Chapter 2: The Secret of the Phoenix
Chapter 2: The Secret of the Phoenix
The back room of the bakery was warm and smelled of yeast, melted chocolate, and roasted hazelnuts. Albert had cleared off his personal wooden desk, replacing his ledgers with a massive silver platter piled high with fresh brioche, warm milk, and roasted chicken slices.
Leo and Lily ate with a desperate, quiet intensity, while Albert watched them from a stool, his heart aching at the sight of the rightful heirs to the city’s greatest legacy eating like starving animals.
“Monsieur Albert,” Leo said, wiping his mouth with a clean napkin Albert had provided. “Why did you close the shop? Are we in trouble? Is it because of the necklace?”
Albert sighed, leaning forward. “Leo, do you know what this shop used to be before it was a bakery? It was the private confectionery parlor for the Valois Grand Estate. Your grandfather built this place. Your mother, Lady Catherine, used to run through these very halls when she was no older than Lily.”
Leo’s eyes widened, his fork halting mid-air. “Mother lived here? But... she told us we were just commoners from the outer districts. She said our name was just 'Val'.”
“She was protecting you,” Albert explained softly. “Twelve years ago, a man named Lord Alistair, the current Regent, betrayed your family. He set fire to the grand manor, claiming there was a tragic accident. He seized the banks, the real estate, and the governance of the province. He killed anyone who carried the Valois name because he knew his rule was illegitimate without their bloodline's approval.”
Lily reached up, her small fingers clutching the silver phoenix pendant. “Mother said the bird means we will always wake up, even after the dark.”
“A phoenix,” Albert smiled through his tears. “It rises from the ashes. And so shall you.”
Albert stood up and walked to a heavy iron safe hidden behind a stack of flour sacks. He punched in a complex combination, pulling out a dusty, leather-bound cylinder. Inside were the original property deeds of the entire Valois District, signed and sealed by the high court before the purge.
“When the fire happened, your father managed to smuggle these to me,” Albert said, placing the documents on the table. “Alistair has spent twelve years trying to find them. He thinks they were destroyed. As long as these deeds exist, and as long as a direct heir lives, the Regent’s ownership of this city is entirely illegal. By corporate and provincial law, this bakery, the grand hotels down the boulevard, and the central banking house belong to you, Leo. And to you, Lily.”
Suddenly, the bell at the front of the shop jingled violently, followed by the heavy, rhythmic thud of iron-toed boots against the marble floor.
May you like
“Albert!” a harsh, nasal voice boomed through the partition. “Open this door! We know you closed early, and the Regent’s tax collectors don't like to be kept waiting in the cold.”
Albert’s face paled. He looked at the children, then at the ancient documents. The wolves were at the door, and the secrets of the past were about to collide with the dangers of the present.
