Chapter 2 - The Locked Bedroom
Arthur carried Leo into the kitchen and set him on the long oak table because it was the only place with enough light. Elena grabbed water, a clean towel, and the first-aid box. Leo would not let go of his father’s shirt.
“Look at me, buddy,” Arthur said, forcing his voice steady. “You’re safe. I promise.”
Leo shook his head. “She’ll come back.”
“No. She won’t.”
Elena crouched beside him. “How long were you in there?”
Leo’s lips trembled. “I don’t know. She gave me a bottle. She said if I yelled, Dad would get hurt.”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
He pulled out his phone and called 911. Then he called the security desk at the front gate.
“Do not let Victoria leave the property,” he said.
The guard hesitated. “Sir, Mrs. Vale drove out five minutes ago.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“What car?”
“The black Range Rover.”
Arthur ended the call and immediately opened the home security app. Cameras filled his screen: driveway, gate, pool, garage, west garden.
The east hallway feed was black.
“So is the upstairs landing,” Elena said.
Arthur looked at her. “How do you know?”
“Because they’ve been black for three days.”
He stared.
Elena swallowed. “I reported it to Mrs. Vale. She told me the system was being upgraded.”
Sirens sounded beyond the gates.
Leo flinched.
Arthur hugged him tighter. “They’re here to help.”
Two paramedics and a police officer entered minutes later. While they examined Leo, Arthur walked toward the east hall with Officer Grant. The cavity in the wall was deeper than it looked. Someone had built a narrow box between the mansion’s old stone shell and a newer interior partition. There was a latch on the inside panel—but it had been removed.
“This wasn’t an accident,” Grant said.
Arthur’s voice went flat. “No.”
Elena stood near the stairs, staring upward.
“What is it?” Arthur asked.
She pointed.
The door to Victoria’s private dressing room was open.
It was never open.
Grant drew his flashlight and headed upstairs. Arthur followed despite the officer’s warning.
Inside the room, drawers had been emptied. Jewelry cases lay open. A laptop was missing.
But on the floor beside the bed was a small silver key.
May you like
Leo saw it from the doorway and started screaming.
“That key,” he cried. “That’s the one she used on the red door.”
