CHAPTER 6 — THE TREASURE HIDDEN IN A CHILD'S MEMORY
CHAPTER 6 — THE TREASURE HIDDEN IN A CHILD'S MEMORY
The next morning, the mansion felt different.
Police officers filled the grounds.
Forensic teams photographed every broken window.
News helicopters circled overhead.
No one outside knew the truth.
They believed the attack had been an attempted kidnapping.
Only four people knew it had been a search.
A search for something Elizabeth Hayes had hidden.
William sat beside Toby at breakfast.
Neither of them touched their food.
Instead of opening his laptop...
Instead of taking investor calls...
William stayed.
It felt unfamiliar.
Almost awkward.
Finally, he asked quietly,
"Do you remember Mommy giving you anything?"
Toby frowned.
"No."
"A game?"
"No."
"A box?"
"No."
"A secret?"
The little boy became still.
Very still.
Emma noticed before William did.
"Toby?"
He slowly looked up.
"Can I tell now?"
William nodded immediately.
"You never have to keep scary secrets again."
The child whispered,
"Mommy said..."
"'Only tell Daddy if he's smiling again.'"
William's eyes filled with tears.
Five years.
His son had carried those words for five years.
Waiting for a smile that never came.
Toby climbed down from his chair.
"Come."
He led them upstairs.
Not to his bedroom.
To the nursery Elizabeth had designed before he was born.
No one had changed it.
The walls were still painted pale blue.
Wooden stars still hung from the ceiling.
Emma noticed William quietly touching the old crib as they passed.
Toby walked directly to a stuffed giraffe sitting on a shelf.
Its neck had been stitched by hand.
"Mommy fixed him."
William smiled sadly.
"I remember."
Toby reached inside the toy through the repaired seam.
Everyone watched in silence.
His tiny fingers searched for several seconds.
Then—
He pulled out...
A tiny brass key.
Sarah gasped.
"That's it."
William frowned.
"A key?"
Toby nodded.
"Mommy said..."
"'The treasure sleeps where music remembers us.'"
Emma repeated the sentence.
"Music remembers us..."
William suddenly looked toward the grand piano downstairs.
The four of them hurried into the music room.
Elizabeth had loved playing piano.
Since her death, no one had touched it.
Dust covered the polished wood.
William sat on the bench.
His fingers trembled as he lifted the keyboard cover.
Nothing.
Emma searched underneath.
Still nothing.
Toby walked around to the back.
He pointed.
"Here."
A tiny brass lock hidden beneath the piano.
Invisible unless someone knew where to look.
William inserted the key.
Click.
A narrow compartment slid open.
Inside rested a waterproof metal tube.
Nothing else.
William carefully unscrewed the cap.
A microSD card rolled into his palm.
Sarah covered her mouth.
"The copy."
William stared at the tiny piece of plastic.
Five years.
Five years of grief.
Five years of unanswered questions.
Perhaps every answer now fit inside something smaller than his thumbnail.
Marcus entered the room carrying a secure laptop.
"No internet."
"No network."
"We'll view it offline."
William inserted the card.
A single folder appeared.
ELIZABETH — IF YOU'RE WATCHING THIS... I'M GONE.
Emma felt chills race through her body.
William's hand hovered over the file.
He hesitated.
Then clicked.
The screen flickered.
Elizabeth appeared.
Alive.
Smiling.
Looking directly into the camera.
"William..."
"If you're seeing this..."
"...it means I was right."
She took a slow breath.
"They're going to kill me."
William's world shattered.
But before Elizabeth could reveal who "they" were, the video suddenly glitched.
The screen went black.
Then a single message appeared in bright red letters:
REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED
FILE DELETED
William stared in horror.
Marcus shouted,
"That's impossible! This computer isn't connected to anything!"
The laptop shut itself down.
Smoke rose from its motherboard.
The hard drive had been remotely destroyed by technology no one in the room could explain.
And somewhere, watching from an unknown location...
May you like
Someone now knew that William Hayes had finally found Elizabeth's secret.
End of Chapter 6
