Chapter 4 - The Camera in the ClockValentina stepped toward the clock.
Marcus whispered:
"Don't."
She ignored him.
She opened the wooden panel.
Inside was a small camera wired to the mansion's security system.
Valentina stared at it.
Then at Marcus.
"How long?"
Marcus shook his head.
"I didn't know about this one."
Valentina pulled the device loose.
The screen on her laptop flickered.
A live connection vanished.
Someone had been watching.
Right now.
"Get Ellie."
Marcus looked at her.
"What?"
"Now."
They moved through the library.
The mansion suddenly felt different.
Every painting looked like an eye.
Every hallway seemed to hide a witness.
They found Ellie asleep on the sofa in the study.
Valentina lifted her carefully.
Marcus checked the doors.
"Back entrance is clear."
"Car?"
"Already moved."
Valentina frowned.
"You planned an escape?"
Marcus nodded.
"Months ago."
They reached the garage.
Valentina opened her SUV.
Then heard tires.
Another vehicle entered the driveway.
Black sedan.
Three men stepped out.
Marcus froze.
"They're not family."
Valentina pulled Ellie behind her.
"Who?"
"People Victor uses."
One man looked directly toward the garage.
Then raised a phone.
Valentina understood.
They were being tracked.
"Back door."
They ran.
The mansion had an old tunnel that connected to a greenhouse.
Marcus unlocked it.
They moved underground while Ellie slept against Valentina's shoulder.
Halfway through, Marcus stopped.
"Wait."
"What?"
"There is something you need to see."
He pointed toward the wall.
A metal door.
Valentina had never seen it.
Marcus opened it.
Inside was a small archive room.
Boxes lined every wall.
Documents.
Photographs.
Hard drives.
Files.
Valentina stepped inside.
A label on one shelf read:
CARUSO LEGACY.
Another:
CUSTODY.
Another:
ELLIE.
Valentina's hands shook.
She opened the Ellie file.
Medical reports.
School reports.
Psychological evaluations.
All written to create one picture.
Ellie was "emotionally unstable."
"Defiant."
"Suggestible."
"Highly imaginative."
Valentina turned the pages.
These reports were fake.
Or manipulated.
They were preparing a legal case.
Against a six-year-old.
Then she found something worse.
A photograph.
Ellie sitting in a chair.
A woman stood behind her.
Valentina recognized her instantly.
Dr. Helena Ward.
The therapist who had "treated" Ellie for anxiety.
But Valentina had never authorized a private session.
She flipped over the photograph.
Date.
Six months ago.
Then another.
And another.
Ellie had been taken to Helena's office twelve times.
Without Valentina knowing.
"Marcus."
He didn't answer.
"How did this happen?"
"Victor arranged it."
"And you did nothing."
Marcus looked ashamed.
"I was afraid."
Valentina opened another box.
Inside were bank records.
Large transfers.
Payments to lawyers.
Doctors.
Private investigators.
Judges' consultants.
And one recurring recipient:
Helena Ward.
Valentina stared.
"She was paid to create the reports."
Marcus nodded.
"Yes."
Valentina's fingers tightened around the file.
"Who else was paid?"
Marcus pointed to the bottom of the sheet.
"Your cousin Adrian."
Valentina looked up.
Adrian had reacted to the videos.
He had laughed.
She suddenly realized the family group was only the surface.
The money trail went much deeper.
Then Ellie stirred in her arms.
"Mommy."
"I'm here."
Ellie opened her eyes.
She stared at the boxes.
Then immediately started shaking.
"What's wrong?"
Ellie pointed to one photograph.
"That room."
Valentina followed her finger.
The photograph showed a basement.
A narrow wooden staircase.
A metal chair.
Ellie whispered:
"That's where they made me promise."
"Promise what?"
"Not to tell."
Valentina knelt.
"Tell Mommy now."
Ellie looked at Marcus.
Marcus went pale.
Then Ellie whispered:
"They said if I told you, Mommy would go away forever."
Valentina closed her eyes.
"Who said that?"
Ellie began crying.
"Everyone."
Everyone.
Not Victor.
Not Marcus.
Everyone.
Then Marcus suddenly said:
"There's another room."
Valentina looked at him.
"Where?"
"Under the chapel."
"The chapel?"
Marcus nodded.
"Victor keeps the original records there."
Valentina stared at him.
"What original records?"
Marcus's answer came quietly.
"The ones that explain why Ellie was targeted in the first place."
Before they could move, footsteps echoed above the tunnel.
Someone had found the entrance.
Marcus whispered:
May you like
"They're here."
And then the tunnel door slammed shut.
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