Chapter 12 - THE SECRET OF THE BLUE ROOM
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Nora read the sentence again.
The boy who came to the house is not who he claims to be.
Camden had been twenty-five when he met her.
But who had he claimed to be?
Daniel opened the notebook carefully.
The pages contained names, dates, and financial transfers. Some were marked with red ink. Others had been crossed out.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Arthur Pike.
Another appeared beside it.
Gideon Rourke.
Nora frowned.
“Who is Gideon?”
Daniel went pale.
“My grandfather's former business partner.”
“Camden's father?”
“No. Camden's uncle.”
Nora looked up.
“I thought Camden's parents died when he was young.”
“His father died. His mother remarried. Gideon was his mother's brother.”
Daniel turned several pages.
“Gideon was involved in the shipping operation your mother discovered.”
“Was Camden involved?”
“I don't know.”
Nora studied the handwritten entries.
A note beside one payment read:
Young Camden delivered the key.
Another line read:
Eleanor suspects the boy knows.
Nora felt her stomach tighten.
“What key?”
Daniel searched the notebook.
At the back, a small envelope had been taped to the inside cover.
It contained a photograph of a brass key.
The label beneath it read:
Locker 114 — South Station.
Marcus was called immediately.
Within an hour, he had confirmed that the locker number still existed in the station's old storage system, though the facility had been renovated.
A property manager agreed to meet them.
The locker was in a restricted basement corridor.
Marcus opened it.
Inside sat a metal box wrapped in plastic.
Nora stared at it.
“What if it's empty?”
“Then we keep looking,” Marcus replied.
He removed the box and placed it on a table.
Inside were several bank records, a passport, and a small cassette recorder.
Nora picked up the passport.
The photograph showed Eleanor.
The name was different.
Elena Ward.
“Was this her escape identity?” Holly asked.
“Maybe,” Marcus said.
Nora pressed the recorder's play button.
Static filled the room.
Then a woman's voice emerged.
“If this recording is being heard, it means I failed to get Nora out.”
Nora stopped breathing.
It was her mother's voice.
“Gideon has found the trust records. He knows I have copies. I cannot trust Arthur. I cannot trust the family office. And I cannot trust the young man who came to the house.”
A pause.
Then Eleanor continued.
“Camden knows more than he admits. He was there when they took me. He held my daughter's coat. I begged him to help us.”
Nora gripped the edge of the table.
“What happened next?”
The recording crackled.
Eleanor's voice broke.
“He looked at me and said he was sorry.”
Then the tape ended.
Nora sat down.
Camden had not simply known about the disappearance.
He had been there.
He had watched.
And he had done nothing.
Holly placed a hand on her shoulder.
“We have enough to request a formal investigation.”
Nora looked at the recorder.
“No.”
Holly frowned.
“Nora—”
“I want the rest of the story.”
Marcus examined the box.
“There may be more.”
Beneath the recorder was a folded piece of paper.
It contained an address.
And a name.
St. Catherine's Residence.
Daniel recognized it.
“It's a private care facility in western Massachusetts.”
Nora looked at him.
“Why would my mother have written that?”
May you like
Daniel's voice was barely audible.
“Because someone may have been kept there.”
