Chapter 4: The Trap Inside the Mansion
I stared at the notebook in my hands, unable to understand what I was seeing.
My name was written there.
Not mentioned.
Not accidentally included.
Written like I was part of a plan.
The paper trembled between my fingers.
“What is this?”” I asked.
Nobody answered.
Victoria looked at Charles with a mixture of anger and fear.
“You had no right to bring that out.””
Charles smiled.
“You mean I had no right to show her the truth?””
I looked between them.
“You both know why I was hired?””
Victoria took a step forward.
“Claire, listen to me.””
“No.””
My voice came out louder than I expected.
“No more secrets.””
Emma sat inside the hidden room, watching all of us with frightened eyes.
She looked so small.
So tired.
I couldn’t understand how anyone could look at that child and see a problem instead of a person.
Charles walked around the hallway slowly.
“You think Victoria is the villain because she locked Emma away.””
He pointed toward the hidden room.
“But you don’t know what happened before that.””
I looked at Victoria.
“Is he telling the truth?””
Her silence was enough.
My stomach dropped.
“Victoria.””
She closed her eyes for a moment.
Then she whispered:
“Not everything he says is a lie.””
That was the first honest thing she had said all night.
I stepped back.
“So what is the truth?””
Victoria looked at Emma.
Then at me.
“Emma was supposed to disappear.””
The words felt unreal.
“Disappear?””
Charles nodded.
“She witnessed something she shouldn’t have.””
Emma covered her ears.
“No.””
I immediately turned toward her.
“What did you see, Emma?””
The little girl looked at the floor.
“I saw Daddy yelling.””
Charles’s expression changed.
Just slightly.
But I noticed.
“Who was he yelling at?””
Emma’s lips trembled.
“Mommy.””
A long silence filled the hallway.
Then Charles said:
“Children misunderstand things.””
I ignored him.
“Where is Emma’s mother?””
Victoria looked away.
That answer scared me more than anything.
Because I already knew.
Something terrible had happened.
A sudden noise came from the ballroom.
The guests laughed loudly.
Someone shouted a toast.
The normal world continued while this nightmare existed behind a painting.
Then my phone buzzed.
Another unknown message.
This time, there was no photo.
Only a location.
*BASEMENT. COME ALONE IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO EMMA’S MOTHER.*
I looked at the message.
Charles saw my face.
“Who sent that?””
I locked my phone.
“Nobody.””
He smiled.
“You’re a terrible liar.””
Victoria grabbed my arm.
“Do not go downstairs.””
Her grip was tight.
Almost desperate.
“Why?””
She looked at me.
“Because that is where this all started.””
I pulled away.
“You expect me to believe anything you say?””
“No.””
Her voice cracked.
“I expect you to survive.””
That stopped me.
Victoria Whitmore was many things.
Cold.
Controlling.
Secretive.
But for the first time, she sounded afraid.
Not for herself.
For me.
Charles noticed too.
His expression darkened.
“You’re getting emotional again.””
Victoria looked at him.
“You don’t get to threaten another person.””
Charles laughed.
“After everything you did?””
The words hit the air like a weapon.
I looked at Victoria.
“What did you do?””
Before she could answer, the mansion lights went out.
Every chandelier disappeared.
The hallway fell into darkness.
Emma screamed.
Then came a sound from behind the painting.
A lock turning.
Someone was closing the hidden room.
I rushed forward.
“Emma!””
I grabbed the frame and pulled.
But it wouldn’t move.
Someone had locked it from the outside.
Charles calmly stepped backward.
“Now you understand.””
I looked at him.
“Understand what?””
He smiled.
“That this house doesn’t keep secrets.””
He walked toward the staircase.
“It keeps prisoners.””
And then I heard footsteps behind me.
Not Charles.
May you like
Someone else.
Someone coming from the basement.
