Chapter 10 - The RehearsalFriday morning arrived.
At 7:58 A.M., the first trucks entered.
Exactly as the website promised.
At 8:03, a structural team arrived.
At 8:11, Bellmore representatives arrived.
At 8:27, a locksmith.
At 8:34, two men carrying black cases entered through the side entrance.
Daniel's team allowed them in.
They thought they were in control.
They weren't.
Every hallway was monitored.
Every room had a silent alarm.
Every device connected to the estate's network was logged.
I stood upstairs watching through the security monitors.
One of the Bellmore men walked into the study.
He opened the desk.
He searched the drawers.
Another entered the library.
A third went directly downstairs.
That one interested me.
He knew exactly where he was going.
He walked to the old wine cellar.
Then stopped at the hidden wall.
He pulled out a small handheld scanner.
I leaned toward the screen.
Daniel whispered through the earpiece.
“We're recording.”
The man spoke into his phone.
“Wall intact.”
Pause.
“Access route confirmed.”
Then:
“No, the owner hasn't moved anything.”
Owner.
Me.
He wasn't searching randomly.
He knew about the hidden room.
He knew about the records.
And someone had given him detailed instructions.
At 10:14, Dad arrived.
At 10:22, Thomas.
At 10:31, Ethan.
Marissa followed.
The rehearsal began.
Music played.
Flowers arrived.
Guests toured the estate.
Everyone smiled.
It looked normal.
Almost beautiful.
But behind the scenes, the operation continued.
Lawyers arrived through the back entrance.
A notary arrived at 11:47.
A private security team arrived at 12:03.
At 12:15, Thomas entered my office.
I watched him open the safe.
He entered the code.
Wrong.
Again.
Wrong.
He stepped back.
Then smiled.
“Change the code?”
Dad stood behind him.
“She must have.”
Thomas whispered,
“Then find the backup.”
My heart pounded.
The backup was impossible.
Unless they knew about Grandpa's system.
Dad walked to a painting on the wall.
He touched the frame.
Nothing happened.
Thomas cursed.
Then he looked at the ceiling.
“There's another way.”
He pointed toward the hallway.
The locksmith followed him.
They were going after the hidden safe.
But they didn't know I'd already moved everything.
The safe was empty.
The files were gone.
The decoy was in its place.
At 1:02, the locksmith opened it.
Thomas pulled out the false ledger.
He smiled.
“Finally.”
I nearly laughed.
The man opened it.
Pages filled with harmless records.
Thomas frowned.
He turned another page.
Then another.
His expression changed.
“This isn't it.”
Dad whispered,
“What do you mean?”
Thomas slammed the book shut.
“It's fake.”
I watched him turn toward the camera.
For a moment, I wondered whether he knew.
Then he spoke.
“To whoever is watching this…”
I froze.
Thomas stared directly into the lens.
“You're very clever.”
Then he smiled.
“But you're not the only one who knows how to record people.”
The monitor went black.
Every camera in the house lost signal.
Daniel's voice came through the radio.
“Claire.”
“What happened?”
“We're locked out of the system.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
Then I heard footsteps outside my office.
Slow.
Heavy.
Someone stopped at the door.
The handle turned.
I stepped backward.
The door opened.
Marissa stood there.
Alone.
“Claire.”
“What happened?”
She looked terrified.
“Dad found out.”
“Found out what?”
“That you're recording everything.”
My heart sank.
“How?”
She shook her head.
“He knows.”
“Then where is Ethan?”
She swallowed.
“Downstairs.”
“With Thomas?”
“No.”
“Then with who?”
Her eyes filled with fear.
“With your father.”
I heard a sound from below.
A heavy crash.
Then another.
Marissa grabbed my arm.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“We need to get out.”
I looked toward the hallway.
“No.”
She stared.
“Why?”
“Because they think I'm trapped.”
May you like
I smiled.
“I want them to keep thinking that.”
Related Stories
