A Name Buried for Twenty-Two Years
Chapter 02 - A Name Buried for Twenty-Two Years
Noah had grown up three towns away in a small apartment above a laundromat. His mother, Elena Reed, worked nights at a hospital and refused to speak about Blackwood Estate. Whenever Noah asked about his father, she said only that he had been brave, foolish, and gone before he could make things right.
Three weeks earlier, Elena had suffered a stroke. While searching her closet for insurance papers, Noah found a locked cedar box. Inside were photographs of his mother standing beside Samuel Blackwood, a silver watch engraved with the initials S.B., and the letter that had sent Noah running across the estate lawn.
The letter said Samuel intended to acknowledge his son and transfer a portion of Blackwood Development into a trust. It also warned Elena that Richard and Victoria would do anything to stop him. The final sentence had been underlined twice: If something happens to me, go to Arthur Bell. He knows where the original records are hidden.
Now Arthur stood between Noah and the Blackwoods, leaning on a cane polished smooth by age. He had served the family for forty years, yet Richard looked at him as if he were a stranger.
"You swore never to repeat that lie," Richard said.
"I swore to protect a child," Arthur answered. "The child is a man now."
Victoria laughed, but the sound was too sharp. "A faded love letter proves nothing. Samuel died in a boating accident. He left no recognized children and no valid amendment to his will."
Noah watched Arthur carefully. "You said there were original records. Where are they?"
Arthur's eyes moved toward the mansion's eastern wing, where ivy covered windows that had been sealed for decades. "Samuel kept a private office behind the old library. The room was closed the night he died."
Richard immediately ordered the security team to escort Noah off the property. This time Noah did not resist. He had seen the fear in Victoria's eyes and understood something important: people did not panic over harmless lies.
As Noah reached the gate, Arthur pressed a brass key into his palm.
"Come back after midnight," the old man whispered. "Use the servants' tunnel beneath the greenhouse. Trust no one inside that house."
Noah closed his fingers around the key.
May you like
Behind him, Victoria watched from the mansion steps. When Noah looked back, she lifted her phone and spoke to someone without taking her eyes off him.
That night, before Noah could leave his apartment, a black SUV began following him.
