Lord Voldemort was holding a meeting with his Death Eaters at Malfoy Manor, the most preferred location to be used as his headquarters. Around the spacious oval table sat his most loyal followers, listening to his plans for the future.

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were there although they both looked paler than usual. They had been recently blessed with a baby boy whom they had named Draco but their son's existence made it even easier for the Dark Lord to blackmail them and use them for his purposes.

On the other hand, was Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband Rudolphus, two of the most trustworthy Death Eaters Voldemort had. Severus Snape was present too and although he was not a new recruit, he had been pushed to sit at the end with the lower-ranking Death Eaters due to his faltering loyalty as his school friend Lily Evan's life could be put at stake if Voldemort went after her son.

Other than those five, there were notable Pureblood witches and wizards such as the Averys, the Mulcibers, the Yaxleys, and the Notts. The second generation of all those people Voldemort had gone to school with back when he was using the identity of Tom Riddle.

The meeting was going on smoothly until he felt a sinister feeling of dread grip him. He paused mid-conversation, unable to understand the reason for the sudden tightening in his chest.

It seemed as if someone was plucking out something from inside him, tearing the seams apart that held his remaining soul together.

Voldemort's face contorted with a mixture of rage and anguish. He clutched his chest, a sudden wave of excruciating pain coursing through him. The Death Eaters looked on, witnessing their formidable leader's rare moment of vulnerability.

"My Lord, are you alright?" Bellatrix was the first to speak up, concern lacing her tone.

Voldemort waved her off, trying to suppress the physical torment wracking his body, "yes, it is nothing. Focus on the missions assigned to you all."

But the pain intensified, and the sensation was unlike anything Voldemort had ever experienced, and he struggled to retain his composure. He knew he couldn't afford to be vulnerable, especially not in front of his followers who saw him as all-powerful and invincible.

Finally, he realized what could be the reason behind the extreme pain he was feeling and he dismissed all his followers except Bellatrix and Lucius.

"My Lord, please tell us how we can assist you?" Bellatrix came forward, not hesitant to express her concern for his deteriorating state.

"My Horcruxes... Someone dared to destroy my Horcruxes..." He choked out, gritting his teeth as he braced himself against the agony.

That sort of pain was worse than tearing apart a piece of his own soul to trap into an object that was later transformed into a Horcrux using Dark Magic. It was almost as if that piece of his soul had been destructed completely.

"We shall find out immediately who dared to commit such a crime," Bellatrix spoke up with resolve, "we shall find them and put an end to them."

Lucius however was thinking in a slightly different direction as he spoke up, "My Lord, should you not keep the rest of your Horcruxes close to you lest someone tries to get them again?"

But he shook his head, overcoming the pain at last as his eyes flashed red, "no... I have hidden them well, they will not be discovered. If I keep them in one place, it will be easier for those good-for-nothing Order members to get rid of them. No..."

"Do you have any suspicion on who it could be?" Bellatrix asked, "I will torture the vermin to death by these very hands!"

Voldemort paused, thinking about who it could be.

There was only one person who had figured out the location of one of his Horcruxes. He recalled dragging Regulus Black out of the cave where he had kept the Slytherin Locket hidden under several protective enchantments as well as an army of Inferi.

He hadn't noticed it back then but Regulus' state clearly indicated that he had drunk the emerald potion and retrieved the locket. Hot lava of rage pulsated through his veins as he stood up to go to the cave and check for the locket.

"My Lord, you must rest. Where are you going?"

But he paid Bella's words no heed as rage was consuming, "my locket... He took my locket and he destroyed it!"

He disapparated and Bellatrix followed him as he went to the cave in Albania housing his prized possession. The Inferi and the other protective enchantments fell apart as he stormed in, heading straight to the place where the locket was kept.

The emerald potion was swimming into the giant chalice as before but he knew now that Regulus had indeed emptied it that night. There could be no other reason for his unquenchable thirst when Voldemort had found him by the Inferi-infested lake and dragged him back to the hideout to lock him up with Esmeralda.

He had somehow managed to get the locket out that once and right then, the piece of soul inside it had been destroyed.

"Regulus Black," he seethed in rage as he spat the name out, "I shall kill you and make your death an example for the people who dare defy me."

Bellatrix paused, somewhat perturbed that it was her cousin who had been found guilty of that deed. Her cousin who she had gotten recruited into the Death Eaters herself. That could risk her position and loyalty to the Dark Lord too and she did not want that to happen.

However, Voldemort was in no mood to listen to justifications as he emptied the potion and took out the locket. It was exactly as he had last seen it, not a single difference existed except for the fact that he could not sense the piece of soul inside it.

He opened the locket into two halves by twisting the head of the snake engraved upon it. But there was no trace of the piece of soul within, instead, he realized that the locket was an exact replica of the original one.

Inside the two halves, he found a note that made his anger turn even more deadly.

To the Dark Lord,

I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match, you will be mortal once more.

R.A.B.

In a fit of uncontrolled rage, he set fire to the note as well as the replica of Slytherin's Locket. He had been fooled by Regulus once again and his hatred for him measured no bounds.

He would torture him and kill him the second he got to lay eyes on the traitorous wizard. Regulus Arcturus Black might have been able to cheat death in the past but he couldn't keep running from him forever.

***