Chapter 10 - The Housekeeper's RoomVictoria escaped again.
Not because she was faster.
Because she had prepared three exits.
The network had hidden passages beneath the warehouse.
By the time we reached the final door, she was gone.
But she left something behind.
A key.
Old brass.
Stamped with one word:
NURSERY.
We returned to the Harrington estate.
The agents tore through the house.
We found a locked room behind the library.
Inside was a child's bedroom.
Dust-covered toys.
Old wallpaper.
A wooden rocking horse.
And photographs.
Dozens of them.
The Harrington children.
Michael as a boy.
Victoria as a young mother.
Edward.
William.
And one photograph that made Emily freeze.
A little girl.
Perhaps six years old.
Standing beside a woman in a maid's uniform.
The little girl was Linda.
Emily stared at it.
“My mother?”
I nodded.
“This was taken before I knew her.”
A housekeeper stepped from the corner.
We hadn't seen her.
She looked terrified.
Her name was Rose.
She had worked for the Harrington family for twenty-nine years.
“I knew her,” Rose said.
“Linda.”
My throat tightened.
“What happened?”
Rose looked toward the door.
“They will kill me.”
I promised her protection.
She laughed.
“They killed everyone who tried to tell the truth.”
Emily stepped closer.
“Please.”
Rose looked at her.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
She opened a drawer.
Inside was a cassette tape.
Ancient.
She held it out.
“Your mother left this.”
I stared.
“Why didn't you give it to me?”
“Because she told me not to.”
“Until when?”
Rose looked at Emily.
“Until the day she came back.”
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“She knew I'd return?”
Rose nodded.
“She said her daughter would eventually find her way home.”
We found an old tape player.
The recording began.
Linda's voice.
Clear.
Calm.
Alive.
“If you're hearing this, then I didn't survive.”
I closed my eyes.
Emily began to cry.
Linda continued.
“Arthur, I need you to know one thing.”
A pause.
“I never betrayed you.”
My chest hurt.
“I loved you.”
Emily covered her mouth.
“And if our daughter is listening…”
The recording became softer.
“Emily, none of this is your fault.”
A second voice interrupted.
Victoria.
“Enough.”
The tape cut.
Rose whispered:
“She came into this room that night.”
“Victoria?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She begged for the tape.”
“Did Linda give it to her?”
“No.”
“Where did Linda hide it?”
Rose looked around.
“Inside the nursery.”
I scanned the room.
Then I noticed the rocking horse.
Its wooden base was newer than the rest.
We turned it over.
A compartment opened.
Inside was another recording.
And a folded paper.
I unfolded it.
There was an address.
A safe deposit facility.
And a handwritten warning:
Do not trust the federal agents.
I looked at Claire.
She frowned.
“What?”
I showed her.
She went pale.
“You've been using a compromised network.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That can't be.”
“They were watching you from the beginning.”
Suddenly the agents outside began shouting.
Then one by one their radio signals died.
A man entered the nursery.
Black suit.
No weapon.
Edward Vale.
He looked exhausted.
“Arthur.”
I raised my gun.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are my people disappearing?”
“Because they're not all yours.”
He looked at Emily.
“Her mother left something else.”
“What?”
“Instructions.”
“For what?”
Edward took a folded sheet from his pocket.
He placed it on the floor.
Then stepped back.
Emily opened it.
Three words were written across the page.
FIND YOUR FATHER.
She looked at me.
“What does that mean?”
Edward answered:
“Your mother never meant for you to find the ledger.”
“She meant for you to find the man who could destroy it.”
I stared at him.
“Me?”
Edward nodded.
“Arthur, the ledger is not evidence.”
“Then what is it?”
“A list of people.”
“That's all?”
“No.”
May you like
He looked toward the nursery door.
“It is also a list of who will die next.”
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