Chapter 5 - The Library Secret
The grand foyer was plunged into absolute, terrifying darkness.
I heard my father screaming for the orderlies to grab me and secure my grandmother.
I used the chaotic confusion to break away from the group and run down the dark hallway.
I knew the layout of this massive mansion better than anyone else in the family.
I slipped quietly through the heavy oak doors of the grand library and locked them behind me.
Moonlight filtered through the tall glass windows, casting long shadows across the thousands of books.
"Find the Black Box," I repeated Grandma's urgent whisper to myself.
I ran to the oldest section of the library where she used to read to me as a child.
I frantically pulled dusty books off the bottom shelf until my fingers brushed against cold metal.
I pulled out a small, heavy steel lockbox painted entirely in matte black.
The lock was already broken, as if Grandma had prepared it for me ahead of time.
I opened the heavy lid and found a stack of yellowed, fragile documents inside.
I turned on my cell phone flashlight and read the first piece of paper.
It was an original birth certificate bearing my mother's name.
The section for the father's name was clearly filled out, but it did not say Richard Whitaker.
My heart pounded furiously as I realized the man who had tormented me my entire life was not my biological father.
I dug deeper into the box and found highly classified financial ledgers.
The ledgers contained undeniable proof that Richard had murdered my biological father and stolen the entire family empire.
He had kept me around purely as a sick trophy of his ultimate victory.
I folded the documents carefully and shoved them deep into my coat pocket.
"You really should not go snooping in places where you do not belong," a dark voice echoed from the corner of the room.
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The library lights suddenly flashed on, blinding me temporarily.
My father was standing by the light switch with a loaded silver revolver pointed directly at my chest.
