Chapter 6: The Secret In The West Wing
Darkness swallowed Blackthorn Manor.
For a moment, nobody moved.
The grand house that had always seemed untouchable suddenly felt fragile.
The candles along the hallway had gone out.
The electric lights had disappeared.
And somewhere above us, a woman was screaming.
“Mother…”
Victoria’s voice barely escaped her lips.
The confidence she had carried all night vanished.
Arthur turned toward her.
“Your mother is here?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Thomas quickly grabbed a lantern from the cabinet near the entrance.
“My lord, the west wing has been closed for years.””
Arthur looked at him.
“Apparently not.””
He took the lantern.
“Everyone stays together.””
Victoria immediately shook her head.
“No.””
Arthur looked at her.
“No?””
“She needs help.””
“Who?””
Victoria hesitated.
Then she whispered:
“My mother.””
The words surprised me.
I had known Victoria for years.
She had spoken about her childhood only a handful of times.
And every time she did, she changed the subject before saying anything meaningful.
Arthur looked toward the stairs.
“Why is your mother in Blackthorn Manor?””
Victoria looked away.
“I don’t know.””
Richard spoke quietly.
“She came because she knew the truth was about to come out.””
Everyone turned.
Victoria stared at him.
“You knew?””
Richard’s expression remained cold.
“Yes.””
“You knew she was here?””
“Yes.””
“And you said nothing?””
Richard looked at her.
“You are not the only person in this family with secrets.””
The answer angered her.
But before she could respond, another scream echoed.
This time closer.
From the west wing.
Arthur started walking.
I followed.
Not because I wanted to.
Because something inside me already knew this night was leading us toward the answer I had spent ten years searching for.
The west wing had always been forbidden.
When I first married Arthur, I asked about it.
He told me his grandfather had closed it after a fire damaged part of the building.
I believed him.
Everyone did.
But as we walked down the narrow hallway, I realized something.
There was no fire damage.
The walls were untouched.
The paintings were covered in white cloth.
The furniture was covered in dust.
It wasn’t abandoned.
It was hidden.
Thomas stopped at the final door.
“This is it.””
Arthur looked at the lock.
“Open it.””
The old butler hesitated.
“My lord…”
“Thomas.””
The old man lowered his head.
“Yes.””
He removed a small key from his pocket.
I stared.
“You had the key?””
Thomas looked ashamed.
“I was ordered to keep it.””
“By Richard?””
He nodded.
Arthur looked at his father.
“You knew everything.””
Richard didn’t deny it.
“I knew enough.””
Arthur’s expression hardened.
“That has never been enough for me.””
The door opened.
The smell inside was overwhelming.
Old paper.
Dust.
And something metallic.
Like the scent of a place where time had stopped.
The lantern light moved across the room.
And then we saw it.
A wall covered with photographs.
My blood turned cold.
There were pictures of Daniel.
Hundreds of them.
Daniel entering Blackthorn offices.
Daniel meeting people.
Daniel following documents.
And one photograph made me stop breathing.
It showed Daniel standing beside Victoria.
Not ten years ago.
Not when they were strangers.
Recently.
Very recently.
Victoria stepped back.
“That is impossible.””
Arthur turned toward her.
“You said you barely knew him.””
“I didn’t.””
“Then explain that.””
She stared at the picture.
Her face lost all color.
“I don’t know.””
Richard walked closer.
“She does.””
Victoria looked at him.
“Stop pretending you know everything.””
“I know enough.””
“No, you don’t!””
Her voice cracked.
“You disappeared too!””
Richard froze.
The accusation landed.
“You left everyone to suffer.””
Richard’s expression changed.
For the first time, I saw guilt.
Real guilt.
Victoria continued.
“You want to blame me because I made mistakes?””
She pointed at him.
“You made the biggest one.””
Arthur looked between them.
“What happened between you two?””
Neither answered.
Then a quiet voice came from the corner of the room.
“I can answer that.””
Everyone turned.
A woman stepped out from behind a bookshelf.
She was older.
Her hair was gray.
Her face was tired.
But I recognized her.
Victoria’s mother.
Evelyn Cross.
She looked at her daughter.
And tears filled her eyes.
“Victoria…”
Victoria stared.
“Why are you here?””
Evelyn looked around the room.
“Because I was the last person who saw Daniel alive.””
The words froze everyone.
Arthur stepped forward.
“What?””
Evelyn looked at him.
“I know where he went.””
My heart began racing.
After ten years.
After all the lies.
Someone finally had an answer.
“Where is he?”” I asked.
Evelyn looked at me.
And guilt filled her expression.
“Rose…”
My name sounded like an apology.
“What did you do?””
She looked down.
“I helped them.””
Arthur’s face changed.
“Helped who?””
Evelyn looked at the photographs.
“The people who wanted Daniel gone.””
Victoria whispered:
“Mother…”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I thought they were only going to scare him.””
The room went silent.
“What does that mean?”” Arthur asked.
Evelyn swallowed.
“Daniel found the records.””
“What records?””
“The original Blackthorn inheritance documents.””
Richard immediately looked away.
Arthur noticed.
“What?””
Evelyn continued.
“Your grandfather changed them.””
Silence.
Arthur frowned.
“Changed what?””
“The ownership.””
My heart tightened.
“The family fortune?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Part of it was never supposed to belong to the Blackthorns.””
Arthur stared.
“What are you saying?””
She looked at me.
“I’m saying Daniel discovered that the Blackthorn empire was built on a stolen inheritance.””
Nobody spoke.
The room felt like it was collapsing.
Richard finally whispered:
“Enough.””
Everyone looked at him.
Evelyn laughed bitterly.
“Still protecting them?””
Richard’s voice became low.
“You don’t understand what you started.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“I understand perfectly.””
She turned toward Arthur.
“Your grandfather destroyed my family too.””
Arthur looked confused.
“What does my family have to do with yours?””
Evelyn looked at Victoria.
Then back at Arthur.
“Everything.””
Victoria stepped forward.
“Mother, stop.””
But Evelyn continued.
“Daniel discovered that the original heir to Blackthorn Manor was not Edmund Blackthorn.””
Arthur froze.
“Who was it?””
Evelyn looked at me.
And my entire body went cold.
“No.””
I whispered the word before she even spoke.
Because I already knew.
I knew from the way everyone looked at me.
I knew from Daniel’s warnings.
I knew from the secrets my own parents carried.
Evelyn said:
“The original heir was Rose’s family.””
The room went silent.
Arthur looked at me.
I couldn’t breathe.
“No…”
Richard closed his eyes.
Victoria stared at me like she had just discovered a weapon hidden in plain sight.
Arthur’s voice was barely audible.
“Rose…”
I shook my head.
“I didn’t know.””
But nobody heard me.
Because the truth was too large.
My entire life.
My marriage.
My connection to Blackthorn Manor.
Everything suddenly felt like part of a plan I never agreed to.
Evelyn stepped closer.
“Daniel found the proof.””
“Where is it?”” Arthur demanded.
She looked toward the desk.
“The final document is hidden here.””
Thomas searched through the drawers.
Then stopped.
“My lord…”
He pulled out an old wooden folder.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
Arthur took it.
His eyes scanned the page.
Then his face changed.
“What?””
I stepped closer.
“What does it say?””
Arthur looked at me.
And I knew from his expression that whatever was written there would change our lives forever.
“It says…”
He swallowed.
“Rose’s family was betrayed by Blackthorn.””
The room went silent.
Then the lights suddenly flickered back on.
Everyone turned.
Because on the wall, beneath the photographs of Daniel…
A new photograph had appeared.
Freshly placed.
A picture of Daniel.
Alive.
Standing somewhere unfamiliar.
And beneath it was a handwritten message:
*“He is waiting for Rose.””*
Thomas dropped the lantern.
Richard whispered:
“No…”
Arthur stared at the photograph.
“Where is he?””
Nobody answered.
Then Victoria picked up the picture.
Her hands shaking.
Because on the back was a date.
Tomorrow’s date.
And a location.
A place none of us had ever heard before.
Victoria looked at me.
“Rose…”
May you like
Her voice trembled.
“Your brother wants you to come alone.””
