Chapter 9 - THE NAME WRITTEN IN BLOOD
Ronan stared at his own name.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Tessa noticed his breathing change.
“Ronan…”
He folded the paper.
“This is fake.”
But his voice lacked confidence.
“You don’t believe that.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I believe someone wants me to think it.”
They searched the basement.
Nothing else.
No answers.
Only more questions.
Why was Ronan’s name on the list?
Who wrote it?
And why would Elena Callahan leave a message that made her own son look guilty?
On the way back, Ronan didn’t speak.
That scared Tessa.
A quiet Ronan was more dangerous than an angry one.
Finally, she asked:
“What happened between you and your mother?”
He looked out the window.
“The night she died, we argued.”
Tessa waited.
“She wanted me to leave the family business.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew something bad was coming.”
“And you didn’t listen.”
“No.”
His voice became heavier.
“I told her she was paranoid.”
A long silence.
“The last thing I said to my mother was that I never wanted to see her again.”
Tessa looked at him.
“And then she died.”
Ronan nodded.
For the first time, she saw the wound beneath the power.
Not a billionaire.
Not a crime boss.
Just a son who never got to apologize.
When they returned to Beaumont House, something was wrong.
The kitchen was empty.
Too empty.
Ronan immediately noticed.
“Where is everyone?”
Arthur appeared from the hallway.
His face was pale.
“Tessa…”
She stopped.
“What happened?”
Arthur looked terrified.
“Your locker was opened.”
Tessa froze.
“My locker?”
“Yes.”
They rushed inside.
Everything was destroyed.
Her clothes.
Her belongings.
The old blue tin.
Gone.
Tessa searched desperately.
“No…”
Ronan watched.
“What?”
“The notebook.”
Her voice broke.
“The notebook is gone.”
Then Arthur handed her something.
A small piece of paper.
Found inside her locker.
Tessa opened it.
Only one sentence.
Written in the same black ink as before.
YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO FIND THE RECIPE.
Ronan took the note.
His expression changed.
Because this time…
there was something else written at the bottom.
A signature.
Not Damian Cross.
Not Victor Voss.
Not a stranger.
Someone much closer.
Someone Tessa trusted.
— EDA
Tessa stared at the name.
Her face went pale.
“That’s impossible.”
Ronan looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because Eda is dead.”
The lights suddenly went out.
And from somewhere inside the dark kitchen…
a woman’s voice whispered:
“Tessa.”
She froze.
Because she knew that voice.
She had heard it every day for six years.
May you like
The voice of the woman who taught her everything.
The voice of a woman who was supposed to be buried.
