Chapter 6 - THE ROOM NO ONE WAS SUPPOSED TO OPEN
The old Carter estate stood forty minutes outside the city.
My father had bought it before I was born.
After his death, my mother and I had stopped visiting.
Too many memories lived inside those walls.
The house was dark when we arrived.
Claire came with us.
I had considered leaving her behind.
But she knew too much.
And I no longer trusted her enough to let her out of my sight.
Marcus drove behind us.
The brass key was in my pocket.
My mother sat beside me in the passenger seat.
She had barely spoken during the entire drive.
Finally, I asked:
“Why didn’t you tell me about the key?”
She looked out the window.
“Your father asked me not to.”
“Why?”
“He said the truth would destroy you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“More than this?”
She closed her eyes.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
The estate appeared through the trees.
The windows were dark.
The front door opened with a long creak.
Inside, everything smelled like dust and old wood.
My father’s study remained untouched.
His desk.
His books.
His leather chair.
The painting above the fireplace.
I remembered sitting there as a child while he worked.
My mother walked slowly toward the fireplace.
She stopped.
“Your father used to stand here every night.”
“Why?”
“He believed someone was watching the house.”
I looked at the walls.
“Who?”
She didn't answer.
I examined the painting.
Nothing.
Then I noticed something.
A small metal plate hidden behind the frame.
I pressed it.
The entire bookshelf moved.
A narrow passage appeared behind it.
Claire gasped.
I turned toward her.
“You knew about this?”
“No.”
But she was lying.
I could see it.
I entered the hidden room.
There were no windows.
Only a desk.
A safe.
And dozens of folders.
The first folder contained photographs.
Daniel Ross.
Claire.
My father.
They had been meeting for years.
The second folder contained financial documents.
The third contained photographs of Claire entering Carter Industries.
I turned toward her.
“You worked with my father.”
Claire shook her head.
“Not like that.”
“What does that mean?”
She took a step forward.
“I was investigating Daniel.”
My mother stared at her.
“Why?”
Claire looked down.
“Because he was stealing from your company.”
I looked at the files.
“Then why did my father pay you?”
“Because he hired me.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
Claire wiped her tears.
“Your father knew Daniel was moving money through shell companies.”
“Why didn't he tell me?”
“Because Daniel had people inside the company.”
I looked at my mother.
She slowly nodded.
“He suspected someone close to him.”
I turned back to Claire.
“Who?”
She stared at me.
“Your father never found out.”
I opened another folder.
Inside was a photograph of a man I knew.
I felt my stomach drop.
It was my uncle Robert.
My father's younger brother.
The man who had stood beside us at the funeral.
The man who had hugged me and promised to protect the family.
Beneath the photograph was a handwritten note from my father.
“If I die before I finish this, trust no one.”
I read the sentence twice.
Then I noticed the date.
The note had been written three days before my father’s accident.
My mother covered her mouth.
Claire whispered:
“Your father didn’t die by accident.”
At that exact moment…
May you like
The lights in the estate went out.
And someone locked the front door from the outside.
