Chapter 6 - The Flames of Blackwood
The revelation hung in the humid air of the greenhouse like a physical blow.
Adrian stood perfectly still, his tall frame rigid, his hands tightening around his weapon. The gray-blue of his eyes turned into a storm of icy, lethal fury.
"You killed our father," Adrian said, his voice dropping into a register so low it vibrated through the floorboards.
"He was going to leave the entire empire to you, Adrian!" Caleb shouted, his polite composure finally snapping into bitter rage. "You! The golden son! The one who always got his approval! I worked just as hard for this family, but he treated me like an assistant! So I made a deal with Victor Vance. The Morettis got our shipping routes, and I got fifty percent of the family trust once you were out of the picture!"
"You sold your own blood for money," Adrian said softly.
"I took what was mine!" Caleb sneered. "And now, brother... you're going to join Father in the ground."
Caleb pulled a small flare gun from his jacket pocket with his left hand and fired it directly into the dry wooden shelving behind Harrison.
The chemical flare ignited instantly, lighting up the dry peat moss and wooden benches in a roaring wall of bright orange fire. Dense black smoke filled the glass dome in seconds, blinding and suffocating.
Harrison screamed, dropping the black leather box as he scrambled away through the back door.
Caleb raised his weapon and fired three rapid shots through the smoke toward Adrian before turning and running into the dark gardens outside.
Adrian ducked behind a heavy stone planter as bullets shattered the glass panes above his head, showering him in sharp fragments. The fire spread with terrifying speed, fueled by the dry potting materials and wooden frames.
Ignoring the heat and choking smoke, Adrian crawled through the burning debris, his eyes fixed on the black leather box lying near the flames.
He reached out, his hand blistering against the hot metal latch, and grabbed the lockbox just as a burning wooden beam collapsed onto the spot where he had been standing seconds before.
Holding the box tightly under his arm, Adrian smashed his shoulder against the side glass wall, bursting out of the roaring inferno into the cool, torrential rain outside.
He fell onto the wet grass, coughing heavily, his black suit singed and covered in ash.
Across the lawn, security guards were running toward the burning greenhouse, shouting orders. Marcus emerged from the shadows, rushing to Adrian's side and helping his boss to his feet.
"Boss! Are you alright?" Marcus yelled over the roar of the fire.
"I'm fine," Adrian wheezed, wiping ash from his face, his grip on the black leather box unyielding. "Where is Caleb?"
"He took a vehicle from the garage and smashed through the north gate," Marcus reported grimly. "He's heading toward the river piers to meet Vance."
Adrian looked down at the black leather box in his hands. The heavy brass padlock had been warped by the heat, making it easy to pry open with his tactical blade.
He popped the latch and lifted the lid.
Inside rested a scorched USB drive and an old, sealed legal envelope bearing the official stamp of the Blackwell Estate's founding attorneys.
Adrian opened the envelope and pulled out the legal document inside.
As his eyes scanned the yellowed parchment, his brow furrowed in utter disbelief.
The document was an official biological lineage deed executed twenty-five years ago by his late father.
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And the named primary beneficiary of thirty percent of the Blackwell Family Trust was not Caleb, nor was it Adrian.
It was Rosa Bennett.
