CHAPTER 6 — THE HIDDEN CAMERA
CHAPTER 6 — THE HIDDEN CAMERA
Panic spread faster than gossip ever could.
Executives grabbed their phones.
Board members began making calls.
Security sealed every entrance to the mansion.
Alexander stood perfectly still.
Someone wasn't just covering old tracks.
Someone was actively watching them.
Rebecca closed her laptop.
"It happened thirty seconds ago."
"They knew we'd reopen the investigation."
Alexander spoke quietly.
"That means whoever did this..."
"...is close."
No one liked the implication.
If someone had monitored the conversation in real time...
They were either inside the ballroom...
Or inside ValeWorks' network.
Perhaps both.
Lucy felt Matthew tug gently on her sleeve.
He signed something she didn't understand.
Professor Carter watched.
Then his expression changed.
"What did he say?"
Matthew repeated the signs.
Professor Carter looked at Alexander.
"He says someone always watched the library."
Alexander frowned.
"The library?"
Matthew nodded emphatically.
He signed again.
Mother's room.
Hidden camera.
The adults exchanged confused looks.
Alexander knelt before his son.
This time...
He signed.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Awkwardly.
But he signed.
Show...me.
Matthew stared at his father.
Then, after several emotional seconds...
He nodded.
The entire group hurried upstairs.
Millionaires followed at a respectful distance.
Nobody cared about the gala anymore.
The magnificent library occupied the west wing.
Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
Mahogany walls.
A fireplace Isabelle had personally designed.
Alexander stopped at the doorway.
"I haven't been in here..."
He swallowed.
"...since she died."
Rebecca looked at him.
"I know."
Matthew walked with certainty.
Straight to an antique globe.
He spun it once.
Then twice.
Lucy watched carefully.
Matthew reached beneath the stand.
Click.
A hidden compartment opened.
Everyone gasped.
Inside lay a tiny brass key.
Alexander blinked.
"I never knew that existed."
Professor Carter smiled sadly.
"Isabelle loved puzzles."
The key unlocked a narrow cabinet hidden behind a bookshelf.
Dust covered everything.
Except one object.
A small wooden music box.
Matthew picked it up.
His fingers hesitated.
Professor Carter whispered,
"Open it."
He did.
Instead of music...
A tiny projector activated.
A faded image appeared against the library wall.
Isabelle.
Alive.
Smiling.
The recording quality was poor.
But unmistakable.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you're seeing this..."
"...then something has gone terribly wrong."
Alexander staggered backward.
He hadn't heard her voice in twelve years.
Tears streamed freely down his face.
Isabelle continued.
"Alexander..."
"I know you'll blame yourself if anything happens to me."
"So listen carefully."
"This message isn't for your guilt."
"It's for your courage."
She smiled softly.
"And Matthew..."
Her hands rose.
Fluent ASL.
My beautiful boy...
Matthew burst into tears.
Lucy instinctively held his hand.
Then Isabelle's expression changed.
Serious.
Determined.
"I've hidden evidence where no one would think to look."
Rebecca leaned closer.
"So she knew."
Professor Carter nodded.
"She absolutely knew."
Isabelle continued.
"If you're watching this..."
"...don't trust everyone on the board."
Alexander whispered,
"No..."
"There are people inside ValeWorks who will protect themselves at any cost."
She took a deep breath.
"The proof is inside..."
The image suddenly flickered.
Static.
Then darkness.
The recording stopped.
"No!"
Alexander rushed to the projector.
"It's damaged."
Rebecca examined the mechanism.
"No."
She looked inside the box.
"The film wasn't damaged."
"It was cut."
Cleanly.
Deliberately.
Someone had physically removed the last portion of Isabelle's message years earlier.
The room fell silent.
Then Lucy noticed something no adult had seen.
On the bottom of the music box...
A tiny fresh scratch.
Not twelve years old.
Recent.
Very recent.
She knelt closer.
Wedged inside the scratch was a single black fabric thread.
She carefully pulled it free.
Professor Carter examined it.
"This isn't from the music box."
Rebecca's eyes widened.
"It's tactical fabric."
Alexander looked toward the open library door.
His voice became ice cold.
"Someone has been inside this room..."
"...within the last twenty-four hours."
And at that exact moment...
Every light in the mansion went out.
The ballroom below erupted in terrified screams.
In the darkness, a child's frightened hand reached for Lucy's.
Then another hand—
May you like
A gloved hand—
Reached for Matthew.
