CHAPTER 3:The Stranger at the Door
942 Words
Elena's fingers tightened around the doorknob.
Every instinct told her not to open it.
Her father's warning echoed inside her mind.
Don't tell anyone.
Especially not the Blackwood family.
Yet the final page of the journal said something completely different.
Trust only the man whose last name is Blackwood...
Her heart pounded so loudly she could hear it.
"Miss Carter?" the voice called again, calm and patient. "I know this is difficult, but you're no longer safe."
Elena didn't answer.
Instead, she quietly stepped toward the window beside the door and pulled the curtain back just enough to see outside.
A tall man stood on the porch.
He wore a charcoal-gray suit despite the cold evening breeze. His black hair was neatly combed, and his piercing blue eyes scanned the quiet street with practiced caution.
He wasn't alone.
A black luxury sedan was parked by the curb.
Its engine was still running.
Whoever was inside remained hidden behind the tinted windows.
Elena took another cautious step back.
"I know you're there," the man said.
"You've been standing behind the curtain for exactly twenty seconds."
Her breath caught.
How did he know?
"I'm not here to hurt you."
Silence.
"My father worked with yours."
Still, Elena said nothing.
Then the stranger slowly reached into his jacket.
Her pulse exploded.
Before she could react, he held up...
A silver pocket watch.
She recognized it instantly.
It had belonged to her father.
She had seen him wind it every night before bed.
There was no way anyone else should have it.
"Your father gave me this three days ago," the man said quietly.
"He told me that if anything happened to him, I was to bring it to you."
Elena hesitated.
Could he be telling the truth?
Or was this another trap?
Finally, she unlocked the door—but left the safety chain attached.
The door opened only a few inches.
The stranger looked at her with calm eyes.
"You must be Adrian Blackwood."
He nodded.
"And you're Elena."
She didn't respond.
Instead, her eyes stayed fixed on the pocket watch.
"Where did you get that?"
"He gave it to me."
"When?"
"Tuesday night."
Her heart skipped.
Her father had died on Wednesday morning.
"He knew he was running out of time."
Elena swallowed hard.
"What did he tell you?"
Adrian looked over his shoulder before lowering his voice.
"He told me you'd never trust me."
"Can you blame me?"
"No."
His honesty surprised her.
"But he also said you'd eventually realize I was the only Blackwood you could rely on."
Elena laughed bitterly.
"My father's final letter warned me to stay away from the Blackwoods."
"And his journal?"
Her face paled.
"You've read it."
"No."
"But I know what it says."
A wave of panic washed over her.
"How?"
"Because I helped him write it."
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
Before Adrian could explain—
A deafening crash shattered the silence.
Glass exploded behind Elena.
She screamed as the living-room window burst inward.
A dark object rolled across the wooden floor.
It stopped beside the coffee table.
Tick...
Tick...
Tick...
Her blood froze.
Adrian's expression changed instantly.
"Get down!"
He threw himself through the partially opened door, tackling Elena to the floor.
A split second later—
BOOM!
The explosion ripped through the living room.
Flames erupted toward the ceiling.
The blast wave shattered every remaining window in the house.
Wood splintered.
Books flew through the air.
Smoke filled every corner of the room.
The force knocked pictures from the walls.
Elena's ears rang violently.
She couldn't hear anything except a high-pitched whine.
Adrian pulled her behind the stone fireplace just as another section of the ceiling collapsed.
"Are you hurt?" he shouted.
She couldn't hear him.
He grabbed her shoulders.
"Elena!"
She blinked several times before finally nodding.
"I'm... okay."
Adrian glanced toward the front yard.
"They found you faster than I expected."
"Who?"
"The people your father spent eighteen years hiding you from."
Before she could ask another question, headlights appeared outside.
Not one car.
Three.
Black SUVs sped into the driveway.
Their tires screeched to a stop.
Six men climbed out.
All dressed in black.
Each carried a handgun.
Elena stared in horror.
"Who are they?"
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"They're not here to scare you."
"They're here to make sure you never open that journal again."
One of the men shouted from outside.
"Search the house!"
Another answered.
"She's still inside!"
Adrian immediately reached into his coat and pulled out a handgun.
Elena looked at him in disbelief.
"You carry a gun?"
"I hoped I wouldn't need it."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"Listen carefully."
She nodded.
"There isn't much time."
He pointed toward the burning study.
"Behind your father's bookshelf is a hidden passage."
"What?"
"He built it years ago."
"How do you know that?"
"Because my father helped him."
Elena stared at him.
Nothing made sense anymore.
The Blackwoods.
Her father.
The journal.
The attack.
Everything she had believed was falling apart.
The sound of the front door being kicked open echoed through the house.
"They're inside," Adrian whispered.
He took Elena's hand.
"For the next few hours, you're going to have to trust me."
She looked at his outstretched hand.
Then at the smoke filling the room.
Then at the armed men moving through her childhood home.
She had a choice.
Trust the man whose family her father had warned her about...
Or stay and face the people who wanted her dead.
With her heart pounding, Elena placed her hand in Adrian's.
Together, they ran toward the hidden passage just as footsteps thundered down the hallway behind them.
- Writer
