Chapter 7 - The Door Beneath the Stairs|
Dominic moved me into a guest suite on the second floor.
He placed two guards outside the hallway and ordered everyone to stay away from Noah's room unless specifically authorized.
But at two in the morning, I woke to the sound of music.
Three delicate notes.
Repeated again and again.
I sat upright.
The melody was coming from somewhere inside the mansion.
I opened my bedroom door.
The hallway was empty.
The guards who had been stationed outside were gone.
My stomach tightened.
Then I heard small footsteps.
Noah stood at the end of the corridor wearing his yellow hoodie.
His hair was tangled.
His face was pale.
“Clara?”
I hurried toward him.
“Sweetheart, why aren't you sleeping?”
He pointed down the hallway.
“The bad room is awake.”
I crouched.
“What do you mean?”
He covered his ears.
“The bells.”
The melody stopped.
Immediately, Noah lowered his hands.
I noticed his bare feet trembling against the carpet.
“Can you show me where the music comes from?”
He hesitated.
Then nodded.
Taking my hand, he led me toward the staircase.
We moved past the portraits of Dominic's ancestors and into a narrow corridor beneath the north wing.
A locked wooden door stood at the end.
Someone had recently painted it white.
But beneath the fresh paint, a thin strip of blue remained visible near the hinges.
Noah pointed.
“There.”
My heart began pounding.
“The blue room?”
He nodded.
I touched the door.
The paint felt smooth.
New.
A narrow brass plate above the lock read STORAGE.
I tried the handle.
Locked.
Then Noah tugged my sleeve.
“Mommy said don't let them hear.”
“Hear what?”
He pressed one finger against his lips.
Then pointed toward the ceiling.
I looked up.
A small black camera was mounted above the doorway.
Its indicator light blinked.
Someone was watching us.
I gently guided Noah backward.
“Let's go.”
But before we reached the stairs, a man's voice came from behind us.
“Miss Reed.”
I turned.
Gabriel Knox, Dominic's head of security, stood in the hallway.
He was forty-two, muscular, with a scar across his left eyebrow.
His expression was unreadable.
“Mr. Vale ordered you to remain upstairs.”
I swallowed.
“Noah was frightened.”
Gabriel glanced toward the door.
“Children sometimes wander.”
“Why is there a camera here?”
“Security.”
“Who watches it?”
His eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“Just curious.”
Gabriel looked at Noah.
The little boy immediately gripped my hand.
“Take him back to bed,” Gabriel said.
There was something strange about his tone.
Not angry.
Almost warning.
I nodded.
But as I guided Noah away, I heard Gabriel speak into his radio.
“Someone accessed the north corridor.”
A pause.
Then:
“Tell the doctor.”
I stopped breathing.
Because Gabriel hadn't said someone was lost.
May you like
He'd said someone had accessed it.
As though Noah and I had crossed into a place we were never supposed to discover.
