Chapter 7: The Girl Who Was Never Supposed to Exist
Nathan stared at Maria, unable to speak.
The words echoed through the empty kitchen.
"She was begging someone to let her out."
His mind rejected them.
"No..."
he whispered.
"That's impossible."
Maria shook her head.
"I wish it were."
Nathan glanced toward the back garden where Lily was feeding breadcrumbs to a flock of sparrows, laughing softly as if the world held no darkness.
Then he looked back at Maria.
"Tell me everything."
Maria wiped her tears.
"It happened three years ago."
Three Years Earlier
Maria had only been working at Whitmore Manor for five years then.
It was a rainy afternoon.
Most of the family was away at a charity gala.
Eleanor had left strict instructions.
"No one is to enter the west wing."
As always.
Maria intended to obey.
Until she heard it.
A faint melody.
Someone was humming.
Not music from a speaker.
A child.
At first, she ignored it.
But several minutes later...
The humming stopped.
A tiny voice replaced it.
"Hello?"
Maria froze.
She looked around the empty hallway.
Again.
"Is someone there?"
The voice came from behind the locked door.
Maria slowly approached.
"Who's inside?"
A pause.
Then...
"My name is Ava."
Maria frowned.
"Where are your parents?"
"My mommy is busy."
The answer sounded rehearsed.
As though the little girl had repeated it many times before.
Maria knelt beside the door.
"How old are you?"
"Ten."
"What are you doing in there?"
Another pause.
Then came the words Maria had never forgotten.
"I'm waiting until Mommy says the world is safe."
Nathan listened without blinking.
Maria continued.
"I thought she was playing."
"I even smiled."
"But then..."
She closed her eyes.
"...I heard her crying."
The child whispered through the door.
"Can you open it?"
Maria reached for the handle.
Locked.
"I don't have the key."
"I've never been outside."
Maria's heart skipped.
"What do you mean?"
"I look through the window."
"I watch birds."
"I watch people."
"But Mommy says bad people live outside."
Maria whispered,
"Have you ever gone to school?"
"No."
"Do you have friends?"
Silence.
Then...
"I had a puppy."
Maria smiled gently.
"What was its name?"
"Max."
Nathan inhaled sharply.
Maria nodded.
"That's why I recognized your dog's collar."
Nathan's hands clenched into fists.
Max hadn't simply disappeared.
He had been with Ava.
Maria continued her story.
"I wanted to help."
"I really did."
"So I went to find Mrs. Whitmore."
She found Eleanor arranging flowers in the ballroom.
Maria innocently asked,
"There's a little girl upstairs."
Eleanor smiled.
"What little girl?"
"The one behind the locked door."
For one second...
The smile disappeared.
Only for a heartbeat.
Then Eleanor calmly placed the flowers down.
She walked toward Maria.
"So."
"You've been upstairs."
Maria nodded.
"I thought maybe she was lonely."
Eleanor gently took Maria's hands.
Her voice remained warm.
Almost motherly.
"You have a wonderful heart."
"But sometimes..."
She leaned closer.
"...seeing something doesn't mean you understand it."
Maria frowned.
"I don't..."
Eleanor interrupted.
"Ava is very sick."
"She becomes terrified around strangers."
"The doctors ordered complete isolation."
Maria immediately felt guilty.
"I'm so sorry."
"I didn't know."
Eleanor smiled again.
"You couldn't have."
Then she added one final sentence.
"If anyone asks..."
"There was no child."
Nathan looked away.
His chest felt painfully tight.
"Did you believe her?"
Maria nodded slowly.
"For a while."
"But then..."
She swallowed.
"Max disappeared."
"And the room became silent."
Nathan suddenly remembered something.
Three years ago.
Around the same time...
Eleanor had announced that she was expanding her animal rescue foundation.
She spent more time away from home.
More charity events.
More interviews.
More awards.
He had admired her dedication.
Now...
He wondered whether those public appearances had been distractions.
Daniel Cross arrived at the mansion later that afternoon.
Nathan told him everything.
The investigator didn't interrupt once.
When Maria finished, Daniel remained silent for nearly a minute.
Finally he asked one question.
"Did you ever see Ava's face?"
Maria nodded.
"Only once."
"What did she look like?"
Maria smiled sadly.
"Beautiful."
"Curly brown hair."
"Green eyes."
"Very polite."
"She kept apologizing."
Daniel frowned.
"Apologizing?"
Maria nodded.
"She said..."
"'I'm sorry Mommy has to keep me.'"
Daniel slowly stood.
"I think I know what's happening."
Nathan looked at him.
"You do?"
Daniel walked toward the window.
"No."
"I think I know what we're missing."
He turned back.
"We've been asking the wrong question."
Nathan frowned.
"What question should we ask?"
Daniel answered quietly.
"Not..."
"'Why did Eleanor hide Ava?'"
He paused.
"The real question is..."
"'Who is Ava hiding from?'"
The room fell silent.
Nathan thought about it.
If Eleanor had imprisoned her own daughter...
There had to be a reason.
Twisted.
Unforgivable.
But still a reason.
Then another possibility entered his mind.
"What if..."
He spoke slowly.
"What if Eleanor wasn't protecting herself?"
Daniel looked up.
"What if she believed she was protecting Ava?"
Neither man liked the thought.
Because it made the truth far more complicated.
Just then...
Lily burst through the kitchen door.
She was breathing hard.
"Mr. Whitmore!"
Nathan immediately knelt.
"What happened?"
The little girl pointed toward the front gate.
"A lady came."
"What lady?"
"She asked me..."
Lily's voice trembled.
"...if I still remembered the secret room."
Nathan and Daniel exchanged a sharp look.
"Where is she now?"
Lily pointed outside.
"She drove away."
"What did she look like?"
Lily frowned, trying to remember.
"She was old."
"Gray hair."
"A scar on her neck."
"She cried when she looked at me."
Daniel immediately pulled out his phone.
He searched through a folder of old investigation photographs.
One by one, he showed Lily several faces.
She shook her head.
"No."
"No."
"No."
Then...
Her eyes widened.
She pointed at the fourth photograph.
"That's her."
Nathan looked down.
His heart nearly stopped.
The photograph showed a woman he recognized instantly.
Not because he had met her.
But because he had seen her portrait hanging in Eleanor's private study for years.
The caption beneath the photograph read:
Margaret Whitmore
May you like
Nathan's mother.
The woman who had supposedly died... fifteen years ago.
