They drove through the night toward the coordinates. Alexander had been quiet for the past hour, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.
"You're thinking about something."
Sophia watched his face in the dashboard light.
"I'm thinking about the night Isabella disappeared. There are things I never told you."
"What kind of things?"
Alexander pulled the car over at a rest stop. The parking lot was empty except for a few trucks. He turned off the engine and sat in silence for a moment.
"Do you know what happened twenty years ago? The event that made headlines in every newspaper?"
"No. I was just a baby."
"They called it the Blood Wedding."
The name sent chills down Sophia's spine.
"What was the Blood Wedding?"
Alexander got out of the car and started walking toward a bench near the edge of the parking lot. Sophia followed him.
"It was supposed to be the wedding of the decade. My father, Richard Blackwood, was marrying Isabella Ashford. Two of the wealthiest families in the country joining together."
He sat down heavily on the bench.
"The ceremony was held at Ashford Manor. Three hundred guests. Politicians, business leaders, celebrities. Everyone who mattered was there."
"But something went wrong."
"Everything went wrong."
Alexander stared out at the dark highway.
"The wedding started normally. Isabella looked beautiful in her white dress. My father was happy for the first time in years. I was eight years old, dressed in my best suit, carrying the rings."
"You were the ring bearer?"
"Yes. I was so proud. I thought Isabella was going to be my new mother."
His voice became quieter.
"The ceremony went perfectly. They said their vows. My father kissed his bride. Everyone was cheering."
"Then what happened?"
"We moved to the reception hall for dinner. That's when everything started falling apart."
Alexander stood up and began pacing.
"During the first dance, a man burst into the hall. He was covered in blood and screaming Isabella's name."
Sophia felt her heart racing.
"Who was he?"
"His name was Marcus Kane. He was Isabella's ex-boyfriend from before she met my father. Everyone thought he was out of her life for good."
"But he wasn't."
"No. And he was furious about the wedding."
Alexander stopped pacing and looked at her.
"Marcus started shouting that Isabella belonged to him. That she was carrying his child, not my father's."
The words hit Sophia like a physical blow.
"What?"
"Isabella was pregnant. She had told my father it was his baby. But Marcus claimed it was his."
Sophia's mind was spinning. If Isabella was pregnant twenty years ago, and if that baby survived...
"You think I'm that baby."
"The timing matches perfectly."
Alexander sat back down beside her.
"Marcus wasn't finished. He pulled out a gun and started threatening everyone. The guests were screaming and running for the exits."
"Did he shoot anyone?"
"That's where it gets complicated. Marcus was pointing the gun at my father when Isabella stepped between them."
Alexander's hands were shaking now.
"She begged Marcus to put the gun down. She said she would go with him if he didn't hurt anyone."
"Did he agree?"
"He seemed to consider it. But then the police arrived. Someone had called them when Marcus first appeared."
"What happened next?"
"Marcus panicked. He grabbed Isabella and dragged her toward the back exit. My father tried to follow them, but Marcus fired a warning shot."
Alexander closed his eyes, remembering.
"That was the last time anyone saw Isabella alive."
"But you said it was called the Blood Wedding. Why?"
"Because Marcus didn't leave alone."
Alexander's voice was barely a whisper now.
"He shot three people on his way out. A waiter who tried to stop him. A security guard. And..."
He paused.
"And my mother."
Sophia gasped.
"Your mother was there?"
"She had come to see my father remarry. Despite their divorce, she still cared about him. She was standing near the exit when Marcus ran past."
"She tried to stop him?"
"No. I think she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Marcus was wild, shooting at anyone who moved."
Alexander stood up again, his face hard with old pain.
"She died instantly. I watched it happen."
"I'm so sorry."
"The police found Marcus's car abandoned by the river three hours later. Isabella's wedding dress was in the back seat, covered in blood. But there were no bodies."
"So they both disappeared?"
"For three months. Then Isabella's body was found in the river. But Marcus was never seen again."
Sophia tried to process all this information.
"If Marcus killed Isabella, why would he take her baby?"
"Maybe he didn't kill her right away. Maybe he kept her alive long enough for the baby to be born."
"But then why would he give the baby to an orphanage?"
Alexander turned to look at her.
"Maybe he didn't. Maybe someone else rescued the baby and brought it to safety."
"The woman who brought me to St. Catherine's."
"It's possible. If Isabella had friends who knew about Marcus, they might have been watching, waiting for a chance to save her child."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in thought.
"There's something else," Alexander said finally.
"What?"
"The police investigation was shut down after only six months. Officially, they declared Marcus dead and Isabella's death a murder-suicide."
"But you don't believe that."
"My father never believed it. He spent the rest of his life investigating privately. He was convinced someone else was involved."
"What kind of someone?"
"Someone with enough power to make evidence disappear. Someone who wanted both Isabella and Marcus out of the picture."
Alexander pulled out his phone and showed her a photograph.
"This was taken at the wedding reception, just minutes before Marcus arrived."
Sophia looked at the photo. It showed Isabella in her wedding dress, smiling and talking to a group of well-dressed guests.
"Do you recognize anyone?"
Sophia studied the faces in the photograph. Most were older people she didn't know. But there was something familiar about one of the men standing behind Isabella.
"This man. I feel like I've seen him before."
She pointed to a distinguished-looking man in an expensive suit. He was watching Isabella with an intense expression.
"That's Senator William Cross. He was one of the most powerful politicians in the state."
"Was?"
"He died five years ago. But his son David is following in his footsteps. He's running for governor next year."
Alexander took the phone back and zoomed in on Cross's face.
"My father always suspected Cross was involved somehow. Cross had business dealings with both the Ashford and Blackwood families."
"What kind of business?"
"The kind that makes people very rich or very dead."
A truck pulled into the rest stop, its headlights sweeping across them. Alexander stood up quickly.
"We should keep moving. The coordinates aren't far from here."
They got back in the car and continued driving. Sophia's mind was reeling with everything she had learned.
"Alexander, if I really am Isabella's daughter, that means Marcus Kane might be my father."
"It's possible."
"A murderer is my father."
"We don't know for sure that Marcus killed Isabella. My father always thought someone else was pulling the strings."
"Senator Cross?"
"Maybe. Or someone else entirely."
They drove for another thirty minutes before Alexander turned onto a dirt road that led toward the river.
"The coordinates point to somewhere along this stretch of water."
"Is this where Isabella's body was found?"
"About two miles downstream from here."
The road ended at a small clearing near the riverbank. Alexander parked the car and got out his flashlight.
"Whatever Isabella hid, it should be around here somewhere."
They walked to the edge of the water. The river was dark and slow-moving, reflecting the moonlight like black glass.
"How do we know what we're looking for?"
"The coordinates are very specific. They point to a location about fifty feet from where we're standing."
Alexander led her along the riverbank, checking his phone's GPS.
"Here. This is the exact spot."
They were standing in front of a large oak tree that grew right at the water's edge. Its roots extended down into the river.
"Maybe she buried something here?"
Sophia examined the ground around the tree base. The earth looked undisturbed.
"Wait. Look at this."
Alexander pointed his flashlight up into the tree branches.
"There's something carved into the bark."
About six feet up the trunk, someone had carved a small heart symbol into the wood. The carving was old and weathered, but still visible.
"That's the same symbol as on your necklace."
Sophia pulled out the silver pendant and held it up to the carving. They were identical.
"She marked this tree. But what did she hide here?"
Alexander examined the tree more carefully.
"The carving is pointing toward something. Look at the angle."
He followed the direction of the carved heart and found himself looking at a cluster of rocks near the water's edge.
"There. Those rocks don't look natural."
They walked over to the rock pile. Up close, it was clear that someone had arranged the stones deliberately.
"Help me move these."
Working together, they lifted away the rocks one by one. Underneath, they found a metal box wrapped in waterproof plastic.
"This is it."
Alexander's hands were shaking as he opened the plastic wrapping. Inside was a small steel lockbox, old but well-preserved.
"The key," Sophia whispered.
She looked down at her necklace. The tiny key attached to the heart pendant looked like it might fit the lock on the box.
With trembling fingers, she inserted the key. It turned easily.
The box opened with a soft click.
Inside were three items: a leather journal, a stack of photographs, and a small velvet bag.
Alexander picked up the journal and opened it to the first page. Isabella's handwriting filled the lined paper.
"It's her diary. She wrote about everything that happened."
Sophia looked at the photographs. They showed Isabella with various people, including some she recognized from the wedding photo.
"Look at this one."
She held up a picture of Isabella talking to Senator Cross. But in this photo, Cross's hand was on Isabella's arm, and she looked frightened.
"She was afraid of him."
Alexander was reading from the journal.
"Listen to this: 'William Cross came to see me again today. He's demanding that I give him the information about Marcus's business dealings. He says if I don't cooperate, he'll make sure Richard never sees me again.'"
"What information?"
Alexander flipped through more pages.
"Here: 'Marcus was working for Cross all along. The senator was using him to smuggle weapons across the border. Marcus kept records of everything - dates, locations, buyers. He thought it was insurance against Cross betraying him.'"
"But Cross betrayed him anyway."
"It looks like it. Isabella writes that Cross found out Marcus was planning to expose the operation."
Sophia opened the velvet bag. Inside was a small flash drive.
"The records. This must be what Marcus gave her."
Alexander held up the journal.
"According to this, Isabella was supposed to give the flash drive to Cross in exchange for protection. But she realized he was planning to kill both her and Marcus once he had it."
"So she hid it instead."
"And paid for that decision with her life."
A sound in the distance made them both freeze. Car engines, getting closer.
"They've found us."
Alexander grabbed the box and its contents.
"Run."
But it was too late. Car headlights swept across the clearing as three black vehicles surrounded them.
Men in dark suits got out of the cars, all carrying guns.
"Mr. Blackwood. Miss Kane."
One of the men stepped forward. He was older, well-dressed, with cold gray eyes.
"Miss Kane?" Sophia repeated.
"That's your real name, my dear. You're Marcus Kane's daughter. And you've just found something that belongs to me."
The man smiled, but it wasn't friendly.
"My name is David Cross. And you've been causing me a great deal of trouble."
**End of Chapter**