Adrian didn't sleep.
He'd been staring at the ceiling of his penthouse for the past four hours, replaying every second of what had happened on that street. The way Lillian had looked at him when his eyes changed. The fear in her voice when she'd asked what he was.
But more than that, he kept thinking about how she'd grabbed his arm. How she'd refused to let him walk away without answers.
Most people would have run screaming after witnessing what she'd seen. Instead, she'd held on tighter.
By five AM, he gave up on sleep entirely and headed to the office.
The building was empty except for security and the overnight cleaning crew. Adrian's footsteps echoed through the marble lobby as he made his way to the elevator—the same elevator where everything had started two days ago.
His private office occupied the entire north side of the fortieth floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a view of Central Park in the distance. This early in the morning, the city looked peaceful. Almost innocent.
Adrian knew better.
He poured himself a cup of coffee from the machine his assistant kept stocked and settled behind his desk. The black stone surface was empty except for a single manila folder that had been waiting for him when he'd arrived.
Marcus's preliminary report on Lillian Blackwood.
He'd ordered the investigation yesterday, before the incident on the street. Before he'd made the mistake of getting personally involved. But now, after seeing what she could do to his self-control, he needed to know exactly what he was dealing with.
Adrian opened the folder and started reading.
The first few pages were standard background information. Birth certificate, school records, college transcripts. Lillian Marie Blackwood, born October 31st, 1999, in Portland, Oregon. Parents listed as David and Sarah Blackwood, both deceased in a car accident when Lillian was sixteen.
Average student until high school, then suddenly gifted. Full scholarship to Columbia University. Finance degree with honors. No significant relationships, no criminal record, no red flags.
Too clean. Too normal.
Adrian flipped to the next page and found Marcus's handwritten notes.
"Adoption records sealed. Birth certificate shows hospital of birth, but hospital has no record of delivery on that date. Social Security number issued three months after listed birth date. Parents' death certificates list different place of birth for subject than official records show."
Adrian set down his coffee cup.
He kept reading.
"Elementary school records missing for grades K-3. Subject appears in school system for first time at age nine, with no transfer records from previous institution. Medical records prior to age ten are nonexistent."
The pieces started forming a pattern Adrian didn't like.
"Parents listed as David and Sarah Blackwood, but no marriage certificate on file. Property records show the Portland house was purchased by Sarah Blackwood alone, six months before subject's listed birth date. David Blackwood has no documented existence prior to 1999."
Adrian reached for his phone and called Marcus's direct line.
"Sir?" Marcus answered on the first ring. He was probably already in the office, three floors down.
"How thorough was this background check?"
"Very thorough. I used our most discreet sources."
"And you found what I'm reading?"
"Multiple inconsistencies. Dead ends. Records that should exist but don't." Marcus paused. "Sir, with respect, whoever created this identity did a very good job. But they weren't perfect."
Adrian was quiet for a moment, processing. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to give Lillian Blackwood a normal background. The question was why.
"What about her biological parents?"
"That's where it gets interesting. The sealed adoption records are sealed for a reason that's above my clearance level. Federal level. Which suggests either witness protection or something involving national security."
Or something involving the magical world, Adrian thought but didn't say.
"Keep digging," he said instead. "But be careful. If this involves federal protection, we don't want to trigger any alarms."
"Understood. Sir, if I may ask... why the interest in this particular intern?"
Adrian looked out the window at the city waking up below. How did he explain that Lillian had somehow triggered abilities he'd kept buried for ten years? That her touch had caused a magical resonance that should have been impossible?
"She's... unusual," he said finally.
"Unusual how?"
"She completed the Hartwell analysis in three hours."
Marcus was quiet for a moment. "The analysis our forensic accounting team missed?"
"The same one."
"I see." Marcus's tone suggested he saw more than he was saying. "Should I prioritize this investigation?"
"Yes. And Marcus? This stays between us."
"Of course, sir."
Adrian hung up and returned to the folder. There were still several pages left, including financial records and employment history. But he was starting to see the bigger picture.
Lillian Blackwood didn't exist before age nine.
Which meant the real question wasn't who she was—it was who she'd been before someone had given her a new identity.
His phone buzzed with a text message.
"Working late again? Hope you're getting some sleep. —L"
Adrian stared at the message. She'd somehow gotten his personal number, which wasn't listed anywhere public. But more than that, she was checking on him. After everything that had happened last night, she was worried about his well-being.
He started to type a response, then deleted it. Then typed another one and deleted that too.
Finally, he settled on: "I don't sleep much."
Her response came back immediately: "Neither do I. Weird dreams lately."
Weird dreams. Adrian felt something cold settle in his stomach. Changes in sleep patterns were often the first sign of magical awakening in dormant bloodlines.
Before he could respond, another message came through: "Can we talk today? About last night?"
Adrian set the phone down and rubbed his temples. Every instinct told him to stay away from her. To transfer her to another department, or better yet, another company entirely. To put as much distance between them as possible before whatever was happening to her got worse.
But he couldn't. Not when she might be the key to everything he'd been working toward for the past ten years.
And not when someone had clearly gone to enormous trouble to hide who she really was.
A knock on his office door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in."
Marcus entered, carrying another folder and looking like he'd been up all night. Which he probably had.
"I found something," he said without preamble.
"That was fast."
"I called in some favors. Old contacts from my previous life." Marcus set the folder on Adrian's desk. "The federal protection angle was a dead end, but I found something else."
Adrian opened the folder. Inside was a single photograph, grainy and obviously old. It showed a woman with dark hair holding a small girl. The woman looked familiar, but Adrian couldn't place her.
"That's Sarah Blackwood," Marcus said. "Lillian's adoptive mother. But that's not the interesting part."
He pointed to something in the background of the photo. A building, partially visible behind the woman and child.
"That's the Blackwood Estate in Salem, Massachusetts."
Adrian's blood turned to ice. "Blackwood Estate?"
"One of the oldest magical families in North America. They've been involved in magical politics for over three centuries." Marcus paused. "The family was supposedly wiped out in a purge fifteen years ago. Every member killed or disappeared."
"Supposedly."
"Except for one child who was never found. A daughter, born in 1999."
The pieces clicked into place with a sound like a prison door slamming shut.
"You think Lillian is—"
"A Blackwood. A real one. Which would make her one of the most powerful magical bloodlines in existence." Marcus leaned forward. "Sir, if this is true, and if the people who killed her family find out she's alive..."
"They'll finish the job." Adrian closed the folder. "Who else knows about this?"
"Just us. And whoever helped hide her in the first place."
Adrian thought about Lillian's unusual analytical abilities. Her instinct for seeing patterns that others missed. The way she'd triggered his own dormant magic just by touching him.
If she really was a Blackwood, everything made sense.
"Sir," Marcus said carefully, "what do you want to do?"
Adrian was quiet for a long moment. The smart thing would be to cut all ties with her immediately. The Blackwood family had been destroyed for a reason—they'd been too powerful, too influential, too dangerous to the current magical order.
But they'd also been allies to his family, before the betrayal that had cost him everything.
If Lillian really was a Blackwood, she might be the key to reclaiming not just his throne, but his entire world.
"I want you to keep investigating," he said finally. "But carefully. We can't let anyone know what we've found."
"And Miss Blackwood?"
Adrian looked at the photo again. The little girl in the picture had the same amber eyes as the woman who'd grabbed his arm last night and demanded answers.
"I'm going to get close to her."
"Sir, is that wise? If she's who we think she is, and if her abilities start manifesting—"
"Then I need to be there to guide her." Adrian stood up and walked to the window. "And to protect her from the people who killed her family."
"By people, you mean—"
"The magical council. The same ones who destroyed my family." Adrian's reflection stared back at him from the glass, and for a moment, his eyes flashed gold. "If Lillian Blackwood is still alive, it means someone very powerful wanted her to stay hidden. The question is whether they were protecting her from the council, or protecting the council from her."
Marcus was quiet for a moment. "What if it's both?"
Adrian turned back to face him. "Then we're about to find out just how powerful a Blackwood can be."
His phone buzzed again. Another message from Lillian.
"I'm coming up to your office. We need to talk."
Adrian showed the message to Marcus, who raised an eyebrow.
"She's coming here? Now?"
"Apparently." Adrian closed the folders and handed them to Marcus. "Hide these. And Marcus?"
"Yes, sir?"
"If I'm right about who she is, everything is about to change."
Marcus nodded and headed for the door, but stopped with his hand on the handle.
"Sir, one more thing. If the Blackwood family was as powerful as the records suggest, and if Miss Blackwood is beginning to awaken to her heritage..."
"What?"
"The magical council won't be the only ones interested in her. Every faction, every family, every power player in the magical world will want to either control her or eliminate her."
Adrian felt a familiar weight settle on his shoulders. The same weight he'd carried for ten years, since the night his own family had been betrayed and destroyed.
"Then we'll just have to make sure she's strong enough to handle them."
"And if she's not?"
Adrian walked to his desk and straightened his tie. In a few minutes, Lillian would walk through that door, probably demanding explanations he couldn't give her. Yet.
But she would get them eventually. Because if she really was a Blackwood, she deserved to know who she was. And more importantly, what she was capable of.
"Then we'll make her strong enough," he said. "Whatever it takes."
A knock on the door announced Lillian's arrival.
Adrian took a deep breath and prepared to lie to the most powerful magical bloodline in North America.
Again.
End of Chapter 4