“Send the hunters.”
The livestream ended.
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
Because suddenly the danger wasn’t Frank.
It wasn’t the trust.
It wasn’t the inheritance.
It wasn’t even the secrets.
The danger was whoever Frank had just contacted.
And judging by Helena’s reaction…
They were far worse than anything we had faced so far.
Part 25
Nobody spoke for nearly a minute.
The screen remained black.
Frank’s final words echoed through the room.
“Send the hunters.”
Outside, thunder rolled across the sky.
Inside Blackwood Manor, fear settled over everyone like a heavy blanket.
Even Ernest looked shaken.
And that frightened me more than anything.
Because Ernest had spent thirty-two years protecting this secret.
If he was afraid…
Then whatever was coming had to be worse than Frank.
Much worse.
Finally, I broke the silence.
“Who are the hunters?”
Nobody answered.
Not immediately.
Then Helena sat down slowly.
The bodyguard.
The woman who had carried me from a burning plane.
The woman who had found me on a cruise ship thirty-two years later.
She looked exhausted.
Defeated.
Like someone who had been running for most of her life.
Then she whispered:
“The people who finished what the crash started.”
The room went cold.
My pulse accelerated.
“What does that mean?”
Helena looked directly at me.
“It means Frank just told your family’s killers that their final target survived.”
Nobody breathed.
Nobody moved.
Then Rebecca closed her eyes.
As if hearing the words spoken aloud made them real.
And perhaps it did.
Because suddenly I understood.
For thirty-two years, nobody had been protecting an inheritance.
They had been protecting a witness.
Me.
Then another realization hit.
A horrible realization.
“If they wanted me dead…”
My voice trembled.
“…why wait thirty-two years?”
Helena’s expression darkened.
“Because they thought they succeeded.”
Silence.
Then:
“They believed you died in the crash.”
The room became very still.
Then Ernest stood.
Slowly.
Painfully.
And walked toward the window.
Rain streamed down the glass.
His reflection looked older than ever.
Tired.
Broken.
Yet determined.
“They’ll move fast.”
Helena nodded.
“Very.”
Rebecca swallowed.
“How fast?”
The answer came immediately.
“Hours.”
My stomach dropped.
Hours.
Not days.
Not weeks.
Hours.
Then Austin suddenly spoke.
For the first time since being shot.
His voice was weak.
But clear.
“Who are they?”
Helena looked at him.
Then looked away.
For a moment, I thought she wouldn’t answer.
Then she did.
And I wished she hadn’t.
“They don’t have a name.”
My pulse quickened.
“What?”
“They’ve used dozens of names over the years.”
She folded her hands together.
“Governments call them myths.”
“Journalists call them rumors.”
“Intelligence agencies call them ghosts.”
The room fell silent.
Then she finished.
“We called them The Circle.”
The Circle.
The name seemed harmless.
Almost ordinary.
Yet the fear in Helena’s voice said otherwise.
Then suddenly—
A loud beep echoed from one of the security monitors.
Everyone turned.
The screen flickered to life.
A satellite map appeared.
My pulse accelerated.
The map zoomed inward.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Until it centered on Blackwood Manor.
Then another dot appeared.
Moving.
Fast.
A vehicle.
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Four vehicles.
All heading toward the estate.
Rebecca’s face turned white.
“No.”
Austin struggled to stand.
“What is that?”
Helena didn’t answer immediately.
Because she already knew.
We all did.
The hunters.
Then a second alarm sounded.
A different one.
One nobody had heard before.
The computer voice announced:
Perimeter breach detected.
Silence.
Then:
Estimated arrival: 14 minutes.
My blood ran cold.
Fourteen minutes.
That was all.
Fourteen minutes before the people who murdered my family arrived.
Fourteen minutes before they discovered I was alive.
Fourteen minutes before thirty-two years of hiding ended.
Then the monitor changed again.
A security camera feed appeared.
The front gate.
Rain.
Darkness.
Lightning.
And standing outside the gate…
Was Frank.
Waiting.
Watching.
Smiling.
He wasn’t leaving.
He wasn’t escaping.
He was welcoming them.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
And raised one finger.
Pointing.
Not at the manor.
Not at Ernest.
Not at Rebecca.
At me.
Then his lips moved.
No sound.
Just words.
Four words.
Words I understood perfectly.
“I found the princess.”
And somewhere in the distance…
The sound of approaching helicopters began to fill the stormy sky.
Part 26
The helicopters were getting closer.
Louder.
Lower.
The sound vibrated through the walls of Blackwood Manor.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
The Circle had arrived.
Thirty-two years of hiding were over.
The hunters finally knew where I was.
And they were coming.
Fast.
The security monitors showed the storm raging outside.
Rain lashed against the estate.
Trees bent under powerful winds.
Then the first helicopter appeared.
Black.
Unmarked.
No registration numbers.
No logos.
Nothing.
Just a dark machine emerging from the clouds.
Rebecca whispered:
“Oh God.”
The second helicopter appeared seconds later.
Then the third.
Then the fourth.
My pulse hammered.
This wasn’t a search.
It was an operation.
A military-style operation.
Helena immediately moved toward a cabinet.
Inside were weapons.
Maps.
Communication equipment.
Emergency supplies.
Clearly, someone had prepared for this day.
Ernest.
For thirty-two years, he had prepared.
And now that day had finally come.
Austin stared in disbelief.
“You expected this?”
Ernest didn’t answer.
Instead, he opened another drawer.
From inside, he removed a thick envelope.
My name was written across the front.
THERESA.
The sight of it made my stomach tighten.
Another letter.
Another secret.
Another truth waiting to destroy me.
“What’s that?”
My voice barely worked.
Ernest looked at the envelope.
Then at me.
His eyes filled with sorrow.
“I hoped you’d never have to read it.”
Thunder exploded overhead.
The manor shook.
Then the perimeter alarm screamed again.
INTRUDERS DETECTED.
The security cameras switched automatically.
One feed showed armed men crossing the eastern grounds.
Another showed figures moving through the forest.
A third showed snipers positioning themselves on nearby hills.
My blood turned to ice.
They weren’t searching.
They already knew exactly where we were.
Then another monitor flashed.
Front gate.
Frank.
Still standing there.
Still waiting.
Then suddenly—
A black SUV rolled through the gates.
Frank smiled.
The vehicle stopped beside him.
The driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out.
Tall.
Gray suit.
Silver hair.
Expensive watch.
Perfect posture.
He looked more like a banker than a killer.
Yet the moment Helena saw him—
She stopped breathing.
“No.”
The word escaped her lips.
Everyone turned.
The color had completely vanished from her face.
“Who is he?”
Helena looked like she might collapse.
Then she whispered:
“Victor.”
The name meant nothing to me.
But it clearly meant something to everyone else.
Rebecca’s knees nearly gave out.
Ernest closed his eyes.
Austin looked confused.
And Helena looked terrified.
Real terror.
Not fear.
Terror.
Then Victor walked toward Frank.
The two men shook hands.
Like old friends.
Like partners.
Like men who had been waiting decades for this moment.
My pulse accelerated.
Victor said something.
The security microphone picked up only part of it.
But it was enough.
“…thirty-two years…”
Then:
“…finally found her…”
And finally:
“…the last royal.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The last royal.
Me.
Then Victor looked directly toward the manor.
Toward the camera.
Toward us.
And smiled.
A cold.
Patient.
Confident smile.
The smile of a man who believed victory was already his.
Then he raised his hand.
The helicopters immediately changed formation.
The armed teams began moving.
The attack had started.
Helena grabbed my arm.
“We have to leave.”
Ernest nodded.
“Now.”
Austin looked shocked.
“Leave?”
“There’s a safe route.”
Rebecca rushed toward a hidden panel.
The wall opened.
Revealing another tunnel.
Another escape path.
Of course there was another tunnel.
Blackwood Manor seemed built entirely from secrets.
Then suddenly—
A gunshot shattered a window.
Glass exploded across the room.
Everyone ducked.
Another shot followed.
Then another.
The hunters had reached the manor.
They were firing.
The siege had begun.
Ernest shoved the envelope into my hands.
“Do not lose this.”
“What is it?”
His answer froze my blood.
“The truth about your parents.”
Before I could ask another question—
The lights went out.
Complete darkness swallowed the room.
Then the emergency generator activated.
Red lights flooded the chamber.
The security monitors flickered back on.
Only one remained operational.
One camera.
One image.
Victor standing beside Frank.
Holding a photograph.
My photograph.
Then Victor looked into the camera.
As if he knew I was watching.
As if he could see me.
And slowly said four words.
Four words that made Ernest go pale.
“Bring me my daughter.”
The screen went black.
Part 27
“My daughter.”
The words echoed through the room.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Victor’s face vanished as the monitor went black.
But the damage was done.
My daughter.
Not princess.
Not heir.
Not survivor.
Daughter.
I stared at Ernest.
Then Helena.
Then Rebecca.
Because someone knew.
Someone had always known.
And judging by their faces…
Victor wasn’t lying.
“No.”
My voice shook.
“No.”
Ernest closed his eyes.
The silence was answer enough.
My stomach dropped.
The room tilted.
And suddenly thirty-two years of secrets became something far worse.
Personal.
Then another gunshot exploded somewhere above us.
The siege continued.
The manor groaned.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Helena grabbed my shoulders.
“Read the letter.”
My hands trembled.
The envelope felt heavier than stone.
Slowly, I opened it.
Inside was a single folded document.
Written in Ernest’s handwriting.
I unfolded it.
And began reading.
My Theresa,
If you are reading this, then Blackwood Manor has fallen.
If it has fallen, then Victor has found you.
And if Victor has found you, then I can no longer protect you with lies.
I swallowed hard.
My vision blurred.
The letter continued.
Victor is your biological father.
The room disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
My hands shook violently.
I forced myself to continue.
Your mother was Queen Adriana of Valoria.
Victor was never her husband.
He was her chief security advisor.
I stared.
Security advisor.
Not king.
Not royal blood.
Nothing like what I expected.
Then came the next sentence.
The sentence that changed everything.
Victor orchestrated the crash.
I stopped breathing.
No.
No.
No.
Not possible.
Yet somehow…
It explained everything.
The hunters.
The lies.
The fear.
The decades of hiding.
The letter continued.
Victor wanted power.
Your mother discovered what he was planning.
She intended to expose him.
Three days later, the plane exploded.
A tear fell onto the page.
Then another.
Then another.
I couldn’t stop them.
For the first time in my life, I wasn’t reading about strangers.
I was reading about my parents.
My real parents.
My stolen life.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
The one Ernest had clearly struggled to write.
The handwriting shook.
The ink blurred.
As though tears had fallen onto the paper decades ago.
Theresa, Victor never stopped looking for you.
Not because he loves you.
Because you are the final witness.
My pulse hammered.
Witness?
Witness to what?
I kept reading.
Then froze.
Because the next sentence made my blood run cold.
You were three years old.
Three.
Not a baby.
Not an infant.
Three years old.
Old enough to remember.
Old enough to see.
Old enough to know.
My eyes raced across the page.
You saw Victor kill your mother.
The letter slipped from my hands.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t move.
Three years old.
I had been there.
I had seen it.
Somewhere buried beneath decades of forgotten memories…
I had watched my mother die.
Then Helena knelt beside me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“That’s why we hid you.”
I looked at her.
Completely shattered.
Then suddenly—
A flash exploded inside my mind.
A memory.
Not clear.
Not complete.
But real.
A woman screaming.
Smoke.
Fire.
A silver watch.
Blood on white gloves.
And a man’s voice.
Cold.
Calm.
Terrifying.
A voice saying:
“Take the child.”
I gasped.
The room spun.
Because I recognized that voice.
Not from the past.
From today.
From the security monitor.
Victor.
Then another explosion rocked the manor.
Closer than ever.
The wall cracked.
Pieces of stone crashed onto the floor.
The hunters were inside.
Very close.
Helena immediately stood.
“We have to move.”
Ernest nodded.
“Now.”
But before anyone could move—
A voice echoed through the hidden tunnel.
Deep.
Confident.
Amused.
Victor.
His voice carried effortlessly through the darkness.
“Hello, Theresa.”
The room froze.
Then he laughed softly.
The sound made my skin crawl.
“I’ve spent thirty-two years searching for you.”
Silence.
Then:
“And now we’re finally going to talk.”
A flashlight beam appeared at the far end of the tunnel.
Growing brighter.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Victor had found us.
Part 28
Victor’s flashlight beam cut through the darkness.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Every second felt like an hour.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The tunnel had become a trap.
Behind us lay the collapsing manor.
Ahead of us stood the man who murdered my mother.
The man who spent thirty-two years hunting me.
My father.
The word felt poisonous.
Victor’s voice echoed again.
Calm.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
“Theresa.”
The flashlight stopped.
Only twenty feet away.
I could now see his silhouette.
Tall.
Perfect posture.
Hands folded behind his back.
Like a businessman arriving for a meeting.
Not a killer arriving for his final victim.
Then he smiled.
“Look at you.”
My stomach twisted.
“I’ve watched every photograph.”
Silence.
“I’ve read every report.”
More silence.
“I’ve followed every birthday.”
A chill raced through my body.
Every birthday.
Every year.
Every milestone.
The realization made me sick.
He had been watching me my entire life.
Then Victor looked toward Ernest.
The smile vanished.
Instantly.
“You caused me thirty-two years of inconvenience.”
Ernest stepped forward.
Weak.
Older.
Yet somehow fearless.
“I’d do it again.”
Victor laughed softly.
“I know.”
The two men stared at one another.
Enemies.
Not for years.
For decades.
Then Victor’s eyes returned to me.
“Come with me.”
The room froze.
Just like that.
No threats.
No screaming.
No violence.
Simply:
Come with me.
My pulse hammered.
“No.”
His expression barely changed.
Then he nodded.
Almost approvingly.
“You sound like your mother.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because for the first time…
I wanted to know.
Who had she been?
What had she sounded like?
What had she believed?
Victor seemed to read my thoughts.
Because he slowly reached into his coat.
Helena instantly raised her weapon.
Victor ignored her.
Instead, he removed a photograph.
Old.
Worn.
Protected inside plastic.
Then he held it toward me.
The image showed a woman standing beside a lake.
Dark hair.
Kind eyes.
A gentle smile.
Queen Adriana.
My mother.
For a moment…
Everything else disappeared.
The guns.
The hunters.
The manor.
The secrets.
Everything.
Only her remained.
Then Victor quietly said:
“She loved you.”
Tears filled my eyes.
Before I could stop them.
Before I could hide them.
Then Victor delivered another sentence.
A sentence nobody expected.
“She never loved me.”
The room went silent.
His voice had changed.
For the first time…
There was pain inside it.
Real pain.
Then he looked away.
Toward the darkness.
Toward memories only he could see.
“She loved Michael.”
The name hit the room like a bomb.
Michael Blackwood.
My brother.
The fifth founder.
The man everyone had been protecting.
Victor continued.
“She chose Michael.”
My pulse accelerated.
No.
Impossible.
Michael was my brother.
Wasn’t he?
Then why had Victor said it like that?
Why had Ernest suddenly gone pale?
Why had Rebecca looked terrified?
Suddenly, I knew.
There was one more secret.
One final secret.
The biggest one yet.
Then Victor spoke the words nobody wanted to hear.
“Michael Blackwood wasn’t your brother.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The tunnel seemed to disappear.
The world disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
Because if Michael wasn’t my brother…
Then who was he?
Victor’s eyes found mine.
And he smiled sadly.
Not cruelly.
Not triumphantly.
Sadly.
Then he answered.
“Michael Blackwood was your real father.”
The room exploded into chaos.
“No!”
Ernest shouted.
Rebecca gasped.
Helena lowered her weapon in shock.
My knees nearly gave out.
Michael.
Not Victor.
Michael.
The man in the photograph.
The man who watched over Lily.
The man hidden from history.
My father.
Then every piece suddenly shifted.
Every clue.
Every secret.
Every lie.
Michael protecting Lily.
Michael connected to the trust.
Michael hidden from the world.
Because Michael had never been my brother.
He had been my father.
And Victor had stolen everything from him.
Then Victor’s smile vanished.
His eyes became cold.
Deadly.
Final.
“Unfortunately…”
He looked directly at me.
“…Michael is still alive.”
The tunnel fell silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because the dead weren’t staying dead in Blackwood Manor.
And somewhere in the darkness…
The man everyone thought was gone forever was waiting.
My father.
Michael Blackwood.
Alive.
Part 29
The tunnel was silent.
Not even the storm outside seemed to matter anymore.
Only one word existed in my mind.
Michael.
Alive.
My father.
Not the man I thought was my brother.
Not the hidden figure in a photograph.
My father.
Victor watched my reaction carefully.
Almost curiously.
As if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
Then he spoke again.
“Yes.”
One word.
Simple.
Heavy.
Final.
“Michael is alive.”
My throat tightened.
“Where?”
Victor smiled faintly.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
His eyes darkened.
“On whether you want the truth… or revenge.”
The question hung in the air.
Revenge.
Truth.
As if I could choose between them.
Behind me, Ernest stepped forward.
His voice was rough.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
Victor didn’t even look at him.
“You stopped deciding anything the moment you hid her from me.”
Helena tightened her grip on her weapon.
Rebecca looked like she might collapse.
Austin, still injured, struggled to stay upright.
And me…
I couldn’t breathe properly.
Because nothing made sense anymore.
Nothing except one thing.
Michael was alive.
Victor slowly lowered the photograph of my mother.
“I loved her.”
His voice softened.
“For years.”
A pause.
“She chose Michael anyway.”
My chest tightened.
“So you killed her?”
Silence.
Then Victor shook his head.
“No.”
The answer surprised me.
Then he added:
“I killed the world that took her from me.”
A chill ran through the tunnel.
Ernest stepped forward.
“You destroyed a country.”
Victor smiled again.
“To protect it.”
The contradiction made my head spin.
Then Victor turned toward me fully.
“Theresa… your entire life has been a correction.”
My pulse quickened.
“A correction?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer.
Helena raised her weapon again.
Victor ignored it.
“You were never meant to be hidden.”
He paused.
“You were meant to rule.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then the tunnel lights flickered.
A distant explosion shook the manor again.
Closer.
The hunters were almost through.
Victor spoke faster now.
“The Circle isn’t here for me.”
My stomach tightened.
“They never were.”
He looked directly at me.
“They are here to finish what I started.”
My breath stopped.
“What did you start?”
Victor’s expression changed.
For the first time…
He looked uncertain.
Almost human.
“I started the war.”
The tunnel fell silent.
Even the storm seemed to pause.
Then another explosion rocked the manor.
This time much closer.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Helena grabbed my arm.
“We need to leave. Now.”
But Victor didn’t move.
Instead, he spoke softly.
“They will find Michael first.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
Victor hesitated.
Then gave the answer that shattered everything again.
“Blackwood Manor was never the real prison.”
A pause.
“The real prison… is under it.”
Ernest froze.
Rebecca went pale.
Helena lowered her weapon slightly.
Even Victor looked uneasy now.
Then he said:
“And Michael has been down there… for thirty-two years.”
The tunnel went completely still.
Then from somewhere deep beneath us…
A sound echoed upward.
A slow.
Metallic.
Deliberate knocking.
From below the manor.
As if someone was answering.
Part 30
The knocking came again.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Metal against metal.
From beneath us.
From inside the earth itself.
Nobody moved.
Even the storm outside seemed to fade into silence.
Rebecca whispered first.
“No…”
Her voice broke.
“No, no, no…”
Ernest looked toward the floor.
His face had gone completely pale.
“He’s awake.”
My stomach dropped.
“Michael?”
Another knock echoed upward.
Closer now.
Stronger.
As if responding.
As if hearing us.
Victor slowly stepped forward.
For the first time, he looked… uncertain.
Not afraid.
But uncertain.
“Impossible.”
Helena raised her weapon again.
“What is down there?”
No one answered immediately.
Then Ernest spoke.
His voice was heavy.
“Not a prison.”
He swallowed.
“A containment vault.”
My chest tightened.
“What does that mean?”
Rebecca answered this time.
“Something that was never meant to be opened again.”
Another knock.
Louder.
The floor beneath us trembled slightly.
Austin leaned against the wall, barely standing.
“Why would you keep someone under the house?”
Ernest looked at him.
Because for a brief moment… he looked older than anyone in the room.
“Because we couldn’t kill him.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even Victor didn’t interrupt.
Ernest continued.
“So we buried him instead.”
The words hit like ice.
Buried.
Alive.
Under Blackwood Manor.
My breath shook.
“You’re saying my father—Michael—is—”
“Alive,” Ernest finished quietly.
A deep rumble came from below.
The ground shook again.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Rebecca suddenly stepped back.
“No… no, that’s not him.”
Everyone turned.
She looked terrified.
Genuinely terrified.
“I’ve heard that sound before.”
My pulse spiked.
“When?”
Her voice cracked.
“Thirty-two years ago.”
Silence.
Then she whispered the truth that shattered everything again.
“That isn’t Michael knocking.”
Another pause.
Her eyes widened.
“It’s the lock… breaking.”
A distant metallic scream echoed from beneath us.
As if something enormous had just torn free.
Victor took a slow step backward.
For the first time…
He looked afraid.
Then the entire manor shook violently.
A deep explosion erupted from below.
The floor cracked.
Lights flickered.
Helena grabbed my arm and shouted:
“We have to get out NOW!”
But it was too late.
The floor beneath the tunnel split open.
A violent burst of air erupted upward.
Dust.
Stone.
Metal.
Everything collapsed in a thunderous roar.
I fell.
The world spun.
And then—
Silence.
Darkness.
Cold stone beneath me.
Somewhere far above…
I heard Helena screaming my name.
But it sounded distant.
Fading.
Then—
A voice.
Close.
Very close.
Male.
Hoarse.
Broken.
But unmistakable.
“Theresa…”
My blood froze.
Slowly, painfully, I turned my head.
Through the dust and debris…
A figure was rising from the shattered ground.
Tall.
Emaciated.
Covered in scars.
Chains hanging from his wrists.
But alive.
He looked at me.
And smiled.
“I finally found you.”
Michael Blackwood.
My father.
Was free.
Part 31
I couldn’t move.
My body hit the cold stone floor, but I didn’t feel it.
All I could see was him.
Michael.
Standing in the broken light.
Covered in dust.
Chains hanging from his wrists like forgotten memories.
Alive.
After thirty-two years.
My throat tightened.
“No…”
It came out as a whisper.
But he heard it.
Of course he did.
His smile softened.
Not cruel.
Not violent.
Something far worse.
Familiar.
“I know.”
His voice was broken.
Like it hadn’t been used in years.
“I know it’s hard.”
I pushed myself up slowly.
My hands trembled against the rubble.
“You’re… you’re my father?”
The words felt impossible in my mouth.
He didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at me carefully.
Like I was the one he had been waiting to see.
Then he nodded.
“Yes.”
Just that.
No explanation.
No apology.
No hesitation.
Behind him, the shattered ground continued to collapse in small bursts.
The prison beneath Blackwood Manor was still breaking apart.
Somewhere above, Helena was calling my name.
Rebecca too.
But they sounded miles away.
Michael stepped closer.
Each movement slow.
Weak.
Like his body had forgotten how to exist above ground.
“You look like her.”
My heart tightened.
“Who?”
He hesitated.
Then:
“Your mother.”
The air left my lungs.
The queen.
The woman from the photograph.
The woman Victor killed.
Michael’s eyes darkened slightly.
“She fought until the end.”
I swallowed hard.
“You were there.”
It wasn’t a question.
It was a memory trying to surface.
He nodded.
“I tried to stop him.”
A pause.
“I failed.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Alive.
Then suddenly—
A loud crack echoed above us.
The ceiling shifted.
More debris fell.
The entire tunnel system was collapsing.
Michael turned his head upward.
His expression changed.
Urgency now.
“Victor is not far.”
My pulse spiked.
“He’s coming down?”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
A pause.
“He already knows I’m out.”
My stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?”
Michael looked at me.
And for the first time…
I saw fear in his eyes.
Real fear.
“He never wanted you alive, Theresa.”
My breath caught.
“He wanted me to lead him to you.”
The words hit like a punch.
I stepped back.
“No…”
Michael nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Another explosion shook the ground.
This one closer.
Much closer.
Then—
A voice echoed through the collapsing tunnels.
Cold.
Calm.
Familiar.
Victor.
“Theresa.”
My blood ran cold.
He sounded like he was right behind the walls.
Close enough to touch.
“I hope you’re listening.”
Michael grabbed my arm instantly.
“Don’t respond.”
But Victor continued anyway.
His voice carried through hidden speakers.
Or maybe through the stone itself.
“I told you once… you were meant to rule.”
A pause.
“But I didn’t tell you why.”
Silence.
Then:
“Because your bloodline isn’t just royal.”
Michael tensed beside me.
Victor’s voice lowered.
“It’s engineered.”
My stomach dropped.
No.
No more secrets.
Not again.
But he continued.
“You were designed to survive what your mother couldn’t.”
A pause.
“And to inherit what she refused.”
Michael whispered beside me.
“Don’t listen to him.”
But Victor wasn’t finished.
“And now…”
A faint laugh echoed through the stone.
“…the final test begins.”
Suddenly, a section of the tunnel wall exploded inward.
Dust and light and noise filled the space.
Helena’s voice screamed from somewhere above.
“THERESA—RUN!”
But I couldn’t.
Because through the smoke…
Victor stepped into view.
Not on a monitor.
Not on a screen.
Here.
Real.
Alive.
And smiling.
Behind him, armed figures moved through the tunnels.
The Circle had arrived below the manor.
Victor’s eyes locked onto mine.
And softly, almost lovingly, he said:
“Let’s finish what I started.”
Michael stepped in front of me instantly.
Protecting me.
But Victor only smiled wider.
“Oh…”
He tilted his head.
“…you didn’t tell her?”
A pause.
His eyes gleamed.
“Theresa…”
Then he delivered the final blow.
“The man standing in front of you isn’t your savior.”
A pause.
“He’s your first experiment.”
Silence.
Michael froze.
Slowly…
He turned his head toward me.
And for the first time since I met him…
I saw something in his face I never expected.
Guilt.
Part 32
Michael didn’t move.
Not when Victor stepped closer.
Not when the armed Circle agents spread through the tunnel behind him.
Not even when the air filled with the sound of cocking weapons.
He just stood there.
Between me and everything else.
Like he had been doing it his whole life.
Protecting me.
Or maybe…
Preparing me.
Victor looked amused.
“Oh, Michael.”
His voice was almost gentle.
“You still think you’re the hero in this story.”
Michael finally spoke.
Low.
Controlled.
“Stop this.”
Victor laughed softly.
“Stop what? Finishing your work?”
My stomach tightened.
Michael’s jaw clenched.
“You’re rewriting history.”
Victor tilted his head.
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m completing it.”
Silence.
The tunnel felt impossibly small now.
Like the walls were closing in.
Then Victor took one step forward.
Just one.
And the Circle agents stopped immediately.
Like they were waiting for permission.
Victor didn’t look at them.
His eyes stayed on me.
“Theresa…”
My name sounded wrong in his mouth.
Like something owned.
Something taken.
“You were never supposed to feel confusion.”
A pause.
“You were supposed to feel obedience.”
My breath caught.
Michael moved slightly in front of me again.
Victor noticed.
And smiled.
“Oh, Michael.”
His tone darkened.
“You taught her too much empathy.”
Michael’s voice tightened.
“I tried to save her humanity.”
Victor nodded slowly.
“And failed.”
Then Victor raised his hand.
And everything changed.
The Circle agents moved.
Fast.
Not toward me.
Toward Michael.
I stepped forward instinctively.
“No!”
But Michael didn’t react.
He just exhaled.
Like he expected this.
Like he had been waiting for it.
Then—
He did something I didn’t expect.
He stepped aside.
Just slightly.
Enough for me to see behind him.
The tunnel wall.
And what was carved into it.
My breath stopped.
Symbols.
Rows of them.
Matching the crest from the Identity File.
Golden markings burned into stone.
Victor noticed my gaze.
And smiled.
“There it is.”
Michael whispered.
“Don’t look at it.”
But it was too late.
Something in my mind clicked.
A memory.
Not mine.
Not fully.
But buried deep.
A room.
White walls.
Machines.
A woman’s voice counting backward.
A child crying.
Me.
No.
Not me.
Someone like me.
Victor watched my face carefully.
“Recognition is starting.”
Michael’s voice sharpened.
“Stop it.”
Victor ignored him.
Instead, he took another step closer.
“And now she remembers.”
My hands trembled.
“What did you do to me?”
Victor’s answer was calm.
Precise.
“Nothing that wasn’t necessary.”
A pause.
“Your mother refused to continue the program.”
My heart dropped.
“So I did.”
Michael’s face twisted.
“Victor—”
But Victor cut him off.
“You called it survival.”
He looked at me again.
“I called it improvement.”
The tunnel suddenly shook violently.
Dust rained from above.
Helena’s voice echoed faintly somewhere higher in the manor.
“THE STRUCTURE IS COLLAPSING—GET OUT!”
But no one moved.
Because the truth was heavier than the building now.
Victor stepped closer again.
And for the first time…
I saw something behind his eyes.
Not hatred.
Not control.
Purpose.
“You are not royalty, Theresa.”
My pulse slowed.
“You are not a witness.”
Another step.
“You are not even a daughter.”
Silence.
Then:
“You are the only successful continuation of Project Seven.”
The world stopped.
Michael closed his eyes.
Like hearing it confirmed something he had tried to forget.
Victor’s voice softened.
“You were designed to survive the crash.”
A pause.
“To outlive the bloodline.”
A pause.
“And to unlock what your mother hid inside herself.”
My breath stopped.
“What… inside her?”
Victor smiled.
Not kindly.
Not warmly.
But finally honestly.
“Her memories.”
The tunnel went silent.
Completely silent.
Even the collapsing manor seemed to pause.
Victor’s final words landed like a verdict.
“And now, Theresa…”
A pause.
“It’s time to retrieve them.”
The lights in the tunnel flickered once.
Then every monitor in the manor system suddenly turned on at once.
And on every screen—
A countdown began.
00:09:59
00:09:58
00:09:57
Michael grabbed my wrist.
“Run.”
But Victor only smiled.
“Run where?”
And somewhere deep beneath us…
Something else began to wake up.
Again.
Part 33
00:09:56
00:09:55
00:09:54
The countdown pulsed across every screen in Blackwood Manor.
Like a heartbeat.
Like a warning.
Like a trigger waiting to fire.
Michael tightened his grip on my wrist.
“Theresa, listen to me.”
But I couldn’t.
Not fully.
Because something was happening inside my head.
Faint images.
Fragments.
Not memories I chose.
Memories that were being pulled up.
Forced.
A white room.
Cold light.
A woman’s voice.
“Subject Seven is responding.”
A child crying.
Me.
No—
Not me crying.
Someone else.
But the feeling was mine.
Victor’s voice cut through it.
“You see it now.”
Calm.
Certain.
“You were never erased, Theresa.”
A pause.
“You were overwritten.”
My breath caught.
Michael stepped forward.
“You’re accelerating it.”
Victor didn’t deny it.
He nodded slightly.
“Of course I am.”
Then he turned toward the Circle agents.
“Proceed.”
Everything exploded into motion.
The agents moved in.
Helena fired a shot from somewhere above.
The tunnel erupted in chaos.
Michael shoved me backward.
“Run now!”
But I couldn’t move.
My mind was splitting between reality and something else.
Something inside me was waking up.
Another countdown flashed.
00:08:12
00:08:11
00:08:10
Victor stepped closer through the chaos.
Unbothered.
Unshaken.
Like none of this mattered.
“Theresa…”
His voice softened again.
“You are the only one who can open it.”
I forced myself to focus.
“Open what?”
Victor smiled faintly.
“The memory vault.”
Michael shouted from beside me.
“Don’t listen to him!”
But Victor raised his voice just enough to cut through everything.
“The truth your mother died protecting.”
A pause.
“And the truth she sealed inside your mind.”
My chest tightened.
“No…”
Victor nodded.
“Yes.”
Another explosion rocked the tunnel.
Stone cracked overhead.
The structure was failing faster now.
Helena’s voice screamed again through the collapsing manor.
“THERESA—THE LOWER VAULT IS OPENING BY ITSELF!”
The words hit me wrong.
By itself.
Michael’s expression changed instantly.
“No…”
For the first time, real fear crossed his face.
Victor noticed.
And smiled wider.
“Ah.”
He looked between us.
“You didn’t tell her that part.”
Michael’s voice dropped.
“Stop the activation.”
Victor laughed softly.
“It’s not mine to stop.”
A pause.
“It’s hers.”
The countdown hit:
00:06:44
00:06:43
00:06:42
The ground beneath us trembled.
Not from explosions.
From something rising.
From below.
From deep under Blackwood Manor.
Michael grabbed my shoulders.
“Theresa, you need to trust me.”
I looked at him.
Really looked.
For the first time.
All the secrets.
All the lies.
All the protection.
And all the things he never said.
“You said you were my father.”
His eyes softened.
“I am.”
A pause.
“But not the beginning.”
My heart sank.
“What does that mean?”
Before he could answer—
The tunnel wall behind us detonated inward.
Stone exploded.
Light poured in.
And through the dust—
Frank stepped forward.
Covered in blood.
Holding a detonator.
Smiling like a man who had finally arrived at the center of everything.
He looked at Victor.
Then at Michael.
Then at me.
And said:
“Time’s up.”
He pressed the detonator.
The countdown stopped.
00:06:21
And the entire underground structure began to collapse at once.
But Frank didn’t run.
He just looked at me.
And whispered something only I could hear.
“You’re not Project Seven.”
A pause.
“You’re the key they built it around.”
Then everything went white.
And the floor beneath us disappeared.
Part 34
Everything collapsed.
Stone.
Light.
Sound.
Even time itself felt like it broke apart.
I was falling.
Not just physically—everything was falling.
Blackwood Manor.
The tunnels.
The secrets.
My life.
Then—
A hand grabbed my wrist.
Hard.
I gasped.
Michael.
He pulled me toward him through the collapsing tunnel.
“Hold on!”
His voice cut through the chaos.
Another explosion ripped through the structure behind us.
Frank’s laughter echoed somewhere in the dust.
“RUN, THERESA!”
Victor’s voice followed immediately after.
“DON’T LET HER LEAVE!”
Helena screamed from above.
“THE LOWER VAULT IS FULLY ACTIVATED!”
The ground tilted violently.
Rebecca appeared through the smoke, coughing, grabbing my arm.
“We go NOW!”
We ran.
Not thinking.
Not choosing.
Just surviving.
The tunnel behind us began to fold in on itself like paper burning.
Cracks of light shot through the walls.
The countdown screens were gone now.
Everything was just instinct.
00:02:11
00:02:10
Somehow the system was still counting down.
Somehow it still mattered.
Michael led us through a side passage I had never seen before.
Stone stairs.
Ancient.
Narrow.
They climbed upward sharply.
“Faster!” he shouted.
My lungs burned.
My legs screamed.
But I kept moving.
Behind us—
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Shouting.
Frank.
Victor.
The Circle.
All collapsing into one final war beneath the manor.
We burst into a chamber at the top of the stairs.
A circular room.
Glass ceiling cracked above us.
Rain pouring through.
Wind screaming.
Helena was already there.
Bleeding from her shoulder.
Still holding her weapon.
“EXIT IS SEALED!” she shouted.
“What do you mean sealed?!” Rebecca screamed back.
Helena pointed.
A massive iron door had slammed shut behind us.
No handle.
No mechanism.
Just sealed.
00:01:18
The countdown still visible on a broken monitor in the wall.
Michael stared at it.
His face changed.
“This is it.”
I turned.
“What is it?!”
He looked at me.
Really looked at me.
And for the first time—
There was no hiding left.
“Theresa… you are not just the key.”
My heart stopped.
“You are the trigger.”
The room went silent.
Even the storm outside seemed to pause.
Helena whispered:
“No…”
Michael nodded.
“They built the entire system around your neural signature.”
Rebecca shook her head in disbelief.
“That’s impossible…”
Michael cut her off.
“It was never about inheritance.”
He stepped closer to me.
“It was about activation.”
My voice shook.
“Activation of what?”
Michael’s answer came quietly.
“Everything.”
A deep rumble shook the chamber.
The floor vibrated.
Below us—
Something enormous was moving.
Waking.
00:00:43
00:00:42
The countdown was almost finished.
Helena looked at me.
Tears in her eyes.
“If this hits zero…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence.
Michael did.
“The memory vault opens.”
Rebecca’s voice cracked.
“And what’s inside?”
Click Here to continuous Read Full Ending Story👉 Part5 (END) :I buried my husband, and nobody knew that that very same week, I bought a ticket for a one-year cruise. When my son left three cages in my living room as if I were his maid, I knew my mourning was over. My daughter-in-law didn’t even greet me. She just pushed the cages onto my rug and said, “There are your instructions.” I smiled. By dawn, when the ship set sail from Miami, my absence was going to completely ruin their lives.
