Chapter 6 - Mrs. Gable's SecretMrs. Gable was gone.
Her room was empty.
Her wardrobe cleared.
Her car missing.
Leo stood in the doorway, looking around.
Clare found a drawer beneath the bed.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Rosalia.
Leo as a child.
Leo's father.
And Mrs. Gable herself.
But there was one photograph that made Clare's blood run cold.
It showed Rosalia holding a baby.
Beside her stood Mrs. Gable.
The baby was Leo.
Clare turned the photograph over.
A date.
The day Leo was born.
Then she noticed handwriting.
He must never know who his father truly was.
She showed Leo.
He read it twice.
“My father.”
“Yes.”
“What does this mean?”
Before Clare could answer, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
Leo drew his weapon.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
He moved toward the door.
A figure ran.
Leo chased.
The mansion erupted into chaos.
The figure disappeared through the kitchen.
Leo followed into the servants' corridor.
The intruder turned.
For one second, Leo saw his face.
An old man.
Scar over one eyebrow.
The man smiled.
“You're still looking for her.”
Leo fired.
The man escaped through a window.
Outside, a motorcycle roared away.
Leo returned to Mrs. Gable's room.
Clare was staring at another photograph.
This one was different.
It showed Rosalia sitting in a wheelchair.
Beside her stood a little girl.
Clare.
Five years younger.
Clare's hands began trembling.
“I don't understand.”
Leo looked at the photograph.
On the back was written:
Clare saw her. Clare heard the song. Clare must be protected.
Leo stared at her.
“You've met my mother before.”
Clare shook her head violently.
“No.”
“You just don't remember.”
“I would remember.”
“Maybe they made sure you wouldn't.”
Clare backed away.
“My brother…”
Leo looked at her.
“What about him?”
“Tommy's gambling debts.”
“What?”
“Mrs. Gable arranged my job because of them.”
Leo went still.
“Who owns Tommy's debt?”
Clare's voice trembled.
“I don't know.”
Leo's phone rang.
A text appeared.
WE DO.
Then another.
AND WE HAVE YOUR BROTHER.
Clare screamed.
Tommy had disappeared.
The next message contained a photograph of him tied to a chair.
Underneath:
BRING US THE HOUSEKEEPER.
Leo looked at Clare.
She stared back.
For the first time, she understood.
This entire nightmare had not started when she sang the song.
It had started long before she ever entered the Rossi estate.
Someone had chosen her.
May you like
Someone had placed her exactly where they needed her.
And now they wanted her alive.
