Chapter 3: The Secret in the Study
Daniel came outside and shut the door behind him.
“Eleanor,” he said.
She folded her arms.
“You should have told her.””
“I was going to.””
“When?””
“When I knew she was safe.””
Eleanor gave a bitter laugh.
“She isn't safe, Daniel.””
I stepped between them.
“Enough.””
Both of them looked at me.
“I am done being the only person in this family who doesn't know what's happening.””
Daniel rubbed his jaw.
“Claire, please go inside.””
“No.””
“Please.””
“No.””
Eleanor looked at him.
“She deserves the truth.””
Daniel stared at the ground.
Then he opened the front door.
“Come with me.””
We walked into the house.
He led us down the hallway toward his grandfather's old study.
I had only been inside a handful of times.
The room smelled like leather, dust, and the faint tobacco scent that had survived decades in the wood paneling.
Daniel locked the door.
That frightened me more than anything he'd said.
“Why are you locking us in?””
“Because I don't want anyone listening.””
“Who?””
He looked at Eleanor.
She answered.
“Celia.””
Daniel opened a drawer in the desk and pulled out a small brass key.
He crossed the room to an antique cabinet.
A hidden compartment opened behind a row of old law books.
Inside was a black envelope.
He handed it to me.
“What is this?””
“My father's last letter.””
I looked at the envelope.
There was no stamp.
No address.
Only my husband's name.
*Daniel.*
“Why have you kept this hidden?””
“Because I was twenty-three when I received it.””
“And?””
“And I didn't understand what it meant.””
“Then what changed?””
Daniel looked at Eleanor.
“She did.””
Eleanor's face tightened.
“I found the original records six months ago.””
“What records?””
“Your father's financial records,” Daniel said.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
The paper was yellowed.
The first line made my breath catch.
*Daniel, if you're reading this, Eleanor has finally found the account.*
I looked up.
“What account?””
Daniel said nothing.
I kept reading.
The letter mentioned payments.
Private trusts.
A foundation.
And one name repeated several times.
*Celia.*
My hands trembled.
“Your sister was involved?””
“Not exactly.””
“Then explain.””
Daniel leaned against the desk.
“My father believed someone in the family was stealing from the estate.””
“And he blamed Celia?””
“No.””
“Who?””
Daniel looked at me.
“He blamed me.””
I stared at him.
“For stealing?””
“No.””
“For covering it up.””
Eleanor stepped forward.
“Your father discovered that money was being moved into an account controlled by someone outside the family.””
“Who?””
“Your husband's former guardian,” Eleanor said.
I looked at Daniel.
“Who was that?””
He swallowed.
“My father's business partner.””
“What happened to him?””
“He disappeared.””
The room seemed to shrink.
I looked back at the letter.
There was another page.
At the bottom, my father-in-law had written:
*If they cannot control Daniel, they will control what he loves.*
My eyes lifted slowly.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel's face had gone pale.
“It means Lily.””
Silence.
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“You sent her to St. Aldwyn's because you thought someone would come after her?””
“I thought putting distance between her and the estate would keep her out of this.””
“Then why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't know who I could trust.””
I stared at him.
“You could have trusted me.””
“I know.””
“No. You don't.””
My voice cracked.
“You made a decision about our daughter without me.””
“I was trying to protect her.””
“You were protecting a secret.””
He looked away.
Eleanor suddenly spoke.
“Claire, there is something else.””
Daniel's head snapped toward her.
“Don't.””
She ignored him.
“St. Aldwyn's isn't simply a boarding school.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Eleanor reached into her handbag and pulled out a photograph.
She placed it on the desk.
It showed a brick building surrounded by tall trees.
Several children stood on the lawn.
I recognized one immediately.
A girl.
About Lily's age.
Her face was crossed out in black ink.
“Who is she?””
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
“Tell her.””
Daniel didn't move.
“Daniel.””
He closed his eyes.
“That girl was my cousin, Anna.””
“What happened to her?””
“She disappeared.””
“When?””
“Fourteen years ago.””
I stared at the photograph.
“From St. Aldwyn's?””
Daniel nodded.
I felt sick.
“Why would you send Lily there?””
“I didn't know.””
“You didn't know?””
“I didn't know Anna had been there until six months ago.””
Eleanor shook her head.
“You knew enough to be afraid.””
Daniel's eyes hardened.
“I was trying to verify it.””
“And you paid them twelve thousand dollars.””
“To reserve a place. Not to send her.””
I looked at the photograph again.
The crossed-out face seemed to stare back at me.
Then I noticed something in the corner.
A date.
And beneath it, handwritten in blue ink:
*Second child from the Mercer family.*
My blood ran cold.
“Daniel…”
He stepped closer.
“What?””
I pointed at the photograph.
“This says second child.””
His expression changed.
“What?””
I turned the photograph over.
There was another note on the back.
My fingers barely worked as I read it aloud.
“*The first one disappeared. The second one will be easier.*”
Nobody spoke.
Then my phone buzzed.
A message from an unknown number.
One photograph appeared on the screen.
Lily.
Standing outside her elementary school that morning.
Taken from across the street.
May you like
Underneath it were seven words:
*You should have kept her out of this.*
