Chapter 13 - The Red RoomThat night, Mark, Ethan, Arthur, and Sarah entered the east corridor.
At the end stood a door painted the same cream color as the walls.
Ethan ran his fingers along the frame.
“It's been sealed.”
Mark remembered the old lock.
He removed a small key from Clara's jewelry box.
It fit.
The door opened.
Inside was a room covered in dark red wallpaper.
A desk.
Old filing cabinets.
Photographs.
And hundreds of handwritten documents.
Arthur whispered:
“This is your father's archive.”
Ethan walked to the desk.
On it sat a leather-bound notebook.
He opened it.
The first page contained one sentence:
If my sons ever find this room, it means Eleanor failed.
Mark stopped breathing.
He turned the page.
His father's handwriting described everything.
The criminal network.
The offshore accounts.
The board members.
The murders.
And finally—
Clara.
A final entry read:
Clara discovered the truth. Eleanor will try to silence her.
Mark's hands shook.
Then he turned another page.
There was a photograph.
Eleanor.
Victoria.
And a third woman.
Mark stared.
“Who is that?”
Arthur leaned closer.
He recognized her immediately.
“That's Clara's sister.”
Mark's eyes widened.
“Clara had a sister?”
Ethan shook his head.
“Not according to the family records.”
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Arthur looked terrified.
“Then we've just discovered the biggest secret in this entire case.”
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