Chapter 11 - The Hospital Room With No PatientDaniel drove straight to the hospital.
Mara insisted on coming.
Sophie stayed with a trusted detective.
At the reception desk, Daniel gave the nurse the bracelet.
She looked at it.
Then looked at him.
“Who gave you this?”
“My mother.”
The nurse hesitated.
“What was her name?”
“Lillian Vale.”
The nurse typed.
Her face changed.
“We did have a patient under that name.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.”
“Where is she now?”
The nurse looked uncomfortable.
“She was transferred.”
“To where?”
The nurse lowered her voice.
“Private care.”
“By whom?”
The nurse checked the records.
“Thomas Wren.”
Daniel's heart sank.
Mara gripped the desk.
“Was she conscious?”
“Yes.”
“Did she say anything?”
The nurse looked at Daniel.
“She asked about Sophie.”
Daniel froze.
“What did she say?”
“She said, 'Keep my granddaughter away from the red room.'”
Daniel and Mara exchanged a look.
“The red room?”
The nurse nodded.
“She kept repeating it.”
Daniel left immediately.
In the parking lot, he called Victor.
The lawyer finally answered.
“Daniel?”
“You knew my mother was alive.”
Silence.
“Victor.”
“I knew someone was alive.”
“Who?”
“I couldn't confirm it.”
“Why?”
“Because every time I got close, records disappeared.”
Daniel's voice sharpened.
“What is the red room?”
Victor inhaled.
“The room Eleanor used for private meetings.”
“Where?”
“Your father's old office.”
Daniel remembered.
The red room had been sealed after Nathan's death.
Nobody had entered it since.
They returned to the mansion.
Behind the old study was a narrow corridor.
At the end stood a red-painted door.
Daniel tried the handle.
Locked.
Mara produced the key.
“I took it years ago.”
Daniel stared.
“You had this?”
“I was planning to investigate.”
He unlocked the door.
Dust covered everything.
A desk.
Two chairs.
A wall safe.
A tape recorder.
And one huge portrait of Eleanor.
Daniel approached it.
Something was wrong.
The portrait was newer than the rest of the room.
He removed it.
Behind it was another safe.
Inside were bank statements.
Trust records.
And a letter.
Daniel opened it.
Lillian,
If you're reading this, Thomas has betrayed us.
He no longer wants the money. He wants control of the family name.
The final transfer will occur when Daniel is declared incompetent and Sophie becomes the legal beneficiary.
The person who controls her trust controls the company.
Daniel's hands tightened.
Mara whispered, “Victor.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not only Victor.”
There was more.
A second name appeared.
Richard Bell.
Then a third.
Samuel Vale.
Daniel stared.
“No.”
Mara took the page.
“Why would Samuel be involved?”
A sound came from the doorway.
Both turned.
Samuel stood there.
Older.
Scarred.
Alive.
He looked at Daniel.
“Because I wasn't kidnapped.”
Daniel couldn't speak.
Samuel walked inside.
“I joined them.”
Mara stared.
“Why?”
Samuel looked at the portrait.
“Because I wanted to destroy them.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“You let us believe you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“Mom knew?”
“Yes.”
“Thomas knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you come back?”
Samuel's expression became cold.
“Because the person who started all of this is still alive.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Who?”
Samuel looked at Sophie through the doorway.
Then whispered,
“Eleanor.”
May you like
The mansion went silent.
And somewhere upstairs, a woman began humming an old lullaby.
