silence settled over the apartment.
Nathan Blackwood stared at the scorched photograph in his trembling hands.
One little boy was unmistakably him.
The other child's face had been deliberately torn away.
On the back, the words still seemed to burn into his mind.
"You were never the only heir."
Lena Brooks stepped closer.
"Nathan..."
He barely heard her.
"My father never mentioned another child."
Margaret Brooks lowered her eyes.
"Because he was trying to protect him."
Nathan looked at her sharply.
"You knew?"
Margaret nodded slowly.
"I knew there was another boy."
"But I never learned what happened to him."
---
Nathan placed the photograph carefully on the table.
"You said you tried to save him."
Margaret took a deep breath.
"The fire spread much faster than anyone expected."
"I found you unconscious near the staircase."
"Aaron told me to take you outside."
"He said he would go back for the other child."
Her voice broke.
"But before he could..."
"The ceiling collapsed."
Lena reached for her mother's hand.
"You've blamed yourself all these years."
Margaret nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"I couldn't save everyone."
Nathan's eyes softened.
"You saved me."
"If you hadn't..."
"I wouldn't be standing here today."
For the first time in years, some of the guilt lifted from Margaret's heart.
---
At Blackwood Mansion...
Victor Blackwood sat alone in his private study.
He opened an old cedar chest that had remained locked for fifteen years.
Inside were children's drawings, birthday cards, and family photographs.
His hand stopped on one picture.
It showed two boys laughing in the garden.
Nathan...
And another child with bright eyes and a wide smile.
Victor whispered,
"I failed both of you."
A knock interrupted him.
Mrs. Eleanor Hayes entered quietly.
"Sir..."
"Mr. Nathan has begun asking questions."
Victor closed the chest.
"I expected this day."
Mrs. Hayes hesitated.
"Will you finally tell him everything?"
Victor stared at the fire burning in the fireplace.
"No."
"Not yet."
"Because if he learns the truth too soon..."
"He'll walk straight into a trap."
---
Across the city...
Inside the Sterling Group headquarters...
Richard Sterling poured himself a glass of water.
Victoria stood across from him.
"I don't understand."
"Why does this second heir matter?"
Richard looked at her seriously.
"Because if he is alive..."
"The Blackwood inheritance changes completely."
Victoria frowned.
"You mean Nathan might lose everything?"
Richard nodded.
"And whoever finds the second heir first..."
"Will control the future of the Blackwood Empire."
Victoria's eyes slowly widened.
Then a smile spread across her face.
"I'll find him before Nathan does."
Richard didn't smile.
"Be careful."
"The people hiding him have already killed once."
---
The following morning...
Nathan invited Lena to accompany him back to the burned estate.
"I think we missed something."
The police had already removed the barricades.
Ash still covered the ground.
The air smelled of smoke and damp earth.
Lena wandered toward what had once been the garden.
Near a broken stone fountain...
She noticed something glinting beneath the dirt.
"Nathan."
He hurried over.
"What is it?"
She brushed away the soil.
A small silver locket emerged.
Its chain had almost rusted away.
Nathan carefully opened it.
Inside were two tiny photographs.
One showed his parents.
The other showed...
Two little boys.
Nathan recognized himself immediately.
The second child wore a necklace with a tiny compass pendant.
On the inside of the locket were engraved four words:
"Brothers Beyond Blood."
Nathan frowned.
"Brothers?"
Lena looked puzzled.
"They don't look alike."
"No..."
Nathan replied quietly.
"But my parents never used those words carelessly."
---
As they searched further, Lena noticed footprints.
Fresh footprints.
Someone had visited the ruins recently.
"They're not ours."
Nathan knelt beside them.
"The rain ended last night."
"These were made this morning."
Someone had been there only hours earlier.
He followed the tracks around the back of the ruins.
They ended near an old oak tree.
Carved into the trunk was a symbol.
A wolf.
Exactly like the wolf engraved on Lena's silver coin.
Nathan touched the carving.
"It's the same mark."
Suddenly...
He heard an engine start.
A black SUV sped away from the far side of the property.
Nathan ran after it.
"Stop!"
The vehicle disappeared onto the highway.
But something fluttered from its open window.
A folded piece of paper.
Nathan picked it up.
It contained only an address.
Ravenhill Children's Home.
Below it was a handwritten message.
"The child you're looking for remembers only one name."
Nathan looked at Lena.
"We're going."
---
Far away...
Hidden inside an old stone church...
A young man in his late twenties carefully swept the floor.
Around his neck hung a tiny compass pendant.
The same one from the locket.
An elderly priest approached him.
"Daniel."
The young man looked up.
"Yes, Father?"
The priest handed him a sealed envelope.
"It arrived this morning."
Daniel opened it.
Inside was only one sentence.
"The Blackwoods have started searching for you."
Daniel's face turned pale.
He looked down at the compass pendant around his neck.
A memory flashed through his mind.
Fire.
Smoke.
A man lifting him through a window.
Then darkness.
He whispered to himself,
"I don't even know who I really am."
Outside the church...
An unfamiliar black car watched from across the street.
Its driver picked up a phone.
"I've found him."
"The second heir is alive."
End of Chapter 14
By Jasmine
- Writer
