Chapter 3 - The Red DoorVanessa waited until Mason disappeared around the corner.
Then she ran.
She reached the master bedroom, slammed the door, and locked it.
Her hands shook as she pulled a small key from the chain around her neck.
The key belonged to the red door.
The door nobody was supposed to know existed.
She crossed the bedroom and opened the walk-in closet.
Hundreds of designer shoes lined the walls.
Handbags worth more than most people's annual salaries.
Jewelry glittered under soft lighting.
Vanessa pushed a hidden panel beside the shelving.
It clicked.
A section of the wall moved.
Beyond it was a narrow staircase.
She descended quickly.
But when she reached the bottom, she stopped.
The red door was already open.
Vanessa's heart nearly stopped.
Someone had been inside.
She stepped forward.
The hidden room was dark.
Cabinets lined every wall.
Documents were scattered across the floor.
A safe stood open.
And the black folder containing years of financial records was gone.
Vanessa whispered, “No.”
Then a voice came from behind her.
“You should have burned everything years ago.”
Vanessa spun around.
Adrian Cross stood in the doorway.
His face looked older than the photograph.
But the smile was exactly the same.
“You.”
“You seem surprised.”
“I thought you were dead.”
“You wanted me to be.”
Vanessa backed away.
“You can't be here.”
“You've been paying me for six years.”
“I paid you to disappear.”
“And you were supposed to keep paying.”
Vanessa's eyes filled with panic.
“I don't have the money.”
Adrian smiled.
“You have Mason's money.”
“No.”
“You've been stealing from him for years.”
“Borrowing.”
“That's a charming word.”
Vanessa lowered her voice.
“What do you want?”
“The documents.”
“I don't have them.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Then who does?”
Vanessa didn't answer.
He stepped closer.
“Was it your husband?”
“No.”
“Your daughter?”
Vanessa's face hardened.
“Leave Lily out of this.”
Adrian laughed.
“Too late.”
Vanessa's blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian leaned toward her.
“Children remember things adults wish they'd forgotten.”
Then he walked away.
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“Wait!”
He looked at her hand.
“Don't touch me.”
“What do you want?”
“I want the original ledger.”
“I don't know where it is.”
“You have until midnight tomorrow.”
Then he disappeared.
Vanessa stood alone.
She stared at the empty safe.
For years she had controlled everything.
The money.
The mansion.
The story.
Now someone else was writing it.
Upstairs, Mason found the hidden door.
He stared at it.
“Lily was right.”
Emma whispered, “Open it.”
Mason did.
Inside, they found filing cabinets.
Bank statements.
Passports.
Photographs.
And hundreds of printed emails.
Mason picked up the first photograph.
It showed Vanessa standing beside Adrian.
Another showed them entering a hotel.
Another showed Vanessa handing him an envelope.
Emma stepped closer.
“There.”
She pointed to one photograph.
A younger woman stood in the background.
Emma went pale.
“That is my sister.”
Mason looked again.
The photograph had been taken three weeks before the fire.
At the bottom was a date.
And a handwritten note.
She knows about the account.
Mason looked at Emma.
“Your sister knew Vanessa?”
Emma swallowed.
“Yes.”
Something crashed upstairs.
They both turned.
Then Lily screamed.
“Daddy!”
Mason ran.
Emma followed.
When they reached the hallway, Lily was standing beside the staircase.
Vanessa was gone.
But the front door was wide open.
And on the marble floor lay a single white glove.
May you like
Beside it was a note.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE MANSION, EMMA.
