William didn't think for long. He reached out, opened the door, and walked into the room. He had it figured out: this was a world of sci-fi movies, with nothing that could counter his magic. Even in the worst-case scenario, he could open a portal and escape.
Once he got out, he would wipe out everyone in the dark fortress and destroy it completely.
He had the ability to do that. Modern buildings were most vulnerable to fire and earthquakes. If it came to it, he could spend some extra time burning everything in the dark fortress and then use an earth spell to bring it down.
When life and death were on the line, William wouldn't care about exposing magic. Who would worry about such things when their life was at stake?
He closed the door behind him as he entered the room. It was a small room, about 20 square meters, with a bathroom and a bed. Why would these things be here? Wasn't this leaving a flaw? In movies, sewers were always a weak spot that people could exploit. But William didn't dwell on it; the people of the dark fortress must have considered it more thoroughly than he had.
After scanning the entire room with his mental power and finding no cameras or similar devices, William opened the cabinet in the room.
Inside the cabinet was a half-meter-long cipher cylinder. Using the code Henry had told him, William opened the cylinder to find only a single letter inside. He was taken aback; it seemed his grandfather didn't even trust the people in the dark fortress.
The letter was from Henry, and it read: "William, by the time you open this letter, it should have been ten years. My dear grandson, I love you and your mother, but I can no longer be with you. I only hope your grandmother hasn't joined me in heaven, although I know it's unlikely. I sincerely hope she can be with you in my place.
"William, take care of your mother for me, love her as I would. I wish God could grant me more time, but alas, He won't heed my prayers. Our Devonshire family has not believed in God since our second generation.
"Remember what I told you about the Oxford Ordinance. It is the talisman that has protected our family for a thousand years. Anyone who tries to open or destroy this secret must be eliminated. This secret is to be known and guarded only by us, not even your wife or mother can be told.
"One day, go to the family castle; a greater secret awaits you there. From now on, trust no one; anyone who approaches you could be after our secret. These secrets are the hope for the revival of the Devonshire family.
"William, I hope you will be the one to uncover that mystery, the one our ancestors and I have spent generations searching for. Find it, and then tell me and your ancestors at our graves."
William didn't know what other secrets awaited him at the castle. He only knew that his family had two secrets: one was a talisman with a big secret inside, and the other was something the Devonshire family had sought for generations but had never found, a secret tied to their future. What could impact their future?
After thinking it over, William figured it could only be a few things: offspring, land and wealth, or power.
He could rule out offspring and power; nobility in England didn't hold much sway anymore. That left wealth. It seemed the family had been searching for a treasure for generations. The thought of a treasure hunt that had spanned centuries felt daunting to William, who didn't have much confidence in finding it.
Wealth could be made on his own. Even if he did nothing now, he could buy stocks during the crash and turn a billion into hundreds of billions over ten years.
William decided to wait until he uncovered the secret Henry had hidden in the castle. After searching the room and finding nothing else, he reset the code on the cipher cylinder.
He didn't store the Christmas and Barney data in the Da Vinci Code cylinder because he felt Henry probably didn't trust the dark fortress's security measures anymore.
There was no place safer than his own storage space, so he didn't plan to follow past protocols and leave the data in the dark fortress. The times had changed, and who knew what might have happened in the past ten years?
After finishing up, William pressed the alert button and sat in the room waiting for someone to come and let him out.
Thankfully, it didn't take long. The middle-aged man who had brought him in appeared at the door, instructing him to input the code to exit the room.
Once outside, William made his way out of the basement and took the elevator back above ground. He greeted old Victor before getting into his car and leaving. He had no intention of returning to this haunted dark fortress. He trusted Henry wouldn't waste effort on things that didn't matter; since Henry had lost faith in the dark fortress, William would no longer honor any agreements tied to it.
News of William's visit to the dark fortress quickly spread among nobles and interested parties once he entered the Devonshire family's private room.
Both the Duke of Devon and the Earl of Oxford were immediately informed. Everyone now believed William was Henry's heir, as he was the keeper of all Henry's secrets.
Driving away, William mulled over everything Henry had told him, finally feeling at ease.
There was one thing William had been curious about: the W member list Henry had. He hadn't found it in the dark fortress, so either Henry had disbanded the W group, or he had hidden the list in the family castle, distrusting even the dark fortress.
He hoped the list still existed because those people had served the Devonshire family for decades. At the same time, he feared finding it, as he didn't know if these people had remained loyal or wanted to continue their covert activities.
He didn't want to disrupt the lives of those who had settled down and might resent being disturbed. These people were now in their thirties or forties, likely married with children. William decided it was best to let them live their peaceful lives undisturbed.
William returned home to find his mother, Lena, watching TV. She was a Chelsea fan, and Chelsea had a match that day.
William hugged his mother. Lena kissed him on the cheek and then pushed him away, saying, "Alright, don't disturb Mom while she's watching the game. Go take a shower first."
William pouted, thinking to himself how football took precedence over her son. The English were truly fanatical about football.
After showering, William put on his pajamas and went downstairs to watch the game with Lena.
"Mom, where are our tenants? I haven't seen them."
Without looking away from the TV, Lena replied, "They moved out. They couldn't stand the paparazzi constantly around. If this house weren't left to me by your grandfather, I'd want to move out too. The paparazzi have been driving me crazy, asking questions whenever I step outside. By the way, William, what's going on with that reporter? Are you two dating?
"I've been pestered by the paparazzi daily about my thoughts on Diana and whether I oppose your relationship. It's maddening.
"And don't think about getting married and having kids so soon. I'm not ready to be a grandmother. The thought of a baby calling me 'grandma' gives me the creeps. Got it? Why are you laughing, William? Are you asking for a beating?"
Seeing Lena getting angry, William quickly started massaging her shoulders and legs.
"Mom, don't worry. I'm not even 20 yet. I won't get married so early. Just dating is normal, right? You were worried I might be gay. Now you believe I'm not, don't you?"
"That's better. Alright, don't interrupt me while I'm watching the game. We can talk about everything else after the match."
"Okay, but Mom, why don't we go to a game sometime? Now we can afford VIP seats."
"YES, YES, why didn't I think of that? We're rich now; no need to skimp like before. Quick, William, call and get us tickets for the whole season."
Lena urged William to book the tickets, and he managed to get two season tickets in the third row after paying an extra 20%.
"Mom, I got the season tickets in the third row center. I paid 20% extra. You're really lucky, Mom," William said in a tone seeking praise.
"Good job, darling. A kiss for you," Lena said, kissing William before pushing him away again.
The English and their football obsession were too much to handle, so William resigned himself to watching the game with Lena.
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