Chapter 37 - The Root Registry
The darkness lasted three seconds.
It felt like three years.
Emergency lights came on.
Eleanor was gone.
So was Samuel.
Bennett cursed.
“She had another exit.”
Adrian stared at the wall.
“No.”
“What?”
“She didn't leave.”
I looked around.
“What do you mean?”
“She came for the registry.”
Daniel ran to the metal cabinet.
The drawer was open.
One file was missing.
Adrian looked at me.
“Mine.”
I turned toward him.
“You said your identity was already here.”
“It was.”
“Then why take it?”
“Because whoever has it can prove I'm dead.”
“And?”
Adrian stared at me.
“They can take control of every account attached to me.”
Bennett looked at Daniel.
“Can Eleanor do that?”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not alone.”
“Who else?”
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
“Someone with root authority.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“Not Eleanor.”
My stomach tightened.
“You said she was controlling everything.”
“She was controlling what we could see.”
“What is behind her?”
Adrian looked at Arthur.
“Ask him.”
Arthur refused to meet my eyes.
I stepped toward him.
“You know.”
“I know what your father told me.”
“Then tell me.”
He sat down.
“The person who owns Blackwell isn't Eleanor.”
“Who is?”
Arthur whispered:
“Robert Vale.”
Thomas's father.
I stared.
“Thomas's father?”
“Yes.”
“But Thomas said…”
“He lied.”
“Why?”
“Because Robert Vale was supposed to be dead.”
I closed my eyes.
Another dead man.
Another man who wasn't dead.
I was beginning to hate the word.
Daniel moved toward Arthur.
“What did Robert do?”
Arthur's answer came slowly.
“He designed the root registry.”
“Why?”
“To make sure Blackwell could survive regardless of who inherited it.”
“So no heir ever really owned it.”
“Correct.”
“Then what did Adrian inherit?”
“A right to challenge the system.”
“And my son?”
Arthur looked at me.
“The ability to authenticate that challenge.”
I felt sick.
“That's why everyone wants him.”
“Yes.”
A loud crash came from above.
Bennett looked up.
“They're inside the church.”
“How many?”
“Don't know.”
Adrian grabbed my hand.
“There's another exit.”
I pulled away.
“My son is somewhere underground.”
“We have to move.”
“I won't leave.”
“You won't have a choice.”
The wall behind the cabinet opened.
A narrow tunnel.
Daniel went first.
Bennett behind him.
I held Noah.
Adrian stayed beside me.
Arthur followed.
We emerged beneath the old cemetery behind the church.
A police SUV waited.
Thomas stood beside it.
Alive.
I ran toward him.
He caught me.
I hit his chest.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“You terrified me.”
“I know.”
“You took my son.”
“To save him.”
“You don't get to decide that.”
He nodded.
“No.”
I stepped back.
“Where is he?”
“Your house.”
My breath caught.
“You moved him?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Before the warehouse.”
I nearly collapsed.
“Is he safe?”
Thomas nodded.
“For now.”
“Why for now?”
He looked at Adrian.
“Because Robert knows where he is.”
Adrian's face went pale.
“How?”
Thomas took out a photograph.
“Because Robert sent this.”
It showed my house.
Taken that morning.
My son's nursery window was visible.
And someone stood outside.
My mother.
I looked at Thomas.
“She wasn't arrested?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“She disappeared.”
My stomach dropped.
Adrian took the photograph.
He turned it over.
A message was written on the back.
THE MOTHER ALWAYS KNOWS WHERE THE CHILD IS.
I looked at Thomas.
“My mother?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Eleanor's talking about you.”
The police radio crackled.
Bennett answered.
Then his expression changed.
“What?”
I stepped closer.
“What happened?”
He lowered the radio.
“The house alarm just triggered.”
“Is my son there?”
“They can't confirm.”
“Let's go.”
The drive back felt endless.
When we arrived, the front door was open.
Noah was gone.
My knees buckled.
Daniel caught me.
“No.”
I ran upstairs.
The nursery door was open.
The crib was empty.
A window stood shattered.
There was no blood.
No broken lock.
Just a piece of paper on the mattress.
I picked it up.
A single sentence.
YOU WERE LOOKING FOR THE FOURTH HEIR.
UNDERSTAND THE FIFTH.
Daniel read over my shoulder.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian stepped into the room.
His face went pale.
“There is no fifth heir.”
I stared at him.
“Then who took my son?”
Adrian looked toward the empty crib.
“The fifth isn't an heir.”
“What is he?”
“A witness.”
“To what?”
Adrian whispered:
“Me.”
Silence.
Then Daniel's phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
A message had appeared.
FROM MICHAEL.
It contained an address.
And three words.
BRING CLAIRE ALONE.
I stared at Daniel.
He shook his head.
“No.”
“I'm going.”
“So am I.”
“You're not.”
I stepped closer.
“You don't get to decide that anymore.”
His face fell.
“I know.”
It was the first time he'd said it without defending himself.
We drove anyway.
The address led to an abandoned courthouse.
Inside, Michael was waiting.
He looked at me.
“You finally found the root.”
“Where's my son?”
Michael shook his head.
“Not here.”
“Then why did you call me?”
“Because Adrian is about to make a mistake.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“What mistake?”
Michael looked at him.
“Trusting Claire.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
Michael continued.
“Your mother didn't erase your identity to protect you.”
“She did it to control me.”
“No.”
Michael looked at me.
“She erased it because you weren't the person she was afraid you'd become.”
Adrian stared.
“What?”
Michael turned toward the old judge's bench.
“You were supposed to be the fourth heir.”
He pointed at me.
“But Claire was supposed to be the fifth.”
My blood froze.
I couldn't speak.
Adrian looked at me.
May you like
Michael whispered:
“And your father knew it.”
