DARK OBSESSION

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE BREAKING POINT

The lights went out.

Ivy froze.

For several seconds, she could hear nothing except her own breathing.

The man's voice came again from somewhere in the darkness.

" You should never have opened that door."

Ivy took a cautious step backward.

" Who are you?"

No answer.

She reached into her bag for her phone.

Nothing.

Her fingers searched frantically.

Then she remembered.

She had left it downstairs.

Panic began to rise.

She moved toward the doorway, but something blocked her path.

The stranger.

She couldn't see his face.

Only his silhouette.

" You know nothing about your mother," he said.

" Then tell me."

A quiet laugh escaped him.

" You're just like her."

" Who are you?"

" Someone who tried to save her."

Ivy's heart raced.

" What happened to her?"

The man stepped closer.

" She trusted the wrong people."

" Was it the Blackwoods?"

Silence.

Then—

" Not all of them."

Before Ivy could ask another question, the lights suddenly returned.

The man was gone.

Ivy stared at the empty doorway.

On the floor lay a single envelope.

She picked it up.

Inside was a key.

And a handwritten note.

Ask Damien about Room 17.

THE BLACKWOOD ESTATE

Damien stood in his father's old study, staring at an ancient blueprint of the family estate.

Nathan stood behind him.

" Room 17 doesn't appear on the current plans."

Damien traced his finger across the faded drawing.

" It was removed."

" Why?"

" I don't know."

Nathan looked at him.

" Are you sure you want to open this?"

Damien's expression hardened.

" I've spent twelve years trying to understand what happened that night."

He folded the blueprint.

" Now I'm going to find out."

His phone rang.

Ivy.

He answered immediately.

" Where are you?"

There was silence.

Then her voice.

" I found something."

" What?"

" A room."

Damien's expression changed.

" Where?"

" An old Blackwood property."

His grip tightened around the phone.

" Ivy, listen to me carefully. Leave that building."

" Why?"

" Because it's dangerous."

"How do you know?"

" Because I know what happened there."

Silence.

Then Ivy asked:

" What is Room 17?"

Damien stopped breathing for a moment.

" Where did you hear that?"

" I found a note."

" Who gave it to you?"

"I don't know."

Damien grabbed his coat.

" I'm coming."

" I don't need you."

" You don't understand."

" I understand perfectly."

Her voice became cold.

" You've been keeping secrets from me."

" Ivy—"

The call ended.

Damien stared at the phone.

Nathan watched him.

" She knows."

Damien nodded.

" And she's angry."

" She has every right to be."

THE SECRET ROOM

Ivy returned to the abandoned property before Damien could reach her.

She couldn't explain why.

Perhaps it was curiosity.

Perhaps it was anger.

Perhaps she simply needed answers.

She held the key tightly as she walked through the old building..

At the end of the hallway was a metal door.

A faded number was painted across it.

17.

Ivy inserted the key.

The lock clicked.

The door opened.

Inside was a small room.

There were no windows.

Only an old wooden desk, a chair and several boxes.

Ivy switched on her flashlight.

The first box contained photographs.

She picked one up.

Elena.

Another.

Damien's father.

Another.

Victor Hale.

Then she found a photograph that made her knees weaken.

It showed three people.

Elena.

Victor.

And a much younger Damien.

Written beneath the photograph were the words:

The night everything changed.

Ivy turned it over.

On the back was a date.

The exact date Elena disappeared.

She placed the photograph down.

Then she noticed something underneath it.

A cassette tape.

An old recording.

Ivy searched the room until she found an ancient tape player.

She inserted the cassette.

Static filled the room.

Then a woman's voice.

Elena.

Ivy's heart broke at the sound.

" Victor, you promised me."

A man's voice answered.

" I promised to protect you."

" Then why are you doing this?"

" You don't understand what's at stake."

" I know what you've done."

Silence.

Then Elena spoke again.

" If anything happens to me, my daughter must never be brought back here."

Ivy covered her mouth.

The recording continued.

" Damien doesn't know."

A man's voice replied.

" He will."

Then—

A loud crash.

The recording ended.

Ivy stood frozen.

Damien didn't know.

Or at least Elena believed he didn't.

Then why had he been so secretive?

A sound came from outside.

Ivy immediately turned off the flashlight.

Footsteps.

Someone was approaching.

She backed toward the wall.

The door opened.

Damien stepped inside.

" Ivy."

She stared at him.

" You followed me."

" Yes."

" How did you find me?"

" I have security tracking your location."

Her expression hardened.

" Of course you do."

" Ivy, listen."

" No."

She held up the cassette.

" I found this."

Damien's face changed.

" Where?"

" Here."

She pressed the play button.

Elena's voice filled the room.

Damien listened.

His expression slowly changed from confusion to shock.

When the recording ended, he remained silent.

Ivy looked at him.

" She said you didn't know."

" I didn't."

" Then why did you hide everything?"

" I was trying to find out what happened."

" Without telling me."

" Yes."

" Because you wanted to protect me?"

" Yes."

Ivy shook her head.

" That's not protection, Damien."

" What is it?"

" Control."

The word struck him.

He looked away.

For once, he couldn't argue.

Then the building shook.

A loud crash came from downstairs.

Damien immediately moved in front of Ivy.

" Stay behind me."

" What was that?"

" I don't know."

They heard footsteps.

Multiple footsteps.

Damien grabbed Ivy's hand and moved toward the back door.

" Come on."

They hurried down the corridor.

A shadow appeared at the end of the hallway.

Damien stopped.

The stranger stepped into the light.

Victor Hale.

Damien stared at him.

" You're alive."

Victor smiled.

" Surprised?"

Damien positioned himself between Victor and Ivy.

" What happened to Elena?"

Victor's smile disappeared.

" You're asking the wrong question."

" Then give me the right one."

Victor looked at Ivy.

" Ask her why she was hidden."

Ivy's heart pounded.

" What does that mean?"

Victor took a step closer.

" Your mother wasn't hiding you from my family."

He paused.

" She was hiding you from someone much closer."

Damien's eyes narrowed.

" Who?"

Victor smiled.

" Your own father."

Silence.

Ivy looked at Damien.

Damien looked stunned.

" My father wanted her dead?"

Victor shook his head.

" No."

He looked directly at Ivy.

" He wanted her daughter."

Ivy felt a chill run through her.

" Why?"

Victor's expression became serious.

" Because you were the key to everything he had built."

Damien stepped forward.

" What are you talking about?"

Victor reached into his coat.

Before he could pull anything out, a loud noise echoed from outside.

Victor immediately turned.

By the time Damien looked back, he was gone.

Minutes later, police sirens filled the street.

Nathan had contacted authorities after Damien's security team detected suspicious activity around the property.

Ivy stood outside, wrapped in Damien's coat.

She looked exhausted.

Damien stood beside her.

Neither spoke.

Finally, Ivy broke the silence.

" You said your father didn't know about me."

" I thought he didn't."

" But Victor says he did."

" I know."

" Who should I believe?"

Damien looked at her.

" I don't expect you to believe me."

She studied his face.

" That's the first honest thing you've said."

He nodded.

" I've been obsessed with protecting you."

Ivy looked away.

" And that's exactly what frightens me."

Damien's voice softened.

" I know."

For several seconds, they stood in silence.

Then Ivy noticed something in his hand.

The photograph from Room 17.

She took it.

There was something written on the back that neither had noticed before.

A name.

VICTORIA BLACKWOOD.

Damien's mother.

Ivy stared at it.

" Damien..."

He read the name.

His face went pale.

" My mother?"

Before he could say anything else, his phone rang.

Nathan.

Damien answered.

" Sir, we've discovered something."

" What?"

" We found Elena's original medical records."

" And?"

Nathan hesitated.

" There's a second child listed."

Damien's expression changed.

" A second child?"

" Yes."

Ivy stared at him.

" Who?"

Nathan's voice came through the phone.

" That's the problem."

He paused.

" The name has been deliberately erased."

Damien looked at Ivy.

The mystery had just become bigger.

Much bigger.

Because if Elena had another child...

Then Ivy wasn't the only person who could inherit the secrets of the Blackwood family.

And somewhere in the darkness, someone already knew exactly who that child was.