Chapter 3: The Hidden Room
Darkness swallowed the mansion.
Emily felt Victor’s hand close around hers.
“Stay behind me,” he whispered.
From somewhere upstairs, Claire’s heels clicked against the marble floor.
The Security Chief turned on his flashlight and rushed toward the backup power room.
Victor led Emily into his father’s private study and locked the door.
Emily was shaking now.
“Victor… why would she do this?”
He looked at the portrait of his late father above the fireplace.
“Because my father always knew Claire wasn’t just greedy.”
He pulled open a hidden drawer inside the old mahogany desk. Inside was a sealed envelope with Victor’s name written across it.
His father’s handwriting.
Victor opened it.
Inside were documents, bank records, and one final letter.
Victor read silently.
His face changed.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
He looked up.
“My father suspected Claire had been stealing from the company for years.”
Emily’s eyes widened.
Victor kept reading.
Then he stopped.
At the bottom of the letter was one sentence:
If anything happens to Emily or the child, look inside the nursery wall.
Victor and Emily stared at each other.
Then came a sound from the baby monitor on the desk.
Static.
Then Claire’s voice.
Soft.
May you like
Mocking.
“I’m already in the nursery.”
