Chapter 3
Emma closed the library door without making a sound.
Her hand shook on the handle.
“They’re looking for us.”
Lily wiped her face with her sleeve.
“They always find me.”
Emma crouched in front of her.
“Not tonight.”
She wanted those words to sound confident.
They didn’t.
Outside, footsteps crossed the hallway.
A man’s voice spoke through a radio.
“Check the east rooms first.”
Another answered.
“Kitchen staff?”
“Keep everyone where they are until Mrs. Whitmore gives the word.”
Emma glanced around the library.
Tall windows overlooked the garden.
She rushed to one.
Locked.
She tried another.
Also locked.
Not with normal latches.
Electronic bolts had slid into place inside the frames.
Evelyn had turned the mansion into a prison.
Emma looked at Lily.
“How old are you?”
“Nine.”
“Do you know another way out?”
Lily nodded slowly.
“The walls.”
Emma almost laughed.
Of course.
“Can we reach the passage from here?”
Lily looked toward the bookshelf.
“No. That door locks from the other side.”
Emma scanned the room again.
“There has to be something.”
Lily suddenly walked to the desk.
She opened a drawer.
Empty.
Second drawer.
Papers.
Third drawer.
A phone.
Not a cell phone.
An old corded landline.
Emma grabbed it.
No dial tone.
“They cut it.”
Lily stared at a photograph on the desk.
It showed Evelyn and Daniel smiling beside the same fireplace three years earlier.
Lily was between them.
Younger.
Happy.
Emma picked it up.
“Your mother?”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
Emma looked at her.
“Evelyn isn’t your mom?”
“My mommy died when I was little.”
“Evelyn is your stepmother?”
Lily nodded.
Emma’s thoughts raced.
“Why did everyone think your father died?”
Lily’s bottom lip trembled.
“I thought he did too.”
Emma went still.
“He was hidden here the whole time?”
“I don’t know.”
The child’s voice cracked.
“I only found him today.”
That changed everything.
Emma knelt.
“Tell me exactly what happened.”
Lily glanced at the door.
Then spoke quickly.
“Evelyn told me I had to stay upstairs during the party because grown-ups were coming. I got mad because it’s my house too. Then I heard knocking in my bedroom wall.”
Emma felt cold.
“I thought it was a mouse.”
“What happened?”
“I moved my dresser.”
Lily pointed toward the bookshelf.
“There was a little door. I went inside. I followed the sound.”
“And you found your father.”
Lily nodded.
“He looked different. His beard was long. I thought he was a stranger until he called me Peanut.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“My daddy was the only person who called me that.”
Emma took her hand.
“Then Evelyn found you?”
“She heard me screaming.”
Lily’s breathing grew faster.
“She grabbed me. Daddy tried to stop her, but he was tied. She put the ropes on me and said if I stayed quiet, she wouldn’t hurt him.”
Emma looked back at the photo.
“What does Evelyn want from your father?”
Lily shrugged.
“He kept saying something about papers.”
Papers.
Money.
The Whitmore fortune.
Emma picked up several documents from the desk.
Most were guest lists.
Charity brochures.
Engagement announcements.
Then she saw a folder.
WHITMORE FAMILY TRUST.
Emma opened it.
Legal language filled the first page.
She understood almost none of it.
But one paragraph had been highlighted.
Upon the death of Daniel Charles Whitmore, controlling interest in Whitmore Development shall pass in trust to his biological child, Lily Anne Whitmore, with Evelyn Whitmore serving as temporary guardian and administrator until Lily reaches twenty-five years of age.
Emma stared at the words.
There it was.
Daniel’s death gave Lily ownership.
But Lily was a child.
Which gave Evelyn control.
Emma turned the page.
A handwritten note sat underneath.
Marriage to Victor before court review.
Secure board vote.
Transfer assets.
Remove D.
Emma’s stomach turned.
D.
Daniel.
A sound came from the hallway.
The door handle moved.
Emma grabbed the folder and pulled Lily behind the desk.
Someone knocked.
“Security.”
Emma didn’t answer.
“Open the door.”
Lily whispered, “They have keys.”
Emma searched for anything she could use.
Letter opener.
Heavy lamp.
Fireplace poker.
She took the poker.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
A security guard entered.
He was broad, gray-haired, maybe fifty.
Emma raised the poker.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
“Easy.”
“Stay back.”
He closed the door behind him.
That surprised her.
Then he removed his earpiece.
“Where’s Lily?”
Emma tightened her grip.
“Why?”
“I’m trying to help.”
“Sure.”
“I’ve worked for Daniel’s family for twenty-seven years.”
“Then where have you been for the last three?”
Pain crossed his face.
“Believing the same lie everyone else believed.”
Lily peeked above the desk.
“Mr. Brooks?”
The guard turned.
“Hey, Peanut.”
Lily ran toward him.
Emma caught her.
“Wait.”
Brooks raised both hands.
“She knows me.”
“That doesn’t mean I do.”
“Fair.”
He glanced at the trust documents in Emma’s hand.
“You found it.”
“What?”
“The reason.”
Emma studied him.
“What do you know?”
“Enough to know Evelyn cannot get that child out of this house tonight.”
“She’s trying to kill her?”
Brooks didn’t answer immediately.
That was answer enough.
Emma’s grip tightened.
“She locked down the house.”
“I can unlock parts of it.”
“Then call the police.”
“Evelyn disabled outside communication.”
“You’re security. You don’t have another system?”
“I do.”
Hope hit Emma.
“Where?”
“Security office.”
“Take us.”
Brooks shook his head.
“Too obvious. Hale’s men are there.”
“Victor Hale?”
Brooks nodded.
“He brought six private security contractors tonight. Evelyn told everyone they were here because of the jewelry and VIP guests.”
“They’re helping her?”
“I don’t know how much they know.”
Emma frowned.
“You just said they’re holding the office.”
“They follow Hale. Not Evelyn.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“No.”
Brooks looked at Lily.
“Did you see Daniel?”
Lily nodded.
“He’s alive.”
Brooks closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, they were wet.
“Where?”
“In the wall.”
Emma told him about the passage.
About the gunshot.
About the camera.
Brooks’ expression changed at the last part.
“A camera?”
Lily nodded.
“Daddy told me he put it there.”
“Did he say where it records?”
“No.”
Brooks looked around.
Then his eyes landed on the desk monitor.
“It may not record to the house system.”
Emma understood.
“If Daniel hid it, he wouldn’t trust Evelyn’s security.”
“Exactly.”
“Then where?”
Brooks thought.
“Daniel had an old panic system installed by his father.”
Lily looked up.
“The blue room.”
Brooks stared at her.
“What?”
“Grandpa used to call it the blue room.”
Brooks almost smiled.
“The old communications room.”
Emma grabbed the trust folder.
“Can we get there?”
“Basement.”
The lights outside flickered.
Brooks put his earpiece back in.
Voices crackled.
“Team Two, library clear?”
Brooks pressed the button.
“Checking now.”
“Report.”
Brooks stared at Emma.
“Negative. No sign.”
A pause.
Then:
“Mrs. Whitmore wants every staff member moved to the ballroom.”
Brooks replied, “Understood.”
He removed the earpiece again.
“We have maybe five minutes.”
He crossed to the fireplace.
Emma watched him press a carved wooden rose on the mantel.
Something clicked.
A narrow panel beside the chimney opened.
Emma almost laughed from disbelief.
“How many secret doors does this house have?”
“Too many.”
Brooks motioned.
“Go.”
Lily entered first.
Emma followed.
Brooks stepped in behind them and closed the panel.
A narrow staircase descended.
Unlike the passage where Daniel was held, this one had tiny emergency lights near the floor.
Emma whispered, “Why would a mansion need all this?”
“Daniel’s grandfather was paranoid.”
“Apparently he wasn’t paranoid enough.”
Brooks gave her a grim look.
They reached the basement.
The air smelled like stone and damp wood.
Wine racks filled one corridor.
Storage rooms filled another.
Music thudded faintly overhead.
“Blue room is past the boiler.”
They moved quickly.
Then Lily stopped.
Emma nearly ran into her.
“What?”
Lily pointed.
A shoe stuck out from behind several wine crates.
Brooks drew a small handgun from under his jacket.
Emma stared at him.
“You had that the whole time?”
“I was hoping I wouldn’t need it.”
They approached.
A man lay on the floor.
It was one of the catering staff.
Emma recognized him.
Miguel.
A dishwasher.
His hands were zip-tied.
Tape covered his mouth.
Brooks checked his pulse.
“Alive.”
Emma ripped away the tape.
Miguel gasped.
“Don’t go upstairs.”
“What happened?”
“They caught me near the service door.”
“Who?”
“Men in black suits.”
“Hale’s security?”
“I guess.”
Miguel swallowed.
“They said nobody leaves.”
Brooks cut his restraints.
“Stay here.”
Miguel grabbed Emma’s arm.
“Your manager is helping them.”
Emma stared.
“Dorsey?”
Miguel nodded.
“I heard him talking to the woman who owns this place. She paid him.”
Emma felt sick.
Evelyn hadn’t simply reacted when Emma found Lily.
She had prepared.
The catering company.
The staff restrictions.
No phones.
Maybe even Emma being assigned to that wing.
Had that been planned too?
“Why would she pay Dorsey?”
Miguel shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Brooks urged them onward.
The blue room was hidden behind an ordinary utility door.
Inside were old communication consoles covered in dust.
A radio.
Several dead monitors.
A backup telephone.
Brooks tried the telephone.
Nothing.
He opened a cabinet.
“Come on.”
He flipped switches.
A low hum started.
One screen came alive.
Then another.
Static.
Emma set the trust folder on a desk.
Lily climbed into a chair.
Brooks connected a cable.
The screen filled with folders.
Old security archives.
Family recordings.
System logs.
Then one folder appeared.
D.C.W.
Daniel Charles Whitmore.
Brooks clicked it.
A password box appeared.
“Damn.”
Lily whispered, “Peanut.”
Emma looked at her.
“What?”
“Try Peanut.”
Brooks typed it.
ACCESS DENIED.
Lily frowned.
“Mommy’s birthday.”
“You know it?”
“April seventh.”
Brooks typed 0407.
Denied.
Emma looked at the screen.
“What would he choose if he knew Evelyn might find this?”
Lily stared at the keyboard.
Then she reached forward.
“Bluebird.”
Brooks looked at her.
“Why?”
“My mommy used to sing that song.”
He typed BLUEBIRD.
The folder opened.
Video files filled the screen.
Dozens.
Some were dated more than two years earlier.
Emma clicked the newest one.
Daniel appeared on camera.
Alive.
Thin.
Bruised.
He looked directly into the lens.
“If anyone is seeing this, Evelyn has probably discovered the camera.”
Emma held her breath.
Daniel continued.
“My disappearance was not an accident.”
Lily covered her mouth.
“I was drugged aboard my boat three years ago. I woke up in a private medical facility owned through one of Victor Hale’s shell companies.”
Brooks swore softly.
Daniel looked exhausted.
“For nearly two years they kept me sedated while Evelyn used forged documents to take control of my company and my daughter.”
Lily began crying silently.
Emma put an arm around her.
“Six months ago, I escaped.”
Emma stared.
If Daniel escaped six months ago, why was he inside the mansion wall?
The recording answered.
“I could not go to the police. Hale owns people in the department, the courts, and my company. I needed proof before I revealed myself.”
Daniel leaned closer to the camera.
“So I came home.”
Brooks shook his head.
“Crazy son of a…”
“I have been living in the abandoned maintenance passages, gathering evidence. Tonight was supposed to end it. Evelyn’s engagement party puts every person involved under one roof.”
Emma looked at Brooks.
“He planned this.”
Daniel continued.
“I arranged for copies of the evidence to be released automatically at midnight unless I enter a cancellation code.”
Brooks checked the wall clock.
11:17.
Forty-three minutes.
Emma almost felt relief.
“So we just survive until midnight.”
Brooks shook his head.
“Listen.”
Daniel’s recorded voice grew serious.
“There is one problem. The release server is inside this house. If Evelyn finds it before midnight, she can destroy everything.”
Emma’s relief disappeared.
On-screen, Daniel held up a small black drive.
“The server is hidden in the nursery where Lily slept as a baby.”
Lily whispered, “My old room.”
Daniel’s face softened.
“If Lily is watching this, Peanut, I’m sorry.”
She started crying harder.
“I should have come for you the moment I escaped. But I knew if Evelyn discovered I was alive, she would use you against me.”
A loud bang interrupted the video.
Not from the speakers.
From outside the blue room.
Everyone froze.
Brooks killed the monitor.
Another bang.
Then a voice.
“Brooks?”
Victor Hale.
Brooks raised his weapon.
Emma pulled Lily behind a steel cabinet.
Victor spoke again through the door.
“I know you’re in there.”
Silence.
Then he laughed.
“And I know Daniel is alive.”
Brooks aimed at the door.
Victor continued.
“But that isn’t why I came down here.”
A pause.
“I came because Evelyn just shot Daniel.”
Lily made a tiny sound.
Emma covered her mouth.
May you like
Victor’s voice became colder.
“And if you want him to survive, bring Lily upstairs.”
