Chapter 3: The Unmasking
The manor went dead silent. The house staff, who had been watching from the shadows, stood frozen.
Elias stood up. He didn't move like an old man anymore. He stood taller, his shoulders squaring, his gaze sharpening into something steel-cold and commanding. He reached up and removed his worn, sun-bleached hat, revealing a full head of silver hair and eyes that possessed the weight of absolute authority.
"The papers, Mr. Sterling?" Elias asked. His voice was no longer the raspy mumble of a gardener; it was the booming, resonant tone of a CEO.
"Everything is prepared, sir," the attorney replied, his voice soft. "Exactly as you instructed in the trust."
Julian, his face drained of color, stuttered. "Who... who are you talking to? That's the gardener! Who are you?"
May you like
Elias turned to face him. The shift in his demeanor was terrifying. He wasn't the man who had been shoved; he was the man who held the leash.
"I am Arthur Vane," he said, his voice echoing through the foyer. "And I am the man who has held the deed to this estate in a blind trust for the last twenty years. The 'Blackwood' name died with your grandfather, Julian. You were merely the guest I invited to see if you were worthy of inheriting the legacy."
