Chapter 12 - THE RED DOORMason found the shooter.
Or at least, he found the weapon.
A pistol lay beneath the stairs.
No fingerprints.
No suspect.
The basement was becoming a maze.
Elena inserted Victoria's cassette into an old player.
Claire's voice came through.
“I know this recording may be the only chance you have to hear the truth.”
Elena froze.
Claire continued.
“I lied about Evelyn.”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I knew she survived the fire.”
Arthur looked at Claire.
She was gone.
“Where is she?” Elena shouted.
No answer.
Mason searched.
Claire had disappeared.
The cassette continued.
“Your father took Evelyn.”
“He believed she could be controlled.”
“He was wrong.”
Elena stared at the speakers.
“Then why did you never save her?”
Claire's voice broke.
“Because Evelyn became dangerous.”
Silence.
Then:
“She learned everything.”
“She knew what your grandfather had done.”
“She knew what Daniel had done.”
“And she wanted revenge.”
Elena looked at Arthur.
“Where is the red door?”
He suddenly understood.
“West wing.”
They ran.
Behind the old plaster was a narrow corridor.
At the end stood a red door.
The exact door Elena remembered from childhood.
Arthur tried the handle.
Locked.
Elena touched it.
The lock opened.
Inside was a room filled with children's drawings.
Hundreds of them.
Two little girls.
A mother.
A house on fire.
And one repeated image:
A man standing beside a red door.
Elena picked up one drawing.
The signature read:
EVELYN
Then she found another.
MARIA
The twins had drawn the same night.
But one detail differed.
In Maria's drawing, Claire was holding both girls.
In Evelyn's, Claire was standing beside Daniel.
Elena felt sick.
Someone had manipulated the children.
Someone had been teaching them different stories.
A hidden compartment opened beneath the floor.
Inside was a videotape.
Arthur found the player.
He pressed play.
The recording showed Claire, seventeen years earlier.
She was holding Evelyn.
Daniel entered the room.
He said:
“Choose.”
Claire cried.
“Take me instead.”
Daniel shook his head.
“We need the child.”
“Which one?”
Daniel pointed toward another room.
“Elena.”
Claire froze.
“Why?”
“She remembers.”
“What does she remember?”
“The fire.”
Claire's face collapsed.
Daniel continued:
“If she talks, everything ends.”
Arthur stopped the tape.
He stared at Claire.
“She gave me away.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
Claire appeared in the doorway.
“Yes.”
Everyone turned.
Claire slowly raised her hands.
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you would survive without me.”
“You chose me to be forgotten.”
“I chose you to live.”
Evelyn stepped from behind Claire.
She held a gun.
Elena stared.
“Evelyn.”
The twins faced each other.
For a moment, neither moved.
Then Evelyn smiled sadly.
“You look exactly like me.”
Elena whispered:
“You look exactly like me.”
Evelyn lifted the gun.
Claire stepped between them.
“No!”
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
“Move.”
“I won't.”
“You lied to me for seventeen years.”
“I was afraid.”
“You were protecting her.”
Claire looked at Elena.
“Yes.”
Evelyn's hand trembled.
Then a voice came from the corridor.
Daniel.
“Ladies.”
Everyone turned.
Daniel stood there with Leo.
A gun pressed against the boy's head.
“Now we can finish this.”
He looked at the twins.
“You've both been useful.”
Then he looked at Arthur.
“But only one of you knows where the final ledger is.”
Arthur frowned.
“What ledger?”
May you like
Daniel smiled.
“The one that proves who really owns the Vance empire.”
