The Last Bloodline; The Tale of the Master’s Revenge

CHAPTER 010

The sound of the ballroom faded as Marcus followed Mr. Sterling up the stairs until they reached a tall wooden door that creaked softly when the old man pushed it open.

The room was warm, filled with the faint scent of cedar and the quiet crackle of a fireplace. Shelves lined the walls, packed with old books, faded photos, and what looked like antique pieces from different times. A chessboard sat near the fire, half-played, as if waiting for him to reach out to it.

“Sit,” Victor Sterling said, motioning to a velvet chair across from his. “You look uneasy, son.”

Marcus obeyed, his heart still racing. “I didn’t mean to cause a scene downstairs. I didn’t even know—”

Victor raised a hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. If anyone should be embarrassed, it’s Melissa. That girl talks too much for someone who knows so little.”

Marcus almost smiled at that, memories of his wife kissing a stranger flooded his memory as he wondered how the old man knew her.

"You said downstairs that you were wondering when I’d come. What did you mean?”

The old man leaned on his cane and took a seat. “Because I knew your father. You have his eyes, his stance, even the same cautious way of breathing before you speak.”

Marcus froze. “You knew my father?”

Victor nodded slowly. “I did. He was a stubborn man, full of pride, but he had purpose. Before he disappeared, he came to see me. Told me he had something dangerous in his hands and that if anything happened to him, it would find you.”

Marcus’s hand went instinctively to the chain around his neck. He hadn’t told anyone about the necklace. The metal felt warm against his palm, almost like it knew it was being spoken about.

Victor’s eyes followed the motion. “Oh, I see he gave it to you already.”

Marcus’s throat went dry. “You know about this?”

“I know enough,” Victor replied. “That necklace isn’t a simple trinket, Marcus. It’s a system built to reward and destroy. It gives, but it takes more than it should.”

Marcus looked at him, disbelief and fear clashing in his chest. “It gives me strength. Power every time I use it, and has taken nothing from me."

The old man sighed. “Each mission it gives isn’t random. It’s testing you. Pushing you closer to your limit until it finds out whether you are really its master.”

Marcus’s fingers tightened around the pendant. “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t even know what it was when it appeared on me.”

“No one ever does,” Victor said softly. “But the necklace chooses who it believes can bear its burden. Your father tried to destroy it once. Failed miserably.”

"Destroy it? Why?’ Marcus was shocked. "Why would he want to destroy something so valuable?"

Silence hung between them and the only sound was the fire crackling in the fireplace.

Victor sighed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “I’d leave that part to you. However, your father believed you’d finish what he couldn’t. Whatever the necklace is tied to, it’s not done yet. And it’s waking up again.”

Marcus arm tapped the armrest in nervous rhythms, his mind struggling to catch up with what he had just heard. “So, what do I do now?”

The Old man's expression hardened. “You learn to control it before it controls you. Use it sparingly, and never let anyone know what it truly is. The moment people find out, you’ll have more enemies than you can count, because a lot .”

Marcus nodded slowly.

Victor’s voice pulled him back. “You already have someone asking questions, don’t you?”

Marcus didn’t answer, but the slight tension in his face said enough.

Victor gave a small nod. “Even if you don’t, one will show up soon enough. Keep him close, but don’t trust him. Curiosity is a silent poison. It kills slower than betrayal but just as surely.”

The door creaked, and Evelyn stepped in quietly. Marcus eyes instinctively went in her direction. She was beautiful.

She looked calmer now, though her eyes darted between Marcus and her grandfather. “I was worried you’d left already.”

Marcus gave her a faint smile. “Not yet.”

Victor stood, adjusting the collar of his suit. “I have a business proposal for you, but not tonight, we will plan for that. Evelyn, you’ll take him from here. I need to rest. The boy has much to learn, but not in one day.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling like she was happy to be left alone with him.

The old man placed a firm hand on Marcus’s shoulder. “Remember all I’ve told you.”

Marcus swallowed hard. “I understand.”

Victor’s eyes softened for a second as he stared lovingly at him then he left the room, his cane tapping softly until the sound faded into silence.

Marcus exhaled and leaned back. “Your grandfather… he knows everything, doesn’t he?”

Evelyn walked closer, and took the seat her grandfather just vacated. “He knows more than most. And he doesn’t talk about things unless they matter.”

Marcus rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve noticed that.”

Evelyn looked at the pendant’s faint glow beneath his shirt. “Did he talk about that?”

Marcus hesitated while she studied him quietly. “You have to be careful. Whatever this is.”

Marcus nodded, though his mind felt far from calm. She noticed and immediately changed the topic.

Evelyn’s voice softened. “The couple from earlier, Melissa and her partner. How do you know them?”

Marcus frowned, but when he looked at Evelyn and saw she meant no harm, he released his features and shrugged.

“She’s my…wife? Ex wife? I really don’t know at the moment but I caught her with another man a few days ago and she asked for a divorce.”

“What?” she gasped in surprise. What woman will want a divorce from a… She paused mid sentence and swallowed, losing eye contact with Marcus.

Marcus shook his head, trying not to show his curiosity. “From a?” He urged.

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed slightly as she flushed. “From a guy like you.”

Before Marcus could respond, pain shot through his chest. He gasped, clutching the pendant as it burned against his skin. Evelyn rushed to his side.

“Marcus! What’s happening?”

He could barely breathe. A faint familiar voice echoed in his head, urgent and commanding.

New mission detected.

Target in danger. Location: Downstairs.

Marcus’s pulse quickened. His surroundings blurred.

Evelyn’s voice sounded distant, muffled.

“Marcus, talk to me! What’s wrong?”

He forced the words out. “Downstairs. I need to go downstairs."

“Now? In this state?” she asked, panic in her tone.

Marcus pushed himself to his feet, gripping the edge of the table for balance. “Someone’s in danger. I have to go.”

“You can’t even stand properly!” she argued, stepping in front of him. “You’ll pass out before you reach the door.”

“I don’t have a choice,” he said. “If I ignore it, someone might die.”

Evelyn’s hand caught his arm, she looked torn, glancing toward the door as if afraid someone might hear.

"You told me to listen to your father? That's exactly what I'm doing."

The necklace pulsed again, stronger this time, as if pulling him forward. Marcus pressed a hand to his chest, his body trembling under the surge of energy.

“I have to go,” he said and ran out the door.

Evelyn was behind him in seconds, coming down the stairs in her heels hurriedly. "Let me come with you.”

"Help your boss." He suddenly snapped at the nearest guard and they ran to help her down the stairs.

"The chandelier will fall in the next two minutes. The lady underneath it needs to get out today there, if not, she'd be dead." The voice said in his head and his eyes snapped up to see the chandelier dangling in the middle of the room without a care in the world.

Reward: A New Company

He glanced around the room in an attempt to see the lady under the chandelier but the number of bodies dancing back and forth did nothing to help him.

He turned back to the stairs and ran up a few of them so he could see the room from a top view.

Then he saw her. The lady under the chandelier.

She was just being spun around by her dance partner to face him.

Even in the midst of all the chaos, her eyes still met with his from the dance floor.

Melissa.