Chapter 9 - The Diary Beneath the FloorThe library had been searched twice.
Nothing.
Leo was about to leave when Clare stopped.
“The song.”
“What?”
“The bird.”
She looked at the floor.
“The song mentioned winter.”
Leo frowned.
“And?”
“Mrs. Rossi used to sing it.”
“Yes.”
“She told me something while singing.”
“What?”
Clare closed her eyes.
“She said, ‘The sparrow stays beneath the floor.’”
Leo turned.
They searched the room.
Then Clare noticed a loose floorboard beneath the fireplace.
Leo pried it open.
Inside was a small metal box.
Locked.
The sparrow pendant fit the lock.
The box opened.
Inside lay a diary.
And a child's bracelet.
Clare recognized it immediately.
“That was mine.”
Leo looked at her.
“You're certain?”
“Yes.”
The diary belonged to Rosalia.
The first pages contained ordinary observations.
Then the writing changed.
Fear.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Disappearances.
And one repeated phrase:
THE CHILDREN ARE NOT DEAD.
Leo kept reading.
Then he found Clare's name.
Not once.
Not twice.
Dozens of times.
Clare Bell.
Born April 9.
Mother: Marianne Bell.
Leo stared.
“Marianne…”
The nurse.
Clare's mother.
The woman who had spoken to them.
Clare began trembling.
Rosalia had written:
Marianne saved the child.
Then:
Clare must never know she was brought to us.
Another page.
My husband wants the girl removed. He knows what she heard.
Another.
I moved Clare into the protection network. She will believe her mother died.
Clare covered her mouth.
Leo continued reading.
Then he stopped.
The next sentence made his blood freeze.
If Leo ever finds this diary, he must know the truth. His father is not the mastermind.
Leo stared.
“What?”
Beneath it:
The mastermind is the man Leo trusts most.
A sound came from the doorway.
Leo turned.
His uncle stood there.
Two armed men behind him.
The older Rossi smiled.
“You always were your mother's favorite.”
Leo raised his gun.
“You killed her.”
“No.”
His uncle shook his head.
“I saved her.”
“You hid her.”
“I protected the family.”
“Where is she?”
His uncle smiled.
“Not where you think.”
Leo took one step forward.
“Who is the mastermind?”
The uncle looked at Clare.
“Ask the housekeeper.”
Clare stared.
“What do you mean?”
“Your mother didn't disappear five years ago.”
He smiled.
“She was working in this house.”
Clare's blood ran cold.
“What?”
The uncle pointed at Mrs. Gable's empty room.
“She's been within ten yards of you the entire time.”
Then the lights went out.
May you like
When they came back on, Leo's uncle was gone.
And the diary had disappeared from Clare's hands.
