Chapter 16: Midnight At Greybridge Station
869 Words
The note lay between Nathan Blackwood and Lena Brooks.
> "If you want to save Daniel, come alone to Greybridge Station at midnight."
The words seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.
Lena looked up first.
"You can't seriously be thinking of going alone."
Nathan folded the note and slipped it into his coat pocket.
"If Daniel is alive, whoever sent this message knows where he is."
"They also know you'll do anything to protect him," Lena replied.
"That's exactly why it's a trap."
Nathan met her eyes.
"I've spent fifteen years searching for answers. I'm not turning back now."
Lena shook her head.
"Then I'm coming with you."
"No."
"I'm not asking for permission."
Nathan smiled despite the tension.
"You've always been stubborn."
"And you've always been terrible at facing danger alone."
For a brief moment, they both laughed.
It was the first genuine laugh they had shared in days.
---
Back at Blackwood Mansion, Victor Blackwood stood in the library, staring at the old family portrait hanging above the fireplace.
Mrs. Eleanor Hayes entered quietly.
"Sir... Nathan has gone to Greybridge Station."
Victor closed his eyes.
"So the invitation finally came."
Mrs. Hayes looked confused.
"You knew about it?"
Victor nodded.
"I prayed it never would."
He opened a drawer and removed an old revolver.
Mrs. Hayes gasped.
"I haven't touched this since the night of the fire."
He slipped it into a leather case.
"It's time to finish what should have ended fifteen years ago."
---
Across the city...
Richard Sterling sat in his office while Victoria paced nervously.
"He's going to Greybridge," she said.
Richard remained calm.
"Good."
Victoria frowned.
"You wanted him to go?"
"I wanted him to choose."
Richard stood and walked toward the window.
"The truth is like a locked door."
"The only way to open it..."
"...is to tempt someone into turning the key."
Victoria looked uneasy.
"What if he finds Daniel?"
Richard's face darkened.
"Then everything we've protected will collapse."
---
The old clock above Greybridge Station struck midnight.
The station had been abandoned for years.
Broken benches lined the empty platform.
Rust covered the railway tracks.
The wind whistled through shattered windows.
Nathan arrived alone.
Or at least...
He wanted everyone to think he was alone.
Hidden across the street, Lena watched from behind an abandoned ticket booth.
She had ignored Nathan's instructions.
She couldn't let him face whatever waited there by himself.
Nathan stepped onto Platform Three.
"I'm here!"
His voice echoed through the empty station.
"I came alone!"
For several seconds...
Nothing happened.
Then...
A single light flickered inside an old train carriage.
The door slowly opened.
A man stepped out.
He wore a dark coat and a wide-brimmed hat.
His face remained hidden in the shadows.
"You kept your word," the stranger said.
Nathan's voice was steady.
"Where's Daniel?"
The man smiled faintly.
"Always impatient."
Nathan took one step forward.
"Answer me."
Instead of speaking, the stranger tossed a small object onto the platform.
Nathan caught it.
It was the compass pendant.
Daniel's compass pendant.
His heartbeat quickened.
"Where did you get this?"
The stranger replied quietly,
"From its owner."
---
Hidden behind the ticket booth, Lena noticed movement on the rooftops.
Dark figures.
At least four.
Each carried something that reflected the moonlight.
Binoculars.
They weren't there to attack.
They were watching.
Waiting.
Lena quietly took out her phone and sent a message to Olivia Grant.
Nathan isn't alone. Someone is surrounding the station. Call the police.
She pressed Send.
No signal.
The abandoned station blocked every network.
Her stomach tightened.
They were completely isolated.
---
Nathan stared at the stranger.
"What do you want?"
The man slowly removed his hat.
Nathan froze.
The man's face was covered with old burn scars.
One eye was clouded white.
"I was there the night your parents died."
Nathan's breathing stopped.
"You..."
The stranger nodded.
"My name is Samuel Cross."
"I was your father's head of security."
Nathan remembered the name from one of Aaron Blackwood's old documents.
"You disappeared."
"I was told to disappear."
"By who?"
Samuel looked toward the darkness.
"They're listening."
Before he could continue...
A gunshot shattered the silence.
The bullet struck the platform inches from Nathan's feet.
Lena screamed.
"Nathan!"
More gunshots rang out.
The figures on the rooftops began firing.
Samuel grabbed Nathan's arm.
"Run!"
The three of them raced toward the abandoned train carriage as bullets shattered windows and ricocheted off the tracks.
Inside the carriage, Samuel slammed the door shut.
Breathing heavily, he reached into his coat.
Nathan expected a weapon.
Instead...
Samuel pulled out an old photograph.
It showed Aaron Blackwood standing beside a smiling woman Nathan had never seen before.
In her arms was a newborn baby.
Samuel handed the photograph to Nathan.
"This child..."
"...is the reason your parents were murdered."
Nathan stared at the baby's face.
Then he noticed something written on the back of the photograph.
His hands began to tremble.
The words read:
"Baby Daniel Blackwood."
The second heir had never been a stranger.
He was family.
Outside, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed through the station.
Someone was coming.
And this time...
They weren't leaving without the photograph.
End of Chapter 16
By Jasmine
- Writer
