PART 4 — THE HOUSE THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN EMPTY
The old Hail estate stood at the edge of the city, hidden behind miles of dead trees and an iron gate that hadn't been opened in years.
My father had called it home.
I had called it a grave.
The last time I had been there, I was seventeen.
That night, my father had taken me into his study and told me something I never understood.
“Ethan, if anything ever happens to me, trust no one who tells you our family is protecting you.”
The next morning, he was dead.
For years, I had believed it was a heart attack.
Tonight, for the first time, I wondered if those had been his final words for a reason.
Mave sat beside me in the back seat, holding Lily tightly.
Neither of us spoke.
The brass key lay in my palm.
It felt strangely heavy.
As the gates came into view, my security chief suddenly spoke.
“Sir.”
I looked up.
“There are fresh tire tracks.”
I stared through the windshield.
He was right.
Someone had been here recently.
Someone had driven into a supposedly abandoned property.
I raised my hand.
“Stop the car.”
The convoy stopped.
I looked at Mave.
“Stay inside.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Mave—”
“You already lost three years with me. I'm not staying behind while you walk into another trap.”
I wanted to argue.
But I couldn't.
I opened the door.
“Stay close.”
We entered the estate together.
The front door was unlocked.
That was the first thing that frightened me.
My father had always kept three locks on that door.
I pushed it open.
Dust covered the furniture.
Cobwebs hung from the ceiling.
Everything looked abandoned.
Except for one thing.
A lamp was still burning in the hallway.
Someone had been waiting for us.
My security team spread out.
I walked toward my father's study.
The door was locked.
I pulled out the brass key.
It fit perfectly.
The lock clicked.
I opened the door.
And froze.
The room was exactly as I remembered it.
My father's desk.
His leather chair.
His books.
Even the old clock on the wall.
But on the desk was a single envelope.
My name was written across it.
ETHAN.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
I recognized my father's handwriting immediately.
“If you're reading this, then the people I feared have finally come for you.”
I stopped breathing.
Mave moved closer.
“What does it say?”
I continued.
“Your mother will tell you she betrayed me because she wanted to protect the family.”
“She will lie.”
My eyes widened.
I kept reading.
“The truth is that your mother and Isabella's father have been working together for years.”
Mave covered her mouth.
My heart pounded.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
“But neither of them knows where I hid the real inheritance.”
I stared at the words.
The real inheritance.
Not the four hundred million dollars.
Something else.
At the bottom of the page was a strange symbol.
A circle divided into three parts.
I recognized it.
It was carved into the ring my father had given me when I turned eighteen.
I pulled the ring from my pocket.
The symbol matched perfectly.
Then I noticed something I had never seen before.
A tiny line ran around the inside of the ring.
I handed it to my security chief.
“Get me a magnifying glass.”
He returned seconds later.
I looked closely.
There were words engraved inside.
THE FIRST HEIR HOLDS THE KEY.
I looked at Lily.
My daughter.
The first heir.
Suddenly, the brass key in my hand made sense.
I walked toward the old bookshelf.
My father had always kept a row of black leather books there.
I ran my fingers along the shelves.
Nothing.
Then Lily suddenly spoke.
“Daddy?”
I turned.
She was pointing at a painting.
A portrait of my father.
“There.”
“What?”
She pointed again.
“Grandpa is looking at you.”
I frowned.
The portrait showed my father sitting behind his desk.
But Lily was right.
His eyes seemed to be looking directly toward the bookshelf.
I moved closer.
Then I noticed the painting wasn't hanging straight.
I pulled it from the wall.
Behind it was a hidden compartment.
Mave gasped.
Inside was a small metal box.
I opened it.
There was a photograph.
My father.
My mother.
Isabella's father.
And another man I didn't recognize.
All four were standing together.
On the back of the photograph was a date.
Twenty-two years ago.
And underneath it were five words:
“The night the alliance began.”
I stared at the unknown man.
“Who is he?”
Mave shook her head.
“I don't know.”
My security chief stepped closer.
“I do.”
Everyone turned toward him.
He looked uncomfortable.
“That's Victor Kane.”
I stared at him.
“Who?”
“The man who controlled half the underground operations on the East Coast before he disappeared.”
I looked at the photograph again.
Victor Kane.
My father.
My mother.
Isabella's father.
Together.
My stomach tightened.
Then I found another document beneath the photograph.
A birth certificate.
I unfolded it.
And my blood ran cold.
It wasn't mine.
It wasn't Lily's.
It belonged to Isabella.
I looked at the date.
Then at Mave.
“Something is wrong.”
“What?”
I read the document again.
“Isabella's father isn't listed as her biological father.”
Mave stared at me.
“Then who is?”
I turned the page.
There was a handwritten note attached to it.
Three words.
“Ask your mother.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Mave grabbed Lily.
My security team raised their weapons.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You should have stayed away, Ethan.”
I recognized it immediately.
My mother's voice.
I pulled Mave behind me.
“Where are you?”
The lights suddenly came back on.
My mother stood at the entrance.
But she wasn't alone.
Isabella's father stood beside her.
And behind them were six armed men.
I raised my weapon.
My mother looked at Lily.
Then she smiled.
“You finally found the house.”
I stared at her.
“You killed my father.”
She didn't deny it.
Instead, she said something that made my blood run cold.
“No, Ethan.”
She looked toward the photograph in my hand.
“Your father wasn't killed because of the money.”
“Then why?”
Her eyes moved to Lily.
“Because he discovered who her real grandfather was.”
Mave's face went pale.
I looked at Lily.
Then back at my mother.
“What are you talking about?”
My mother slowly smiled.
“Lily isn't just your daughter.”
She took one step forward.
“She is the heir to an empire that makes the Hail family look insignificant.”
Silence filled the room.
Then Isabella's father raised his gun.
“Give us the child.”
I tightened my grip on my weapon.
“No.”
My mother sighed.
“Then I'm afraid you'll have to learn the truth the hard way.”
She looked at Isabella's father.
“Tell him.”
He smiled.
And the words that followed shattered everything I thought I knew about my own family.
“Ethan... your father wasn't the Hail family's greatest secret.”
He pointed at Lily.
“Her grandfather was.”
