Chapter 1 - THE CALL FROM THE DINING ROOM
The porcelain plate struck the wall less than six inches from Claire’s face.
It shattered against the carved wooden paneling.
A jagged piece cut across her cheek before falling onto the Persian rug.
For one second, nobody moved.
Adrian Whitmore stood at the head of the dining table with his hand still raised.
His breathing was heavy.
His expensive white shirt had come loose at the collar.
“You never know when to stop,” he said.
Claire pressed two fingers against the cut.
When she pulled them away, there was a thin line of blood on her hand.
Margaret and Arthur Whitmore stood in the doorway.
Neither of them looked surprised.
That frightened Claire more than the plate.
Margaret’s expression was cold.
Arthur looked at the floor.
They had seen Adrian become violent before.
Perhaps not with Claire.
But with someone.
Claire wiped the tear from beneath her eye.
Then she reached into her handbag.
Adrian laughed.
“Who are you calling?”
Claire unlocked the phone.
“The person I should have called six months ago.”
His confidence faded slightly.
Margaret stepped into the dining room.
“Claire, put the phone away.”
Claire ignored her.
The call connected after one ring.
A woman answered.
“Agent Ruiz.”
Claire looked directly at Adrian.
“I found the room.”
Silence came from the other end.
Then Agent Lena Ruiz spoke more carefully.
“Are you inside the Whitmore mansion?”
“Yes.”
“Are you safe?”
“No.”
Adrian moved toward her.
Claire stepped behind a dining chair.
“He threw a plate at me.”
“Do not confront him.”
“I already did.”
“What did you find?”
Claire glanced toward the portrait hanging above the fireplace.
Behind it was the narrow metal door she had opened earlier that afternoon.
Inside, she had found photographs.
Bank records.
And a bloodstained scarf belonging to a woman who had disappeared twenty-two years ago.
“My mother’s file,” Claire said.
Arthur finally lifted his head.
Margaret’s face became pale.
Agent Ruiz spoke quickly.
“Leave the house now.”
“I cannot.”
“Why?”
“Because the file says she never left.”
Adrian stopped moving.
Margaret whispered his name.
He did not look at her.
Claire continued.
“The records show my mother was kept somewhere beneath this property.”
Agent Ruiz’s voice hardened.
“Police are already moving.”
Margaret crossed the room.
“You do not understand what you found.”
Claire looked at her.
“Then explain it.”
Arthur’s hands began to shake.
Adrian reached for Claire’s phone.
She pulled away.
Then the main doors of the mansion locked automatically.
A red light appeared above the security panel.
Adrian looked toward his father.
“Did you activate the lockdown?”
Arthur shook his head.
Margaret’s expression changed.
“No.”
May you like
She looked toward the dark hallway.
“Someone else is still inside the house.”
