CHAPTER 7 — The Road to Blackwater
CHAPTER 7 — The Road to Blackwater
Alexander ignored the demand to come alone.
He had built his empire by understanding one rule: never enter an enemy’s territory without controlling every exit.
Three unmarked security vehicles followed from a distance as Alexander drove north with Clara beside him.
Vanessa had taken Amelia to the ruins of Blackwater Clinic.
Rain hammered the windshield.
Clara held the brass key tightly.
“She wants me,” Clara said.
“She wants what you know.”
“I don’t know anything.”
“Your mother left you clues.”
Clara looked through the window.
“She spent years protecting me from this family.”
Alexander’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“She had every reason to.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have known.”
“How?”
“I accepted her death too easily.”
“You were shown documents.”
“I was also given a convenient reason to move on.”
Clara turned toward him.
“You married Vanessa.”
“Yes.”
“Did you love her?”
Alexander was silent for a moment.
“I believed I could.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“No,” he said. “I never loved her the way I loved Eleanor.”
The burned shell of Blackwater Clinic appeared beyond the trees.
Alexander parked near the collapsed front entrance.
Vanessa stood beneath a broken stone archway.
Amelia was beside her.
A man in a dark coat held the child by the shoulder.
Alexander recognized him.
Dr. Victor Hale.
The Whitmore family physician.
The man who had signed Eleanor’s death certificate.
“You,” Alexander said.
Dr. Hale smiled.
“You always were slow when emotions were involved.”
Vanessa looked at Clara.
“Give me the key.”
“Let Amelia go.”
“The key first.”
Clara stepped forward.
Alexander caught her arm.
Vanessa pressed a knife against Amelia’s side.
The child whimpered.
“Do it,” Alexander said.
Clara tossed the key.
Dr. Hale caught it.
“Where is the third music box?” he asked.
Alexander frowned.
“We only found one.”
Dr. Hale looked at Vanessa.
“You told me she had all three.”
Vanessa’s expression changed.
“I thought she did.”
Clara stared at them.
“What is inside the boxes?”
Dr. Hale smiled.
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
“Of who truly owns Whitmore Industries.”
Alexander went still.
Dr. Hale continued.
“Your father built the empire, Alexander. But Eleanor’s family financed it.”
Vanessa looked furious.
“That was never proven.”
“Eleanor found the original contracts,” Dr. Hale said. “She intended to use them to reclaim her family’s controlling interest.”
Clara finally understood.
“This was never only about Alexander.”
“No,” Vanessa said coldly. “It was about billions.”
A sound echoed from inside the burned clinic.
A woman’s voice.
Weak, distant, but unmistakable.
“Clara?”
Clara froze.
May you like
Her face drained of color.
“Mom?”
