Chapter 8: The Ghost Estate
Instead of heading to the financial district for the emergency board meeting, Julian drove two hours north, past the suburban sprawls and into the dense, foggy woods of Blackwood Valley.
He pulled over near a rusting iron gate that had been chained shut for forty years. Beyond it lay the overgrown ruins of Blackwood Manor.
He climbed over the gate, his polished dress shoes sinking into the damp earth. Nature had reclaimed most of the grounds, but the blackened skeletal remains of the central mansion still loomed through the mist like a shattered ribcage.
Julian walked through the hollow doorway, stepping over fallen stone arches and scorched oak beams. In the center of what had once been the grand library, he found a massive stone fireplace—the only structure that had completely survived the blaze.
Etched into the soot-stained marble above the mantle was the original Vane motto: Veritas Vincit—Truth Conquers.
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Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a small iron key Maeve had given him. Beneath the hearthstone, behind a loose brick, was a sealed lead box. He pulled it out and opened it. Inside were the original physical land grants signed by the state governor in 1912, stamped with the red wax seal of the original family trust—documents that proved the current corporate deeds held by Vane Holdings were forged.
He held the evidence of his family's crime in his hands. He heard car tires crunching on the gravel road outside.
