Chapter 6 - Eleanor survived.Barely.

The wound was shallow enough to miss the major artery, but deep enough to leave everyone terrified.

She was rushed away in an ambulance.

The house was sealed.

Nobody left.

The detective separated us.

Charles first.

Then Adrian.

Then Maya.

I sat alone in a room upstairs, still staring at the message.

Claire, you're next.

I couldn't stop thinking about the files.

The surveillance.

The hidden rooms.

My mother.

And Evelyn.

Every answer created three new questions.

A detective entered.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see anyone near Eleanor before the attack?”

“No.”

“Did Adrian?”

“He was with me downstairs.”

The detective nodded.

“There's something else.”

He placed a photograph on the table.

It showed Eleanor's room.

A drawer had been forced open.

Inside was a passport.

Not Eleanor's.

Evelyn Hart.

I stared at it.

“That woman was supposed to be dead.”

“Apparently.”

The detective turned the passport over.

Inside was a second photograph.

Evelyn standing beside my mother.

My breath caught.

They were outside a café.

My mother was smiling.

Evelyn looked frightened.

The photo was dated twelve years ago.

Three weeks before Evelyn's disappearance.

I touched my mother's face.

“Why did she never tell me?”

The detective said nothing.

Then the door opened.

Maya stepped inside.

She carried a box.

“What's that?”

“My father's.”

“Where did you get it?”

“His office.”

She placed it on the table.

“I stole it before the police arrived.”

Inside were letters.

Bank records.

Photographs.

And a cassette tape.

The detective stared.

“What is this?”

Maya shook her head.

“Something my father never wanted anyone to hear.”

There was a tape recorder in the box.

I pressed play.

Static.

Then Charles's voice.

“Evelyn, this is your final warning.”

Her voice answered.

“You can't scare me anymore.”

“You have no idea what you've uncovered.”

“I know enough.”

“You're putting everyone at risk.”

“Only because you're stealing from them.”

Charles became quieter.

“You think Claire knows?”

My heart stopped.

Evelyn said,

“She doesn't even know you're watching her.”

Charles laughed.

“That's why she was chosen.”

I looked at Maya.

The recording continued.

Evelyn asked,

“What happens if she refuses?”

Charles answered,

“Then we use Adrian.”

I felt sick.

The tape crackled.

Then Evelyn said something I couldn't hear.

The audio distorted.

Maya fast-forwarded.

Charles's voice returned.

“She has her mother's eyes.”

Evelyn said,

“That doesn't make her your property.”

Silence.

Then Charles spoke.

“It makes her dangerous.”

The tape ended.

I looked at Maya.

“What does he mean?”

She was crying.

“Your mother stole something from him.”

“What?”

“A ledger.”

“What ledger?”

Maya shook her head.

“The one thing that can destroy the Sterling family.”

The detective leaned forward.

“Where is it?”

Maya looked at me.

“My father searched for it for eight years.”

“Did he find it?”

“No.”

“Where is it?”

Maya whispered,

“Your mother hid it before she died.”

My pulse quickened.

“Where?”

Maya looked toward the bedroom.

“In your condo.”

I stood.

“What?”

“That's why Charles wanted your condo.”

Everything suddenly made sense.

They didn't want my home.

They wanted what was inside it.

The detective reached for his phone.

“Then we need to secure that property immediately.”

My phone rang.

Unknown number again.

I answered.

Evelyn whispered,

“Don't go home.”

“Why?”

“Because they're already there.”

Then I heard a sound in the background.

A door opening.

Evelyn gasped.

“Claire…”

“What?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“Your mother didn't hide the ledger.”

I froze.

“What did she hide?”

Evelyn breathed,

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“She hid a person.”

The line went dead.