Chapter 3 - Victoria’s Midnight ConfessionVictoria was standing in the east hallway.
Marcus saw her on twelve screens at once.
She wore the same burgundy dress from dinner.
But her expression had changed.
There was no polished smile now.
No graceful fiancée.
No socialite perfection.
She looked tired.
Almost frightened.
Marcus grabbed the nearest monitor.
“Where is she?”
The pale man pointed.
“East wing.”
Marcus ran.
Rosa followed with Lily.
“No,” Marcus said. “Stay here.”
Rosa shook her head.
“She knows my daughter.”
That stopped him.
Rosa held Lily tighter.
“She mentioned Victoria before. Only once. She said Miss Victoria told her not to play near the library.”
Marcus stared.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Lily is three. I thought she was imagining things.”
They heard footsteps.
Victoria appeared at the end of the corridor.
She stopped.
Her eyes moved from Marcus to the men behind him.
Then to Lily.
Her face changed.
“Lily.”
The toddler immediately buried her face against Rosa.
Victoria's voice became softer.
“Sweetheart, come here.”
Lily shook her head.
Marcus stepped between them.
“What have you been doing in my house?”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain it.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
Marcus laughed once.
It sounded bitter.
“You were meeting men behind my back.”
“I had no choice.”
“You were accessing my private safe.”
“I was looking for something.”
“The hidden room?”
Victoria flinched.
Marcus saw it.
“There it is.”
He stepped closer.
“What are you looking for?”
Victoria stared at him.
“My father's name.”
Marcus frowned.
“What does your father have to do with this?”
Victoria's voice broke.
“He was one of the men who disappeared after your grandfather died.”
Silence.
Rosa stared.
Marcus felt the floor shift beneath him.
“My grandfather had enemies.”
“No,” Victoria said. “He had partners.”
She reached into her handbag.
The broad man raised a weapon.
Victoria froze.
“Easy,” she said.
She slowly removed a folded document.
Marcus took it.
It was old.
Yellowed.
Stamped with a federal seal.
At the bottom was his grandfather's signature.
And beneath it were five names.
One belonged to Victoria's father.
Another belonged to the pale man standing in the study.
Marcus looked up.
“You all knew each other.”
The pale man said nothing.
Victoria wiped her eyes.
“We were never stealing your company.”
Marcus stared.
“Then what?”
“Someone inside your family has been trying to recover something your grandfather hid.”
“What?”
“The original ledger.”
Marcus's voice hardened.
“What ledger?”
Victoria stepped closer.
“The ledger that proves Whitmore Logistics was built using stolen federal contracts.”
Marcus felt sick.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“My grandfather built everything legally.”
Victoria shook her head.
“He built everything because someone gave him access.”
“Who?”
She looked toward the staircase.
“Your uncle.”
Marcus went completely still.
“My uncle died when I was nineteen.”
Victoria nodded.
“He did.”
Then she leaned closer.
“But he didn't die in the accident everyone thinks killed him.”
The mansion suddenly seemed impossibly quiet.
Marcus remembered the old newspaper clipping.
A car.
A frozen road.
A bridge.
One death.
Officially ruled accidental.
Victoria whispered:
“He was murdered.”
Rosa looked toward the dark hallway.
Lily suddenly spoke.
“He didn't die.”
Everyone turned.
Marcus crouched.
“Who didn't?”
She pointed at the floor.
“The man with the blue watch.”
Victoria's face drained of color.
“Where did you hear that?”
Lily looked at her.
“From the wall.”
Marcus felt a chill.
Victoria staggered backward.
“What did you say?”
Lily pointed to the hidden corridor.
“The wall talks at night.”
Then, from somewhere inside the mansion, a man's voice echoed through the vents.
“That's enough.”
Victoria screamed.
May you like
The lights went out.
And a single gunshot cracked through the darkness.
