Chapter 12 - THE BLACKWOOD VAULT
The vault was beneath the oldest Blackwood property in Boston.
Lucas had never seen it.
Neither had Nathan.
Vincent knew exactly where it was.
That worried Lucas.
They arrived before dawn.
Sarah stayed with Emma.
Nathan and Lucas entered the underground corridor.
Vincent was forced to walk ahead.
At the end stood a steel door.
Lucas inserted the silver key.
The door opened.
Inside were thousands of files.
Money.
Passports.
Photographs.
Weapons.
And a wall covered with names.
Lucas approached.
His name was at the top.
Under it:
SUCCESSOR.
Nathan's name appeared beneath.
SECOND SUCCESSOR.
Then Emma's.
Lucas froze.
FINAL HEIR.
“What does that mean?”
Vincent smiled.
“Your father designed everything around her.”
Lucas turned.
“Why?”
“Because she was the only one he trusted.”
“With what?”
Vincent pointed to a safe.
“The original Blackbird ledger.”
Lucas opened it.
Inside were handwritten records.
Every transaction.
Every murder.
Every bribe.
Every betrayal.
And on the final page was a confession.
Lucas read it aloud.
“I built Blackbird to protect my family.”
He paused.
“Then I realized the machine had become bigger than the family.”
Nathan stepped closer.
The next line read:
“So I created a final safeguard.”
Lucas's eyes moved downward.
“Emma Carter.”
Silence.
The final paragraph was addressed directly to Lucas.
“Lucas, if Emma has reached you, it means I failed.”
Lucas swallowed.
“Protect her.”
The final line made him freeze.
“Because she carries the evidence that can destroy Blackbird forever.”
Lucas looked at Emma through the doorway.
She was sitting beside Sarah.
A child who had walked into his mansion asking for a cleaning job.
A child carrying the secret capable of destroying the most powerful criminal network in Boston.
Then a gunshot rang out.
Sarah screamed.
Lucas turned.
A bullet shattered the vault window.
Vincent disappeared.
Nathan pulled Lucas down.
“Sniper!”
Lucas grabbed Emma.
“MOVE!”
They ran.
Another bullet struck the steel door.
Lucas shoved Emma behind a concrete pillar.
“Stay here!”
He moved toward the entrance.
Then he saw Vincent running.
Lucas chased him.
The corridor exploded into gunfire.
Vincent reached the exit.
Lucas tackled him.
They crashed onto the pavement.
Vincent laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
Lucas pinned him.
“Who hired the sniper?”
Vincent smiled.
“Your mother.”
Lucas froze.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Vincent looked toward the street.
“She wants Emma dead.”
Lucas's blood ran cold.
“Why?”
Vincent whispered:
“Because Emma remembers where the original evidence is.”
Lucas stared.
“She was a baby.”
“Babies remember more than you think.”
Lucas released him.
Vincent smiled.
Then Lucas heard a scream.
“MR. BLACKWOOD!”
Emma.
Lucas turned.
A black SUV was pulling away.
Emma was inside.
Sarah was on the ground.
Nathan was bleeding.
Lucas ran toward the vehicle.
But it disappeared into traffic.
His phone rang.
Eleanor.
Lucas answered.
“Bring me the ledger.”
“What did you do to Emma?”
“She is safe.”
“If you hurt her—”
Eleanor interrupted.
“Lucas.”
Her voice was cold.
“You have until sunrise.”
“To do what?”
“Choose which family member dies.”
The call ended.
Lucas looked at Nathan.
Then Sarah.
Then the empty road.
For the first time in his life, the mafia boss who had terrified an entire city didn't know what to do.
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Because his enemy had finally found the one weapon Lucas Blackwood couldn't fight.
His heart.
