CHAPTER 3: THE SECRET ELIZABETH TOOK TO HER GRAVE
Nathan Drake's phone would not stop vibrating.
One message.
Then another.
Then twenty more.
His attorneys noticed immediately.
The color draining from his face.
The tension spreading through his jaw.
The sudden uncertainty in his eyes.
Only minutes earlier, he had walked into the hospital believing he controlled the situation.
Now he felt something unfamiliar.
Panic.
Real panic.
His lead attorney stepped closer.
"Mr. Drake?"
Nathan ignored him.
His attention remained fixed on the screen.
The first headline appeared.
LEAKED DOCUMENTS QUESTION DRAKE HOLDINGS ACCOUNTING PRACTICES
Then another.
WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS EXECUTIVES HID MILLIONS IN PAYMENTS
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Each worse than the last.
The reporters standing nearby received the same alerts.
Within seconds, phones appeared everywhere.
Questions erupted.
Cameras began recording.
Microphones emerged.
The hallway exploded into chaos.
"Mr. Drake, do you have a statement?"
"Are the documents authentic?"
"Did your company create offshore accounts?"
"Is federal investigation possible?"
Nathan felt his pulse hammering.
This wasn't coincidence.
This was an attack.
A carefully planned attack.
A surgical attack.
And only one person in America possessed both the resources and the motivation to launch it.
Lucian Blackwood.
Nathan slowly raised his eyes.
Lucian remained completely calm.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like a chess player observing a trapped king.
"You did this."
The accusation came out as a whisper.
Lucian's expression never changed.
"No."
Nathan clenched his fists.
"Don't lie to me."
Lucian's gaze sharpened.
"You did this to yourself."
The words hit harder than Nathan expected.
Because deep down he knew they were true.
Every secret account.
Every hidden transfer.
Every illegal payment.
Every lie.
He had built the bomb himself.
Someone had simply lit the fuse.
And now it was exploding.
Three floors above them, Ava sat frozen in her hospital bed.
The television mounted on the wall displayed breaking news coverage.
Nathan's face appeared on every channel.
Financial analysts.
Legal experts.
Former employees.
Everyone suddenly had something to say.
The public narrative was shifting.
Fast.
Very fast.
A nurse entered carrying fresh test results.
She stopped when she noticed the screen.
"Wow."
Ava looked up.
"What?"
The nurse pointed.
"People are turning on him."
For years Nathan had carefully controlled his image.
Successful entrepreneur.
Devoted husband.
Future political donor.
Respected businessman.
But scandals changed everything.
The public loved successful people.
Yet they loved watching powerful people fall even more.
Ava should have felt satisfaction.
Instead she felt numb.
Five years.
Five years of her life.
Five years spent loving a man she barely recognized.
A soft knock interrupted her thoughts.
Lucian entered.
His suit remained immaculate despite the chaos downstairs.
How he managed that, Ava had no idea.
He approached her bedside.
"You should rest."
She laughed weakly.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
She gestured toward the television.
"My entire life is on the news."
Lucian glanced at the screen.
Nathan's lawyers were now rushing through crowds of reporters.
The image almost made him smile.
Almost.
Ava studied him carefully.
"There was something you didn't finish telling me."
His expression shifted.
Immediately.
The room became quieter.
He already knew what she meant.
"My mother."
Lucian nodded.
"Yes."
"You said she saved your life."
"She did."
"You said you asked her to keep your connection secret."
Another nod.
Ava swallowed.
Then asked the question that had been haunting her all night.
"What aren't you telling me?"
For several seconds, Lucian said nothing.
The silence stretched.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Meaningful.
Finally he walked toward the window.
Rain continued falling beyond the glass.
Seattle glittered beneath the storm.
His reflection stared back at him.
Older now.
Tired.
Burdened.
And perhaps for the first time in decades—
afraid.
Not afraid for himself.
Afraid of the truth.
When he finally spoke, his voice was softer than Ava had ever heard.
"Your mother and I loved each other."
The room went completely still.
Ava blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Certain she had misunderstood.
"What?"
Lucian turned slowly.
Pain filled his eyes.
The kind of pain that survives decades.
The kind that never fully heals.
"We were engaged."
Ava felt the world tilt beneath her.
"No."
"It was a long time ago."
"No."
She shook her head repeatedly.
"My mother never said anything."
"She wouldn't."
"Why?"
The answer came immediately.
"Because she left."
Ava stared.
Lucian continued.
"She ended our engagement."
The words sounded difficult for him.
As if speaking them reopened wounds that never truly closed.
"Why would she do that?"
His jaw tightened.
"To protect someone."
A chill crawled through Ava.
Protect someone.
Not herself.
Someone else.
Her pulse quickened.
"Who?"
Lucian's eyes met hers.
And for the first time that night—
he hesitated.
Ava suddenly understood.
Not completely.
But enough.
Enough for terror to begin forming.
Enough for impossible thoughts to emerge.
"No."
The whisper escaped before she could stop it.
Lucian looked away.
That was answer enough.
Ava's breathing became uneven.
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"No, that's impossible."
But deep inside, she already knew.
The timeline.
The secrecy.
The photographs.
The strange look of recognition.
The way Lucian had stared at her mother.
The way he had protected her without question.
The way he had acted as though finding her mattered.
A lot.
Too much.
Tears filled her eyes.
"What are you saying?"
Lucian closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
And spoke the words that changed everything.
"I believe there's a chance I'm your father."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The monitors continued beeping.
Rain continued falling.
Cars continued moving through Seattle.
The world continued turning.
Yet Ava felt as though reality had stopped.
Her father had died when she was sixteen.
At least that was what she'd always believed.
The man who raised her.
The man whose funeral she attended.
The man she mourned.
Lucian spoke carefully.
"He was a good man."
Ava looked up sharply.
"What?"
"He knew."
Her heart nearly stopped.
"He knew?"
Lucian nodded.
"He knew the truth."
The revelation shattered everything.
Every memory.
Every assumption.
Every certainty.
"My father knew?"
"He chose to raise you as his own."
Tears spilled down Ava's face.
She couldn't stop them.
Couldn't process any of it.
The room blurred.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Nothing.
Lucian approached slowly.
"Ava—"
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
The question broke apart halfway through.
Raw.
Painful.
Childlike.
Lucian had no answer.
Or perhaps he had too many.
Either way, neither helped.
For several minutes neither spoke.
Then suddenly the suite door burst open.
A security officer entered.
Breathing hard.
Urgent.
"Mr. Blackwood."
Lucian immediately turned.
"What happened?"
The guard's face was pale.
Very pale.
"The woman."
"What woman?"
"Chloe Matthews."
Every muscle in Lucian's body tightened.
"What about her?"
The guard swallowed.
"She's gone public."
Ava wiped her tears.
"What does that mean?"
The officer looked stunned.
As if he could barely believe the information himself.
"She just released every recording she has."
Silence.
Then—
"What recordings?" Ava asked.
The guard answered.
"Recordings of Nathan."
Ava felt her stomach drop.
Lucian's expression darkened.
"How many?"
The officer looked down at his tablet.
His voice shook.
"Three years' worth."
The room went silent again.
Because everyone understood exactly what that meant.
Nathan Drake wasn't facing a scandal anymore.
He was facing annihilation.
And somewhere across the city, reporters were already uncovering a second secret.
A much bigger secret.
One connected to Elizabeth Bennett.
One connected to Lucian Blackwood.
One connected to Ava herself.
A secret buried for nearly three decades.
A secret powerful enough to change the future of three unborn children.
And before sunrise—
the entire country would know it.
