Episode 20
The morning after discovering the vault beneath Blackwood, the mansion felt different.
Not quieter.
Heavier.
As if the walls themselves were burdened with the truths that had finally been unearthed.
Aria stood by the massive windows of Lucien's bedroom, staring out at the fog-covered gardens. The sun struggled to rise, smothered by clouds that refused to part. Her reflection in the glass looked distant, pale — a woman caught between love and horror.
Behind her, Lucien stirred.
He hadn't spoken much after they returned from the vault. Instead, he had drawn her into his arms, held her like she was the only anchor he had left.
Now, as he woke, she turned to face him.
"You didn't sleep," he murmured, sitting up, dark hair mussed and eyes shadowed.
"I couldn't," she admitted.
He nodded. No blame in his gaze. Just weariness.
"I need to tell you the rest," he said. "Before someone else does."
---
The Blackwood Legacy
They sat in the old sunroom, light barely filtering through the dusty glass. Lucien poured them both coffee, his fingers lingering on the rim of the cup before he finally spoke.
"My great-grandfather, Vincent Blackwood, was the one who built this empire. But it wasn't just steel and shipping."
"What was it really?" Aria asked.
"Control," he replied. "Of politics. Of people. Of secrets."
Lucien leaned forward, his voice low.
"They called it The Eden Project. On the surface, it was about preserving elite bloodlines. Behind closed doors? It was genetic manipulation. Eugenics. Creating a generation of men bred for power — intelligence, charisma, ruthlessness."
Her stomach turned. "And your father believed in that?"
Lucien's jaw clenched.
"He lived by it. Every Blackwood heir was carefully paired with someone who fit the profile. My mother didn't. That's why she had to go."
Aria's heart pounded. "And me?"
He looked up, eyes dark and wounded. "You weren't supposed to happen."
She swallowed. "What do you mean?"
He hesitated.
"My father set me up with dozens of 'approved' women. Socialites. Heiresses. All hand-picked. But I met you by accident. You were never part of the plan. That's why he tried to get rid of you."
Aria blinked. The memory of the car brakes failing. The near-accident at the gala. The mysterious disappearance of her hospital reports.
Her hands trembled.
"He tried to kill me."
Lucien reached across the table, gently taking her hand.
"He failed."
---
A Call from the Shadows
Just as the silence settled between them, Lucien's phone buzzed.
A private number.
He answered it, his voice clipped. "Blackwood."
Aria watched his face change. Eyes narrowing. Shoulders tightening.
"I told you never to call this number."
A pause.
"No. She knows everything."
A longer pause.
Aria felt a chill run through her.
Lucien stood up slowly. "If you come near her again, I swear—"
The line cut off.
He stared at the phone in his hand, then turned to her.
"That was someone I never wanted to hear from again."
"Who?"
"My half-brother."
Aria's eyes widened.
"You have a brother?"
Lucien nodded, slowly.
"From another mother. My father's secret. No records. No birth certificate. Just... a ghost trained to take over if I ever failed."
"Where is he now?"
Lucien's voice was hollow. "Out there. Watching. Waiting."
---
The Letter
Later that evening, a knock echoed through the mansion.
No one ever knocked.
Lucien answered the door himself.
No one was there.
Only a letter on the steps.
Black envelope.
No stamp.
No name.
He brought it inside, slicing it open with a silver knife.
Inside was a note, handwritten in blood-red ink:
> "You were never the heir. You were the experiment.
The real Blackwood rises in three days.
— V."
Lucien's face went pale.
"V?" Aria whispered behind him.
"Vincent," Lucien said. "Not my great-grandfather."
"Then who?"
"My brother. Victor."
---
The Ticking Clock
They sat in front of the fireplace, the note between them.
"He's giving us three days," Aria said quietly.
Lucien nodded. "To run. Or to kneel."
Aria's voice was firm. "We do neither."
He looked at her, and something in his expression cracked.
"You're not afraid?"
"I'm terrified," she admitted. "But fear doesn't mean surrender."
He reached out, touched her cheek.
"You should leave. Now. Go somewhere he can't find you."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You don't understand, Aria. He's not like me. He was raised by killers. He was trained to kill. And now that he knows you exist…"
Aria placed her hand over his heart.
"Then we prepare."
Lucien stared at her — not the woman he met at the auction, but the one who had survived everything since.
The woman who now stood between him and darkness.
And he nodded.
"Then let's begin."