CHAPTER 5: THE SECRET BENEATH WEXFORD
CHAPTER 5: THE SECRET BENEATH WEXFORD
Evelyn and Noah hurried through the dark tunnel beneath the palace.
The narrow passage had been built during the civil wars, long before electric lights or security cameras.
Noah moved quietly despite his injury.
Too quietly.
Like a child trained to hide.
“Who taught you to run like that?” Evelyn asked.
“A man named Elias.”
“Was he one of the people holding you?”
“He worked for them. But he was kind to me.”
“What happened to him?”
Noah’s jaw tightened.
“He helped me escape.”
Evelyn understood the rest.
“Did Cassandra hurt him?”
Noah did not answer.
They reached a small underground chapel.
A statue of Saint Michael stood before a stone altar.
Noah suddenly stopped.
“I’ve seen this place.”
“That’s impossible.”
“In a picture at the house.”
He walked toward the altar and touched a carved lion beneath the statue.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside were old documents, photographs, and a black leather journal.
Evelyn picked up the first photograph.
It showed her late mother, Duchess Margaret, standing beside Cassandra Vale and a man Evelyn recognized as Cassandra’s father.
On the back were the words:
PROJECT HEIR — PHASE ONE.
Evelyn opened the journal.
The first pages described a secret network created to control future royal succession through blackmail, forced adoptions, and carefully arranged marriages.
Then she saw her own name.
EVELYN ASHBOURNE: PRIMARY BLOODLINE.
MALE CHILD REQUIRED.
TRANSFER COMPLETED.
Evelyn nearly dropped the book.
“They didn’t take you because they hated me,” she whispered.
“They took you because of who you might become.”
Noah looked confused.
Before Evelyn could explain, footsteps echoed in the passage.
Someone was coming.
She pulled Noah behind the altar.
The hidden door opened.
Lord Marcus Vale entered, holding a gun.
Cassandra’s husband looked around the chapel.
Then he spoke into the darkness.
“Evelyn, I know you’re here.”
Noah covered his mouth.
May you like
Marcus continued.
“My wife has lost control of this operation. Help me stop her, and I will tell you why your son was really taken.”
