Chapter 24 - The Successor's Chamber
Emily stared at the signature beneath her name.
"I never signed this."
Evelyn met her gaze without hesitation.
"You didn't."
"Then who did?"
"The protocol doesn't require your signature."
Thomas immediately stepped between them.
"Nothing happens until we know who you work for."
Evelyn closed the leather folder.
"I don't work for anyone."
"Everyone works for someone."
A faint smile crossed her face.
"I serve the Office."
David's expression stiffened.
"So it still exists."
"It never disappeared."
Emily looked from David to Evelyn.
"What Office?"
"The one your father helped build."
David answered before Evelyn could.
"And spent the rest of his life trying to dismantle."
Silence filled the forgotten station.
Evelyn nodded slowly.
"Both statements are true."
She motioned toward a pair of bronze doors at the end of the platform.
"The Chamber is ready."
Emily refused to move.
"I don't even know what you're asking me to become."
"Neither did your father the first time he walked through those doors."
Thomas quietly whispered to David,
"Is this another trap?"
David's eyes remained fixed on the doors.
"No."
"That's what worries me."
The bronze doors slowly opened without anyone touching them.
Beyond them stretched a circular hall lined with portraits.
Generations of men and women looked down from the walls.
Each portrait carried only a year.
No names.
No titles.
Emily noticed something strange.
The final frame...
...was empty.
May you like
Beneath it, a polished brass plate displayed only one word.
NEXT.
