Beauty and the Unconquered Beast

Chapter 9: The Crown's Shadow

Chapter 9: The Crown's Shadow

The Montclair estate was almost empty.

The guests had finally left.

The reporters were gone.

The politicians had returned to their cars, and the endless stream of black vehicles had disappeared through the gates.

But inside the mansion, nobody was celebrating.

Vireya stood beside one of the tall windows overlooking the gardens.

The banquet had ended hours ago, yet she still couldn't forget what had happened.

The accusations.

The documents.

Caelan's attack.

Evren's reaction.

And most importantly—

The message.

ASK CASSIUS ABOUT THE CROWN.

She turned around.

Evren stood several feet away, his hands inside the pockets of his suit.

He had been unusually quiet since they left the banquet hall.

"You're thinking about it."

Evren looked at her.

"About what?"

"The Crown."

He didn't answer.

Vireya crossed her arms.

"You've been staring at the same window for five minutes."

"I wasn't aware you were counting."

"I was."

Evren almost smiled.

Almost.

Vireya walked toward him.

"Who is Cassius?"

The change in Evren's expression was immediate.

Not fear.

Something colder.

Recognition.

"Someone from my past."

"Blackhaven?"

"Yes."

"Your grandfather knows about him."

Evren looked away.

"My grandfather knows many things."

"And apparently he doesn't want you to know them."

Silence.

Vireya watched him carefully.

"Earlier tonight, my uncle mentioned Blackhaven."

Evren's eyes narrowed.

"He did."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"You don't believe that."

"No."

Vireya moved closer.

"Then what do you believe?"

Evren looked directly into her eyes.

"I believe someone is trying to make me remember something."

Vireya's expression hardened.

"Something you forgot?"

"No."

He paused.

"Something I was never supposed to know."

The room became silent.

Vireya slowly lowered her arms.

"That's worse."

"I know."

She studied him for several seconds.

Then she asked the question she had been avoiding.

"Did you kill someone in Blackhaven?"

Evren didn't react.

"No."

"Did you become involved with criminals?"

Another pause.

"Yes."

Vireya's eyes narrowed.

"How involved?"

"Enough."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I'm giving tonight."

Vireya sighed.

"You really are impossible."

"I've heard that."

She turned toward the window.

Then she noticed something.

A faint reflection.

Outside the mansion gates, a black vehicle was parked across the road.

The headlights were off.

Vireya stared at it.

"Evren."

He followed her gaze.

His expression changed.

"Don't move."

She looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because whoever is inside that car wants to know whether we've noticed them."

Vireya remained still.

"Have you?"

"Yes."

"Then why aren't you doing anything?"

Evren smiled faintly.

"Because I want them to think we haven't."

Vireya looked at him.

"You planned that?"

"I learned something in prison."

"What?"

"Never reveal what you know until you know what the other person knows."

Vireya nodded slowly.

Then she understood.

"You're testing them."

"Yes."

The black vehicle remained motionless.

Five seconds.

Ten.

Twenty.

Then its engine started.

The car slowly drove away.

Vireya turned toward Evren.

"Whoever that was knows about us."

"Probably."

"And they're connected to the Crown."

"Probably."

She stared at him.

"You say 'probably' too much."

Evren shrugged.

"It's useful."

Vireya shook her head.

For some reason, despite the danger surrounding them, she almost laughed.

Then her phone vibrated.

She looked down.

One message.

No number.

Just a photograph.

Her expression changed.

"Evren."

He immediately walked toward her.

"What?"

She turned the phone toward him.

The photograph showed an old stone corridor.

A black door stood at the end.

Above it was a symbol.

A crown pierced by a blade.

Evren froze.

For the first time since Vireya had met him, she saw genuine shock in his eyes.

"You've seen this."

Evren nodded slowly.

"Where?"

"Blackhaven."

"When?"

"Five years ago."

Vireya looked at the photograph again.

"What's behind that door?"

Evren didn't answer.

"Evren."

He finally spoke.

"Cassius's room."

Vireya's eyes widened.

"Your master?"

"Yes."

"Then why would someone send us this?"

Evren looked at the message again.

A second line appeared beneath the photograph.

YOU WERE NEVER HIS ONLY STUDENT.

His face became expressionless.

Vireya noticed.

"What does that mean?"

Evren didn't respond.

Another message appeared.

ASK HIM ABOUT THE MAN WHO LEFT BEFORE YOU.

Then the screen went black.

Vireya looked up.

"Evren?"

He was already walking toward the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Why?"

"I need to talk to my grandfather."

"Now?"

"Yes."

Vireya followed him.

"I'll come with you."

Evren stopped.

"No."

She frowned.

"Why?"

"Because whoever sent those messages wants you involved."

"I already am involved."

"That's exactly what worries me."

Vireya stepped closer.

"They tried to kill me."

"I know."

"They tried to frame me."

"I know."

"They're watching you."

"I know."

She stared at him.

"So stop telling me to stay out of it."

Evren looked at her for a long moment.

Then he nodded.

"Fine."

They walked toward the entrance together.

Neither noticed the figure standing on the upper balcony.

The stranger watched them disappear through the doors.

Then he lifted a phone.

"They found the photograph."

A distorted voice answered.

"Good."

"They're going to Valcero."

"Even better."

The stranger smiled.

"Should we stop them?"

There was a pause.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the old man has been hiding the truth for five years."

The stranger looked toward the empty doorway.

"Tonight, Evren will finally ask the right question."

~

Across the City

Serena Vale sat alone inside her office.

It was nearly midnight.

The police station had become quiet.

Most of the officers had already gone home.

Serena hadn't.

A thick folder lay open on her desk.

EVREN VALCERO.

She had spent hours going through his records.

There were gaps.

Too many gaps.

His conviction five years ago had been strangely clean.

The investigation had been completed quickly.

The evidence had been accepted.

The witnesses had testified.

The court had sentenced him.

And then—

Nothing.

Five years of Blackhaven records were almost completely sealed.

Serena leaned back.

"Interesting."

She opened another file.

BLACKHAVEN PRISONER DATABASE.

Most names were classified.

But one name appeared repeatedly in old documents.

CASSIUS VEYR.

Serena searched for him.

The computer returned almost nothing.

No complete biography.

No clear criminal history.

No known relatives.

No confirmed reason for his imprisonment.

Then she found something.

An old photograph.

Serena stared at it.

Cassius Veyr was standing beside several prisoners.

But there was another man in the background.

A younger man.

His face was partially hidden.

Serena zoomed in.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?"

She searched the image again.

Nothing.

Then she noticed something on the man's wrist.

A tattoo.

A crown pierced by a blade.

Serena slowly sat back.

The same symbol.

She remembered the mask found at the banquet.

Her eyes hardened.

"So the Crown is real."

Her phone suddenly rang.

Unknown number.

Serena answered.

"Serena Vale."

Silence.

"Who is this?"

A distorted voice spoke.

"You should stop investigating Evren Valcero."

Serena's expression became cold.

"That's not happening."

"You don't understand what you're looking for."

"Then explain it."

The caller laughed softly.

"You think Evren Valcero is the criminal you're hunting."

Serena remained silent.

The voice continued.

"You're wrong."

"Then who is he?"

Another pause.

"The question isn't who he is."

Serena leaned forward.

"Then what is the question?"

The answer came quietly.

"Who created the Beast?"

The call ended.

Serena stared at her phone.

For several seconds, she didn't move.

Then she opened her notebook.

Under the name EVREN VALCERO, she wrote:

THE CROWN.

Then:

CASSIUS VEYR.

And finally:

WHO CREATED THE BEAST?

~

The Valcero Estate

Evren and Vireya arrived twenty minutes later.

The mansion was dark.

Most of the family had already gone to sleep.

His grandfather was still awake.

He was sitting alone in his study.

The moment Evren entered, the old man looked up.

Then he saw Vireya.

His expression changed.

"You brought her."

Evren closed the door.

"She knows."

His grandfather's face became pale.

"Knows what?"

"About the Crown."

Silence.

The old man's hand tightened around his cane.

Vireya noticed.

Evren walked toward the desk.

"Five years ago, when I was sent to Blackhaven, you told me the case was finished."

His grandfather said nothing.

"You lied."

"Evren—"

"Someone contacted me tonight."

The old man looked at him.

"They know about Cassius."

Silence.

"They know about the Crown."

The old man's breathing became heavier.

"And they know there was another student."

His grandfather closed his eyes.

Evren's voice became colder.

"Who was he?"

The old man didn't answer.

Evren stepped closer.

"Grandfather."

Nothing.

"Who left Blackhaven before me?"

The old man finally opened his eyes.

And for the first time in years—

Evren saw fear.

Not concern.

Not sadness.

Fear.

His grandfather whispered a single name.

"Adrian Veyr."

Evren froze.

Vireya looked between them.

"Who is Adrian Veyr?"

His grandfather stared at Evren.

"The man Cassius trained before you."

Evren's expression hardened.

"What happened to him?"

The old man hesitated.

Then he said the words that changed everything.

"He became the first Beast."

Silence filled the room.

Evren stared at his grandfather.

"First?"

His grandfather nodded.

"Yes."

Vireya's eyes widened.

"Then what does that make Evren?"

The old man looked toward the window.

His voice dropped to a whisper.

"The second."

Outside the mansion, somewhere beyond the gates, a black car waited in the darkness.

Inside it, a man watched the light in the study.

He smiled.

"Now he knows."

He lifted his phone.

One message appeared on the screen.

THE BEAST HAS REMEMBERED.

The man deleted it.

Then looked toward the mansion.

"Now we can begin."