Chapter 19 – The Final Enemy
Chapter 19 – The Final Enemy
The voice on the phone sent a wave of fear through everyone standing on the steps of Hawthorne Estate.
Richard Hawthorne.
Alive.
Free.
Speaking as if nothing had happened.
Emma stared at the phone in disbelief.
"How are you calling me?"
For a moment, there was only silence.
Then Richard laughed softly.
"Still asking the wrong questions, Emma."
Arthur stepped forward.
"Where are you?"
Richard ignored him.
Instead, he spoke directly to Emma.
"You finally found everything your mother hid."
"The blue ledger."
"The recordings."
"The truth about me."
Emma's grip tightened around the phone.
"You lied to everyone."
Richard's voice became colder.
"I survived."
"There is a difference."
Agent Collins immediately motioned to her team.
"Trace the call."
Two FBI technicians rushed toward the communication vehicle.
Collins kept her voice calm.
"Keep him talking."
Emma understood.
She looked at Arthur.
He nodded.
"Ask him questions."
She took a breath.
"Why?"
Richard paused.
"Why what?"
"Why did you do all of this?"
The line went quiet.
Then Richard answered.
"Because I was tired of being second."
Arthur's face hardened.
"Second?"
Richard continued.
"Your father built an empire."
"He praised Elizabeth."
"He trusted Elizabeth."
"Everyone loved Elizabeth."
His voice became bitter.
"And me?"
"I was the son who was expected to maintain what she inherited."
Emma listened silently.
For the first time, she heard something behind Richard's anger.
Not regret.
Not guilt.
Envy.
Richard continued.
"When Elizabeth discovered the financial records, she thought exposing me would save the family."
A cold laugh escaped him.
"She never understood the world she entered."
Emma frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"Your mother found the Black Circle."
"She thought they were criminals."
"She was wrong."
"They were something bigger."
Arthur interrupted.
"Stop pretending you were a victim."
Richard's tone changed.
"You still don't understand, Father."
"I wasn't working for them."
"I was trying to become one of them."
Silence followed.
Even Malcolm looked surprised.
Richard continued.
"They don't accept weakness."
"They don't accept loyalty."
"They only accept power."
Emma felt sick.
"So you destroyed your own family for power?"
Richard answered immediately.
"Your mother was willing to destroy everything I built."
"She chose you over me."
Emma's eyes narrowed.
"She chose her child."
Richard didn't respond.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then the FBI technician raised a hand.
He whispered,
"We have the location."
Collins looked at the screen.
Her expression changed.
"Where?"
The technician swallowed.
"The call is coming from..."
He looked toward the map.
"...inside Hawthorne Estate."
Everyone froze.
Arthur slowly turned.
The mansion behind them stood silent.
Impossible.
Richard wasn't outside.
He wasn't across town.
He was somewhere inside the estate.
Malcolm immediately understood.
"A hidden room."
Arthur looked at him.
"What?"
"Old families always have secrets."
Malcolm looked toward the mansion.
"Especially wealthy ones."
FBI agents moved quickly.
Every hallway was cleared.
Every room searched.
Emma stayed between Lucas and Arthur.
Then Malcolm stopped.
He looked toward the old family portrait hanging in the main hall.
A painting of Arthur's father.
Then his grandfather.
Three generations of Hawthornes.
"What?"
Lucas asked.
Malcolm pointed.
"The eyes."
Everyone looked confused.
"The painting."
He walked closer.
"Not the face."
"The eyes."
He touched the frame.
A small click echoed.
The portrait moved forward.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
Arthur stared.
"I've lived here forty years."
"I never knew."
Malcolm smiled faintly.
"That's why it's hidden."
The passage led beneath the mansion.
Unlike Elizabeth's greenhouse vault...
This room was modern.
Steel walls.
Computer equipment.
Security monitors.
And in the center...
Richard.
He sat calmly at a desk.
A glass of whiskey beside him.
He smiled.
"Welcome."
The FBI agents aimed their weapons.
"Richard Hawthorne, stand up slowly."
Richard ignored them.
Instead, he looked at Emma.
"You look so much like Elizabeth."
Emma remained silent.
Richard sighed.
"I suppose she would be proud."
Arthur stepped forward.
"You almost killed your own niece."
Richard looked at him.
"She wasn't supposed to survive."
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Lucas moved forward angrily.
"You're sick."
Richard smiled.
"Maybe."
"But I was close."
Agent Collins noticed something on the computer screens.
"What's this?"
She approached carefully.
Multiple files appeared.
Thousands of names.
Financial transfers.
Private communications.
Black Circle members.
Richard had access to everything.
Malcolm stared at the screens.
"Why would you keep this?"
Richard laughed.
"Insurance."
He looked toward Malcolm.
"Unlike you, I knew someday I might need protection."
Malcolm's expression hardened.
"You were never trusted."
Richard smiled.
"No."
"But I was useful."
Emma looked around the hidden room.
Then she noticed something strange.
On the wall was a photograph.
Her mother.
Elizabeth.
Standing beside Richard.
But the date was different.
Only three months before Elizabeth disappeared.
Emma stepped closer.
"Why was my mother with you?"
Richard became quiet.
For the first time...
He looked human.
"Because she came to me for help."
Arthur froze.
"What?"
Richard looked at him.
"Elizabeth knew she was being hunted."
"She knew someone powerful wanted her silent."
"So she asked me to protect her."
Emma shook her head.
"You're lying."
Richard looked at her sadly.
"Am I?"
He reached into a drawer.
Removed an old voice recorder.
And pressed play.
Elizabeth's voice filled the room.
"Richard..."
A younger Elizabeth sounded exhausted.
"But I need you to promise me something."
Richard's younger voice answered.
"I promise."
Elizabeth continued.
"If anything happens to me..."
"Protect Emma."
The recording stopped.
Everyone stood frozen.
Arthur looked devastated.
"Why?"
Richard stared at the floor.
"Because I failed."
No one expected that answer.
Richard continued quietly.
"I hated Elizabeth."
"But she was still my sister."
"I wanted what she had."
"I wanted Father's approval."
"But when she disappeared..."
His voice cracked slightly.
"I realized I had destroyed the only person who ever believed I could be better."
Emma watched him carefully.
For the first time...
She saw not just a villain.
But a broken man who had spent decades choosing the wrong path.
Then—
A gunshot exploded.
The hidden room window shattered.
Everyone dropped.
Richard fell backward.
A dark stain spread across his shoulder.
Not fatal.
A warning.
Malcolm looked toward the shattered glass.
His face turned pale.
"No..."
Emma looked at him.
"What?"
Malcolm whispered:
"The Black Circle isn't trying to stop us anymore."
"They're cleaning house."
Another shot hit the computer system.
The screens went black.
A message appeared on every monitor.
Three words.
THE FINAL MOVE.
Malcolm stared at the screen.
Because he knew exactly what it meant.
The Black Circle had decided.
No more negotiations.
No more hiding.
May you like
They were coming for every Hawthorne.
Including Emma.
