The Last Heir of The Van Declaoria Bloodline - Chapter 4

It had become a familiar sound in Arlein.

Water sliding across rooftops.

Wind pushing against the narrow streets.

Thunder rolling somewhere far beyond the city.

The night felt restless.

Inside the small house at the edge of the district, the lights were still on.

Regna sat at the dining table, reviewing the last of his office paperwork. Numbers blurred together under the dim lamp. His shoulders ached from the long day.

Across the room, Alena was drawing again.

A small crayon moved carefully across the paper.

“Dad,” she said quietly.

“Yes?”

She lifted the drawing.

“Look.”

Regna leaned closer.

The picture showed three figures again.

A tall man.

A small girl.

And a woman standing beside them.

But this time, something else was different.

Above the three figures, Alena had drawn a large bird flying in the sky.

“A bird?” Regna asked.

Alena nodded.

“Grandma said birds always know where to fly.”

Regna smiled.

“Your grandma says many things.”

From the kitchen doorway, Lieta watched them.

Her expression remained calm.

But her eyes were not focused on the drawing.

They were focused on the window.

Because she had seen something.

A shadow moving across the street.

And it had stopped near the corner.

Lieta slowly turned off the kitchen light.

The room dimmed instantly.

Regna looked up.

“Why did you turn the light off?”

Lieta didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, she walked slowly toward the curtain and looked outside.

There.

The black sedan again.

But tonight there were two.

Her eyes narrowed.

“So you’ve finally grown impatient,” she murmured under her breath.

Regna frowned.

“What?”

Lieta turned back toward him.

“Regna.”

Her voice was calm.

Too calm.

“Take Alena to her room.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

Something in her tone made Regna stop asking questions.

He stood up.

“Come on, Alena.”

“But I’m still drawing—”

“We’ll finish tomorrow.”

Alena pouted but followed him down the hallway.

The bedroom door closed softly.

Lieta remained standing by the window.

Outside, one of the sedan doors opened.

A man stepped out.

Another figure moved beside him.

Two silhouettes in the rain.

Watching the house.

Lieta sighed quietly.

“So it begins.”

---

Five minutes later, Regna returned.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Lieta was already putting on her coat.

“Listen carefully.”

Regna blinked.

“You’re scaring me.”

“You should be.”

Regna stared at her.

Lieta rarely spoke like that.

“Regna,” she said quietly, “tonight you and Alena are leaving.”

“What?”

“You’re leaving Arlein.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“It isn’t.”

Regna shook his head.

“Mom, you’re overreacting.”

Lieta stepped closer.

Her silver hair caught the faint light from the window.

And for the first time in years, Regna saw something unfamiliar in her eyes.

Fear.

Not panic.

Not weakness.

But the kind of fear that only came from experience.

“Regna,” she said softly.

“They’ve found us.”

The words hung in the air.

Regna stared at her.

“They?”

Lieta exhaled slowly.

“My family.”

Regna frowned.

“You mean Van Declaoria?”

“Yes.”

A distant thunder rolled through the sky.

Regna tried to laugh.

“This is insane.”

But Lieta didn’t laugh.

“They’re not coming for me,” she said quietly.

“They’re coming for you.”

---

Outside, the two men crossed the street slowly.

Their movements were careful.

Professional.

One of them checked the small device in his hand.

“Target confirmed,” he whispered into his earpiece.

The voice on the other end replied.

“Proceed.”

The man slipped a small tool from his jacket.

The front gate of the house opened silently.

---

Inside the house, Lieta suddenly froze.

Her head tilted slightly.

Listening.

Then she moved.

Fast.

Much faster than Regna had ever seen before.

She grabbed Regna’s arm.

“They’re already here.”

Regna’s eyes widened.

“What?”

Lieta pulled open a cabinet near the kitchen.

Inside was a small metal box.

She opened it.

Regna stared.

A handgun rested inside.

“Mom—”

“Listen to me.”

Her voice was sharp now.

“You are taking Alena and leaving through the back door.”

“And you?”

“I’ll handle them.”

Regna couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Handle them? What does that even mean?”

Lieta loaded the gun calmly.

The click echoed through the kitchen.

“You don’t know who your mother used to be,” she said quietly.

---

Outside, the two men reached the front door.

One raised his hand.

Three knocks.

Slow.

Precise.

Inside, the house was silent.

The second man whispered.

“Should we breach?”

“Wait.”

They listened.

Nothing.

Then—

A voice spoke from the other side of the door.

Cold.

Calm.

“You should leave.”

The two men exchanged glances.

The first man smirked.

“Open the door, Mrs. Van Declaoria.”

The door opened.

Lieta stood there.

Gun in hand.

Rain blew in behind them.

“Wrong house,” she said quietly.

---

Ten minutes later, Regna’s car sped down the narrow road behind the neighborhood. He need to find a safe travel destination.

Alena sat in the back seat, confused and half asleep.

“Dad?”

“It’s okay.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just… a little trip.”

Regna’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.

His heart was racing.

His mind was spinning.

His mother’s words echoed in his head.

They’ve found us.

A pair of headlights appeared behind them.

Another car.

Regna frowned.

---

Back at the house, the rain continued to fall.

Two bodies lay near the front door.

Lieta stood silently in the doorway.

Her breathing was steady.

Her phone rang.

She answered immediately.

“Is the girl safe?” the voice asked.

“Yes.”

“And Regna?”

“He’s on the way.”

“Good.”

The voice paused.

“They won’t stop now.”

“I know.”

Lieta looked toward the dark road where Regna had disappeared.

“That’s why the girl must survive.”

---

Thirty minutes later.

Regna’s car reached the edge of the city.

Another vehicle waited near the roadside.

A black SUV.

Two men stepped out.

One approached the driver’s window.

“Mr. Mileron?”

“Yes.”

“We’re here to take you and the girl to a safe location.”

Regna hesitated.

“Your mother arranged it.”

The man opened the back door.

Alena climbed inside sleepily.

“Dad?”

“I’m right behind you.”

Regna followed.

The SUV doors closed.

The vehicle pulled onto the highway.

---

Inside the car, Regna finally relaxed slightly.

The road stretched ahead into darkness.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“Somewhere safe.”

Regna nodded.

Alena had already fallen asleep again.

For the first time that night, everything seemed calm.

Then—

The driver’s phone buzzed.

He glanced at it.

And froze.

“Stop the car,” the passenger said quietly.

“What?”

“Stop the car.”

The driver pulled over.

Regna frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

No one answered.

The passenger turned slowly toward Regna.

“I’m sorry.”

Regna didn’t understand.

“Sorry for what?”

The man stepped out of the vehicle.

The door closed.

And three seconds later—

The world exploded.

A blinding flash.

A thunderous roar.

Fire tore through the SUV.

The explosion lit the highway like daylight.

Metal twisted.

Glass shattered.

Flames swallowed the wreckage.

Miles away, the sound echoed across the empty road.

---

Back at the house, Lieta stood by the window.

Her phone rang again.

She answered immediately.

“What happened?”

Silence.

Then a voice spoke.

“The vehicle was destroyed.”

Lieta didn’t breathe.

“Regna?”

“…No survivors.”

The phone slipped slightly in her hand.

For the first time in years—

Her calm broke.

Outside, the rain continued to fall over Arlein.

But somewhere far away, hidden in the darkness, a second car drove quietly down a forest road.

Inside the back seat, Alena slept peacefully.

Beside her sat an old man.

One of Lieta’s most trusted allies.

He looked out at the dark forest ahead.

“The heir is gone,” he murmured.

“But the bloodline…”

His eyes moved to the sleeping child.

“…still lives.”

The car disappeared deeper into the night.

And far behind them, the burning wreckage of Regna’s vehicle slowly turned to ash.

The war inside the Van Declaoria Family had finally begun.

And its first victim…

was the last heir.