Chapter 4 - THE SECRET ROOM
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Sophia looked confused.
“Murdered means somebody killed her.”
Edward nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
Isabella stared at him.
“You lied.”
Edward flinched.
“I lied because I wanted you safe.”
Chloe folded Laura's letter.
“Why didn't you tell the police?”
“I did.”
“Then why was her death ruled accidental?”
“Because the person responsible made it look accidental.”
Chloe stared at him.
“Who?”
Edward shook his head.
“We don't know.”
Daniel's words echoed in her mind.
That's what you told the police.
Chloe looked at the letter again.
“There has to be more.”
“There is.”
Edward walked toward the library.
He opened a hidden panel behind a bookshelf.
A narrow door appeared.
Sophia gasped.
“Daddy, what's in there?”
“Something I should have shown you a long time ago.”
They entered.
The room was small and windowless.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
Documents.
Police reports.
Financial records.
And photographs of Laura.
Chloe walked toward a table.
There were pictures of the night Laura died.
Her car.
The road.
The damaged guardrail.
Then Chloe noticed something.
The photographs showed the vehicle from different angles.
One photograph showed the driver's door.
Another showed the rear bumper.
A third showed something strange.
A dark scratch along the passenger side.
Chloe stared.
“Why is that important?”
Edward answered quietly.
“Because the police said Laura lost control of the car.”
“And?”
“The scratch was caused by another vehicle.”
Chloe looked at him.
“So someone hit her.”
“Exactly.”
Isabella walked toward another table.
She found a small red box.
“Daddy.”
Edward turned.
“Put that down.”
She opened it.
Inside was a bracelet.
Sophia recognized it immediately.
“Mommy!”
She reached for it.
Edward took it.
His hand shook.
“She wore this the night she died.”
Chloe looked closer.
There was something engraved inside.
A date.
And initials.
“D.M.”
Chloe looked at Edward.
“Daniel Montgomery?”
Edward nodded.
“My wife's brother.”
“Why would Laura wear his initials?”
“She didn't.”
“What?”
Edward turned the bracelet over.
“Those initials weren't there when she died.”
Chloe's skin prickled.
“Someone added them.”
Edward nodded.
“Afterward.”
“Why?”
“To frame Daniel.”
Isabella stared at her father.
“Why would someone want Uncle Daniel blamed?”
Edward looked at her.
“Because Daniel knew something.”
“What?”
“He knew who killed your mother.”
Suddenly, the lights went out.
Sophia screamed.
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Edward immediately moved toward the door.
“Stay here.”
Chloe grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You said I'm in danger. I'm not letting you walk out there alone.”
For the first time, Edward looked at Chloe differently.
Not as an employee.
As an equal.
He pulled a flashlight from the wall.
They stepped into the hallway.
Another crash.
Then a child's voice.
Mrs. Whitmore.
“HELP!”
Edward ran upstairs.
Chloe followed.
They found the housekeeper standing outside the girls' bedroom.
Her face was white.
“Someone was in there.”
Edward entered.
The window was open.
The curtains moved in the wind.
On Isabella's bed sat a black envelope.
Edward picked it up.
Inside was one sentence.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LET THE NANNY GO QUIETLY.
Chloe's heart stopped.
Then another line appeared underneath.
NEXT TIME, WE TAKE A CHILD.
Sophia began sobbing.
May you like
Edward crushed the paper in his fist.
And for the first time since Chloe had known him, the millionaire looked genuinely terrified.
