Chapter 10: The Choice That Broke Him
Daniel's hands trembled so violently that the pistol shook with every breath.
Tears streamed down his face.
"I'm sorry."
The words echoed through the hidden chamber.
Claire stared at him, unable to recognize the man she had planned to marry.
"You lied to me."
Daniel shook his head desperately.
"No."
"I loved you."
"Every single day."
"That was never a lie."
His voice cracked.
"But they owned my life long before I met you."
Silence settled over the underground chamber.
Richard slowly stepped in front of Claire.
"If you're going to shoot someone," he said calmly, "shoot me."
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut.
"Don't."
"Please don't make this harder."
Samuel shifted his weight almost imperceptibly.
Richard noticed.
Without turning his head, he spoke quietly.
"No."
Samuel understood.
Richard didn't want a gunfight.
Not yet.
Claire took one careful step forward.
"Daniel..."
"Look at me."
He couldn't.
"Please."
Slowly, he raised his eyes.
She saw terror.
Not hatred.
Not greed.
Pure terror.
"You said they took your sister."
Daniel nodded.
"When she was twelve."
"What is her name?"
He swallowed hard.
"Emma."
"Is she alive?"
"They send me a picture every year."
His breathing became uneven.
"One picture."
"Nothing else."
Richard's expression softened.
"How long have they controlled you?"
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"My grandfather introduced me to them when I was nineteen."
Claire frowned.
"Charles Prescott?"
Daniel nodded.
"He told me it was a patriotic organization."
"He said serving them was an honor."
Samuel muttered under his breath.
"That's how they recruit."
Richard folded William's letter and placed it carefully inside his jacket.
"Who gave you your orders?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I don't know his name."
"What did he look like?"
"Tall."
"Gray suit."
"Silver raven pin."
Claire's heart sank.
"Victor?"
Daniel shook his head immediately.
"No."
"He called Victor..."
He stopped speaking.
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"What did he call him?"
Daniel whispered,
"'The Failed Guardian.'"
Samuel stiffened.
"They're punishing Victor."
Daniel nodded.
"They believe he became... sentimental."
Richard took one slow step closer.
Daniel instinctively raised the pistol.
"Stay back!"
"I will."
Richard stopped.
"But answer one question."
Daniel nodded.
"Did you know who Claire really was before tonight?"
A long silence.
Finally—
"No."
Claire blinked.
"What?"
Daniel looked at her with heartbreaking honesty.
"I thought they wanted information from Richard."
"I didn't know..."
"...that you were Grace Ashbourne."
Claire felt tears welling again.
"So everything between us..."
"It was real."
"It still is."
Suddenly, Olivia's voice crackled through the emergency radio clipped to Samuel's belt.
"Sir!"
Richard grabbed it.
"What happened?"
"The countdown stopped."
Everyone froze.
"What?"
"It reached thirty seconds..."
"...then reset."
Richard's face darkened.
"They've changed the plan."
Above them, heavy footsteps echoed through the hidden staircase.
Not one pair.
Several.
Samuel drew his pistol.
"They found the chamber."
Daniel turned toward the sound in horror.
"No."
"They weren't supposed to know."
Richard looked sharply at him.
"You told them?"
"I swear I didn't!"
"I didn't know this room existed!"
The footsteps grew louder.
Metal scraped against stone.
Someone was forcing open the concealed entrance.
Victor's voice suddenly came through the radio.
"Richard!"
Static crackled.
"You have less than two minutes."
Richard frowned.
"For what?"
"They're not coming for the journals."
"What are they after?"
Victor answered immediately.
"Grace."
Claire's blood ran cold.
"They've already accepted the evidence survived."
"The only thing they can't allow..."
"...is the rightful heir."
The hidden door exploded inward.
Stone fragments flew across the chamber.
Black-clad operatives poured down the staircase with military precision.
Laser sights danced across the room.
At their center walked the same man from the security cameras.
Tall.
Gray suit.
Silver raven pin.
His expression remained calm.
He removed his gloves one finger at a time.
Then smiled.
"Good evening."
His eyes settled on Claire.
"So..."
"After twenty-one years..."
"We finally meet."
Richard stepped forward.
"You won't touch her."
The man chuckled.
"Richard."
"You always were predictable."
Samuel raised his weapon.
"Identify yourself."
The stranger ignored him.
Instead, he looked at Daniel.
"You've done well."
Daniel stared back in shock.
"No."
"I didn't bring them here."
"You didn't have to."
The man tapped Daniel's jacket lightly.
"The tracker did."
Daniel's face went white.
"What?"
The stranger smiled.
"You thought we trusted you?"
Claire looked at Daniel's lapel.
Hidden beneath the fabric...
A tiny black device blinked once.
Richard cursed quietly.
"They planted it."
Daniel tore at his jacket desperately.
"I didn't know!"
"I know," Richard said.
But it was already too late.
The stranger's gaze returned to Claire.
"My name..."
He paused.
"...is Adrian Wolfe."
"I serve the Raven Council."
"And tonight, Grace..."
"...you will come home."
Claire stood straighter.
"I don't have a home."
Adrian's smile faded.
"You do."
"You've simply been living under the wrong roof."
He glanced at Richard.
"For far too long."
Richard answered without hesitation.
"She chooses her own family."
Adrian nodded slowly.
"A noble sentiment."
Then he reached into his coat.
Samuel and the Phoenix agents instantly aimed their weapons.
Instead of drawing a gun...
Adrian removed an old photograph.
He tossed it across the floor.
It landed at Claire's feet.
She picked it up.
Her breath caught.
The picture showed her at about four years old.
Standing in a garden.
Holding the hand of a man she had never seen before.
On the back, written in Emily Ashbourne's handwriting, were eight words:
Grace, trust him if Richard cannot return.
Claire looked up in disbelief.
Adrian Wolfe smiled sadly.
"I wasn't always your enemy."
"I was your mother's last choice."
May you like
The chamber fell into stunned silence.
End of Chapter 10
