Chapter 5 - THE LOCKED ROOM
Tansy was standing in the hallway.
Merisette was beside her.
Both girls were crying.
"What happened?"
Merisette pointed toward my father's old study.
"The door slammed."
I rushed over.
The door was locked.
From the inside.
I tried the handle.
Nothing.
"Tansy, step back."
I pulled the emergency key from the drawer beside the hallway.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Nobody was inside.
But the window was open.
Cold air rushed through the room.
On the desk sat a small wooden box.
I had never seen it before.
I walked toward it slowly.
Merisette grabbed my hand.
"Mom."
"It's okay."
I opened the box.
Inside was a flash drive.
And a photograph.
My father.
Griffin.
And Ilsa.
Standing together outside the house.
The photograph was dated three weeks before my father's death.
On the back, my father had written:
If Claire ever finds this, she must know the truth.
I inserted the flash drive into my laptop.
One video file appeared.
I clicked it.
My father's face appeared on the screen.
He looked tired.
Older than I remembered.
"If you're watching this," he said, "something went wrong."
I covered my mouth.
His voice continued.
"I don't know who I can trust anymore."
The video paused.
Then continued.
"I have evidence that someone has been attempting to gain control of Claire's inheritance."
My heart raced.
"My daughter believes Griffin loves her."
My eyes filled with tears.
"I hope she is right."
He leaned closer to the camera.
"But if she is wrong, there is one person she must never underestimate."
The screen went black.
Then a second video opened automatically.
Ilsa appeared.
She was sitting in a restaurant.
Across from her was a man I didn't recognize.
I watched them speak.
Ilsa handed him a folder.
The man said something I couldn't hear.
Then Ilsa answered clearly.
"Once Claire signs, the house is ours."
I stopped breathing.
"What is she signing?"
The video ended.
Merisette was crying again.
"Mom?"
I closed the laptop.
"It's okay."
But it wasn't.
Not even close.
I called Evelyn.
She answered immediately.
"Claire?"
"I found something."
"What?"
"A video."
There was silence.
"Don't tell me anything over the phone."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know who is listening."
I looked around the room.
"Are you serious?"
"Very."
"Where should I go?"
"Stay in the house."
My heart stopped.
"Why?"
"Because if your father was right, the house is the safest place you have."
I stared at the walls.
The house I had thought was merely an inheritance suddenly felt like a fortress.
Then Evelyn added:
"And don't confront Ilsa."
"Why?"
"Because if she's working with someone, confrontation will force them to act."
I swallowed.
"Too late."
"What happened?"
"I told her she doesn't own my house."
Evelyn sighed.
"Then protect your daughters."
I looked at Merisette and Tansy.
"I will."
That night, Griffin slept in the guest room.
I didn't trust him enough to let him near my daughters.
At 2:17 a.m., I woke to a noise downstairs.
A door opening.
I grabbed my phone.
I quietly walked toward the staircase.
Someone was inside the house.
I could hear footsteps.
Then a man's voice.
"Find the documents."
Another voice answered.
"Where?"
"The study."
I froze.
There were two men in my house.
And neither of them was Griffin.
I called 911.
Then I heard a third voice.
Ilsa.
"Check the safe."
May you like
My blood went cold.
She had come back.
