Chapter 4 The Chosen One

"Give me that phone." Lucien snatched it from my trembling hand before I could react. His thumb flew across the screen, checking the number that had just called. Nothing, no caller ID, no trace.

He looked at the security officer. "Track it." "We're already trying, sir." "Try harder."

The officer hurried out of the room. I stared at Lucien. "What did he mean?" He didn't answer. "What did he mean by your father choosing me?"

His silence was beginning to infuriate me. "My mother is missing because of whatever this is!" I shouted. "You don't get to keep secrets anymore."

His jaw clenched. "I don't know." "Liar." "I said I don't know." "You expect me to believe that?"

His blue eyes met mine, colder than ice. "I've spent the last five years trying to understand why my father rewrote his will. Until today, I thought it was about money."

He glanced toward the frozen image on the tablet. "Now I think it's about something much bigger."

Before I could ask another question, another officer rushed into the room. "Mr. Blackwood."

Lucien turned. "We found this in the parking garage." He held up a black envelope. There was no stamp, no address. Only one name written in silver ink. Evelyn Sinclair.

Every nerve in my body tightened. "Where was it?" "On the hood of your car." "I don't own a car."

The officer frowned. "It was left on the hood of the vehicle that brought you here."

Someone had walked right into the hospital parking garage. While security searched for my mother, while police reviewed surveillance footage. Someone had gotten close enough to leave a message.

Lucien took the envelope before I could. He examined it carefully. "No fingerprints." "How can you tell?" "Because they're wearing gloves."

He slid a letter opener from the nurse's station and sliced the envelope open. Inside was a single photograph, nothing else.

He handed it to me. The air caught in my lungs. It was me. I couldn't have been older than six. I stood beside my mother in front of a tiny apartment building. I was holding a red balloon, smiling, happy.

I had never seen this picture before. On the back, written in neat handwriting, were six words. She was never supposed to keep you.

"What does that mean?" I whispered. Neither Lucien nor anyone else answered. Because no one knew. Or perhaps someone did.

Lucien slipped the photograph into the evidence bag. "We're leaving." I blinked. "What?" "This hospital isn't safe anymore."

"My mother" "They already have your mother." His voice was calm. "They're coming for you next."

The words sent a chill through me. "I'm not leaving." "You don't have a choice." "I do." "No." He stepped closer. "They've called you twice." "They've been watching you." "They know where you are." "And somehow they knew you'd come here before anyone else." I hated that he was making sense.

A loud crash echoed from the hallway. Everyone turned, a nurse screamed. Another crash, glass shattered. The security officer reached for his radio.

"What happened?" Static answered him. Then... the lights went out. Darkness swallowed the room, someone shouted. Footsteps pounded outside. My heart slammed against my chest. 

Emergency lights flickered on, painting everything in an eerie red glow. Lucien grabbed my wrist. "Move." "I can't leave without" "Move!"

We ran into the hallway. People were everywhere; patients, doctors, security guards, chaos.

Someone had triggered the fire alarm. The piercing sound echoed through the building. Smoke wasn't pouring from anywhere. This wasn't a fire, it was a distraction.

Three security guards sprinted toward the elevators. Another group headed for the emergency stairs. Then I saw him.

A man in hospital scrubs. Walking calmly against the panicked crowd. His baseball cap hid most of his face. But something about him felt familiar, too familiar. He looked directly at me then smiled. The exact same smile from the surveillance video.

"Lucien." He followed my gaze. The man's smile disappeared. He turned and ran.

"There!" Lucien shouted. We took off after him. People scattered as we pushed through the crowded hallway. The man darted into the stairwell. Lucien reached the door first. We raced down the stairs.

One floor, two floors, three. The sound of footsteps echoed below us. "We're gaining on him!" Lucien yelled.

The man burst through the exit into the underground parking garage. By the time we reached the garage, he was already weaving between rows of parked cars. Lucien chased him without hesitation, I followed.

Cold air filled the garage. Car alarms suddenly began blaring. One after another. The noise was deafening.

The man disappeared behind a black SUV. Lucien rounded the corner. Nothing, empty. "Where did he go?" I spun around. Every shadow suddenly looked threatening, every parked vehicle seemed to hide someone.

Then, an engine roared to life. Headlights flashed on. A black van accelerated straight toward us.

"Evelyn!" Lucien threw me sideways. The van missed us by inches. Its tires screeched across the concrete. Before it reached the exit, the side door slid open. Someone inside tossed a small object onto the ground. The van sped away. It disappeared before security vehicles entered the garage.

For several seconds, no one moved. Then Lucien cautiously approached the object. It wasn't a bomb, it was another envelope. This one was sealed with black wax.

He picked it up carefully. Inside, another photograph. This one was older. The edges were worn, the colors faded, three people stood together in the picture.

Damien Blackwood, a young woman I didn't recognize and... My mother. I nearly dropped it.

My mother looked no older than twenty-five. She was smiling beside Damien as though they had known each other forever. "What..." I whispered. "This can't be real."

Lucien stared at the photograph. "I've never seen this before."

Something slipped from the back of the picture. A folded document. Lucien opened it, his expression changed instantly. "What is it?" He didn't answer.

I snatched the paper from him. It wasn't a letter, it was a birth certificate, my birth certificate. Only...

The mother's name wasn't listed. Instead, it had been blacked out with thick ink and where my father's name should have been...

Someone had typed one sentence;

Identity sealed under the Blackwood Agreement.

My breathing stopped. "What is the Blackwood Agreement?" Lucien looked genuinely shaken. "I've never heard of it."

Before either of us could say another word, his phone rang. He answered immediately. "Yes?"

His face hardened. "What?" His grip tightened around the phone. "When?" Silence.

Then he slowly lowered it. His eyes met mine. For the first time since we'd met... I saw fear, real fear. "What happened?" I asked.

His voice came out almost inaudible. "The vault beneath Blackwood Manor..." He swallowed. "It was broken into an hour ago." "What was stolen?"

He looked at the birth certificate in my hands. Then back at me. "Not what."

A long pause settled between us. "Who."

The blood drained from my face. "What do you mean, who?" Lucien's answer barely rose above a whisper. "They stole the only file that had your real name."