Alexander barely waited for the car to stop before leaping out and charging into the east wing. Rain lashed the windows like a warning, but he ignored it.
"Lucien," he growled under his breath, every step a silent war drum.
He reached the surveillance room—dark, empty. The monitors were still warm.
She'd seen him.
Emily had seen Lucien.
---
In the lower corridor, Emily moved with quiet urgency. Lucien's presence had chilled something deep inside her, not just because of the way he spoke—but the way he looked at her.
Like a puzzle piece he'd finally found.
"Tell me what this is," she'd demanded.
Lucien smiled. "Ask Alexander. I'm sure he has a prettier version of the story."
"You knew my mother," Emily accused.
"I did. And you're the last promise I made to her."
Her knees went weak. "That's not possible—"
"I was there, Emily. When she tried to run. When she begged him to choose love over legacy. But this family… we don't choose love. We inherit pain."
---
Emily didn't wait for more.
She ran.
Back up the stairs. Back into the twisting maze of a house now layered with secrets and ghosts.
She found Alexander in the study, fists clenched at his sides, jaw rigid.
"He was here," she said. "Lucien."
"I know."
"Why didn't you tell me he was alive?"
Alexander met her eyes. "Because I buried him."
Emily blinked. "What?"
"Years ago, I watched him fall into a fire meant for me. There was nobody. No trace. But there was silence. For ten years."
Her voice shook. "He said he knew my mother."
Alexander didn't answer.
She stepped closer. "You promised to protect me. But there's a war going on, and I'm the only one here without a weapon."
"You're not without a weapon, Emily," he said, voice dark. "You're the weapon."
Silence. Then a single tear traced down her cheek—not out of fear, but clarity.
"My whole life was orchestrated," she whispered. "Even before I met you."
"Yes," he said. "Because you're more than a wife, Emily. You're a legacy. One neither side expected to survive."
---
Outside, thunder rumbled across the London sky.
And in the shadows of the Knight estate, Lucien watched from afar.
Smiling.
Because fractures had begun to form in the foundation.
And all he needed was one more crack.