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Chapter Forty: Five Years Later
publish date:
2026-07-12 02:41:57
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The Bride Who Walked Away Chapter Seventy-One: Ravenshollow Manor
For several moments, no one moved. The abandoned manor stood across the lake in solemn silence, its grey stone walls softened by ivy and years of neglect. From their vantage point beneath the ash tree, it seemed less like a house than a forgotten monument, preserved by time and hidden from the world. If Thomas had not spoken its name, Marcus might have dismissed it as the remains of an old country estate.Instead, it had become the centre of every question they now carried."We need a closer look," Marcus said quietly.Thomas did not answer at once. His eyes remained fixed on the distant building, where memories long buried were beginning to surface."When I first joined Ashcroft," he said at last, "Ravenshollow belonged to the estate. It had been empty for years, and most of the staff avoided it. There were stories that the roof had become unstable after a fire, but I never saw any evidence of one."Richard frowned. "So someone wanted people to believe it no longer existed."Thomas n
The Bride Who Walked Away Chapter Seventy: A Blooming Lily
They left St. Aldwyn's Chapel shortly after midday, carrying Daniel's letter and the lingering realization that they were no longer uncovering forgotten history—they were competing with someone still following the same trail. The hidden chamber beneath the chapel had been emptied only hours before their arrival. Whoever was searching Daniel Mercer's hiding places remained dangerously close.The journey to the western edge of the former Ashcroft estate took less than an hour. As the vehicles climbed the winding track overlooking the lake, the modern road gradually disappeared beneath overgrown grass and encroaching woodland. Time had reclaimed much of the estate, leaving behind little more than crumbling stone walls and rusted fences swallowed by nature.Thomas watched the familiar landscape through the window with quiet nostalgia."That meadow used to be an orchard," he said softly. "Daniel insisted they preserve it, but eventually the trees disappeared."Richard followed his gaze. "M
The Bride Who Walked Away Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Pursuit
No one entered the hidden passage immediately. Marcus remained kneeling beside the footprints directing the beam of his flashlight along the narrow passage. Lena crouched beside him. "What do you see?"Marcus pointed toward the nearest footprint."The heel has barely sunk into the dust. Whoever walked through here wasn't carrying much weight.""You think it was one person?""I think so."He shifted his light farther ahead, where the prints became more distinct. "The stride is even. No sign of hesitation. Whoever came this way already knew where the passage led."Thomas studied the corridor with growing unease."I've spent half my life on the Ashcroft estate, yet I never heard anyone mention this place."Richard looked around the hidden chamber."Which means Daniel trusted very few people with its existence."Marcus stood, brushing the dust from his trousers."Or someone discovered it independently."Neither possibility was comforting.They advanced slowly, Marcus and Lena leading whi
The Bride Who Walked Away Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Hidden Chamber
For several moments, no one moved.The square opening beneath the lectern seemed to breathe with the slow exhale of cool, undisturbed air rising from below. Marcus held the iron hatch open while Lena swept the darkness with her flashlight. Its beam disappeared into a narrow stone staircase that descended beneath the chapel before turning sharply out of sight."There must be a cellar," Ethan said quietly.Thomas shook his head. "No. St. Aldwyn's was never built with one."He stepped closer, studying the rough stone lining the opening."At least... not according to the original plans."Marcus looked at him. "You're saying this was added later?""I think so."The masonry beneath the chapel differed from the centuries-old stone surrounding it. The blocks were cleaner, more uniform, suggesting they had been laid decades rather than centuries earlier.Richard crouched beside the opening."My father mentioned renovation work here once. I assumed he was talking about repairs after the roof co
The Bride Who Walked Away Chapter Sixty-Seven: St. Aldwyn's Chapel
A pale mist clung to the valley as two vehicles slipped quietly away from the observatory just before dawn. The roads were almost deserted, save for the occasional delivery lorry and a handful of early commuters heading toward Blackwater. Marcus drove without speaking. Beside him, Lena studied an old ordnance map spread across her lap, comparing it with satellite images downloaded the previous evening."There," she said, tracing a finger along a barely visible contour line. "Thomas was right. The chapel doesn't appear on any modern survey, but the older maps still show a footpath leading to it.""It must have been abandoned before the estate was redeveloped." Marcus confirmed."Or deliberately removed from later records."Marcus offered no reply. That possibility had crossed his mind more than once during the drive.Behind them, Richard followed in the second vehicle with Elizabeth, Thomas, Ethan, and Amelia. Although no one had spoken much since leaving the observatory, there was a n
The Bride Who Walked Away Chapter Sixty-Six: Hook and Line
Marcus did not speak again until everyone had returned to the library. The discovery of the transmitter had changed the investigation in a fundamental way. For weeks, they had assumed their unseen adversary was always one step ahead because of superior planning. Now they knew the advantage had been far simpler. Someone had been listening."The device stays where it is," he began. "No one outside this room is to know we've found it. From this moment onward, we assume every conversation in the observatory is being monitored."Lena folded her arms. "That includes our strategy.""Exactly."Richard looked uncertain. "If they're hearing everything, how do we stay ahead of them?"Marcus reached for Daniel's journal, gently running his fingers across its worn leather cover."We learn from the man who's been outsmarting them for over twenty years."Thomas smiled knowingly."Daniel never hid the truth.""No," Marcus agreed. "He hid the order in which people discovered it."He let the thought se
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