CHAPTER 6 — The Secret Room
CHAPTER 6 — The Secret Room
Victoria sprinted toward the east wing of the mansion.
She wasn't running for the front door.
She wasn't trying to escape outside.
She was heading somewhere inside the house.
I knew instantly.
There was something she couldn't let anyone find.
"After her!" Detective Hale shouted.
Three officers chased her.
I followed close behind.
Victoria reached the end of the hallway and disappeared into my private study.
The heavy oak door slammed shut.
A lock clicked.
One officer rammed the door.
It didn't move.
Again.
Nothing.
"Move!"
The third strike shattered the frame.
The door burst open.
Victoria was gone.
The study was empty.
Detective Hale scanned the room.
"There has to be another exit."
Then Emily's voice came from behind us.
"The bookshelf."
Everyone turned.
Emily stood in the doorway holding one of the twins while another officer carried the second.
"I saw her come in here before."
"She always locked the room afterward."
One officer examined the massive walnut bookshelf.
His fingers brushed against a bronze horse statue.
Click.
The bookshelf slowly slid sideways.
A hidden staircase descended into darkness.
Nobody spoke.
The detective drew his weapon.
"Stay behind us."
We descended carefully.
The air grew colder.
Damp.
Heavy.
At the bottom waited a steel security door.
It stood half open.
Inside...
Rows of filing cabinets lined the walls.
Computer monitors flickered.
Security cameras.
Not just inside the nursery.
Every room.
Every hallway.
Even our bedroom.
Emily covered her mouth.
"She was watching everyone."
Detective Hale stepped farther inside.
"What is all this?"
Then I saw the photographs.
Hundreds of them.
Pictures of Emily.
Pictures of other former employees.
Each file contained names.
Addresses.
Medical histories.
Family members.
Children.
Typed beneath many of the photographs was a single word.
COMPLIANT.
Others carried a different label.
REPLACE.
A knot formed in my stomach.
One cabinet drawer remained open.
Inside were employee contracts.
Several had red stamps across them.
TERMINATED.
Another drawer contained envelopes full of cash.
Beside them...
Unsigned confidentiality agreements.
And then...
The detective opened the last cabinet.
His expression changed instantly.
"What is it?"
He slowly lifted a thick blue folder.
Across the front were six words that made my blood run cold.
COLE FAMILY SUCCESSION PLAN
He opened it.
The first page contained life insurance policies.
Mine.
The twins'.
Even Emily's name appeared in a separate section.
The next page outlined projected payouts.
Company ownership transfers.
Asset liquidation.
Every scenario assumed one thing.
That I would die first.
At the bottom of the page was a handwritten sentence in Victoria's unmistakable handwriting:
"Once Daniel is gone, no one will question a grieving widow."
Before anyone could speak—
A metallic click echoed from somewhere deeper inside the hidden room.
Detective Hale's eyes narrowed.
"Nobody move."
Another click.
Then...
A man's voice emerged from the darkness.
"So..."
"It seems Victoria failed."
The beam of an officer's flashlight swept across the far corner.
A tall figure stepped out of the shadows wearing black gloves.
He wasn't surprised to see us.
May you like
He smiled.
Then he slowly raised a pistol.
