Chapter 7 - The Choice
Eleanor told them everything.
Victor Blackmere had discovered Catherine and Eleanor copying his ledger.
He locked Catherine in the west wing.
Eleanor escaped.
But Victor called her.
He offered a choice.
Return with the evidence and Catherine lived.
Run, and Victor would kill Catherine.
Then Victor added another condition.
If Eleanor returned, Adrian Cross would collect Nora.
Eleanor chose her daughter.
Roman listened without interrupting.
When she finished, he walked out.
Nora found him beside the lake.
Rain had begun falling.
“Roman.”
“Don't.”
She stopped.
He stared across the water.
“My mother died because yours chose you.”
Nora absorbed the words.
“Yes.”
He turned immediately.
Regret crossed his face.
“That wasn't fair.”
“No. But it's true.”
“No.”
Roman stepped closer, then stopped himself.
“My father killed her. Your mother didn't.”
Nora's eyes filled.
“You're allowed to hate this.”
“I do.”
“Me too.”
That was what finally broke his composure.
Roman sat on the stone wall and covered his face.
Nora sat beside him.
She did not touch him.
Not until Roman lowered his hand and held it open between them.
An invitation.
Nora placed her fingers in his.
They sat in the rain.
Two people grieving crimes committed by parents and monsters before either had understood what inheritance could mean.
Then Roman said:
“We end it.”
Not revenge.
Not murder.
The network.
The secrets.
The cycle.
They would find the ledger and expose everything necessary to destroy Victor’s surviving system.
Eleanor finally revealed the last clue Catherine had given her.
“The house remembers what men try to bury.”
Roman understood.
The original Blackmere House had burned partially in 1998.
Victor rebuilt everything except the old chapel beneath the east wing.
They searched it.
Behind a memorial plaque bearing Catherine’s name, Nora found a steel compartment.
Inside:
The ledger.
Not one book.
Six.
And dozens of recordings.
Roman stared at the evidence capable of destroying his family’s remaining empire.
Elias asked the obvious question.
“What do you want to do?”
Roman answered without hesitation.
“Copy everything.”
Then the lights died.
Again.
Nora heard Eleanor scream.
Gunfire erupted.
Roman pulled Nora behind the stone altar.
Men entered through both tunnels.
Julian had known.
Someone had told him.
Elias fought through the corridor.
Roman fired twice.
Then a familiar voice ordered:
“Enough!”
Adrian Cross walked into the chapel.
Nora froze.
Four years disappeared.
She was back in his house.
Back beneath his rules.
Back waiting for footsteps outside her bedroom.
Adrian smiled.
“There she is.”
Nora's body reacted before her mind.
Her arms started rising toward her head.
Then stopped.
Roman looked at her.
Not Adrian.
Nora lowered them.
Adrian noticed.
His smile disappeared.
“You've gotten brave.”
“No,” Nora said.
Her voice shook.
“But I'm getting there.”
Adrian laughed.
“Because of him?”
“No.”
She looked at Roman.
“Because of me.”
Roman's eyes changed.
Pride.
Adrian ordered his men forward.
Then another voice came from behind him.
“Don't.”
Julian entered.
He pointed a gun at Adrian.
Everyone froze.
Adrian looked almost amused.
“What are you doing?”
Julian's hand trembled.
“I heard the recording.”
Eleanor stared at him.
“What recording?”
“Catherine.”
Julian's eyes filled.
“She didn't abandon me.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
Julian had finally discovered the truth.
Adrian had taken him.
Not rescued him.
He had shaped a frightened boy into a weapon against both families.
“You lied to me.”
“I made you strong.”
“You made me hate my own mother.”
“I gave you purpose.”
Julian's face twisted.
Then Adrian smiled.
“And she still chose Nora.”
That landed.
Julian turned toward his sister.
For one terrifying second, Nora saw twenty years of resentment in his eyes.
Then Eleanor stepped between them.
“I chose both of you.”
Julian stared.
“I came back for you.”
“What?”
“I spent eleven years trying to find you.”
Adrian raised his weapon.
Roman shouted.
The shot exploded.
Eleanor fell.
“Mom!”
Chaos erupted.
Roman tackled Adrian.
Julian fired at Adrian’s men.
Elias rushed Eleanor toward cover.
Nora crawled toward her mother.
Blood spread across Eleanor’s shoulder.
Alive.
Still alive.
Then Adrian broke free.
He grabbed Nora from behind.
A gun pressed against her temple.
Roman stopped instantly.
Adrian smiled.
“There. Now everybody remembers who matters.”
Nora looked at Roman.
Roman lowered his weapon.
Adrian dragged her backward toward the tunnel.
“Drop it.”
Roman did.
“Kick it away.”
Roman obeyed.
Nora understood something then.
Adrian believed Roman’s feelings made him weak.
Adrian had always believed love was leverage.
He had never understood that trust could also be a weapon.
Nora looked at Roman.
Then deliberately dropped her eyes toward Adrian's injured knee.
Roman understood.
Nora drove her heel backward.
Adrian stumbled.
Roman moved.
May you like
A gunshot cracked.
And someone fell.
