Chapter 5 - THE VOICE FROM THE DARKNESS

The mansion went silent.

Not normal silence.

The kind of silence that comes when everyone realizes something terrible is about to happen.

The emergency lights flickered across the hallway.

Red shadows moved along the walls.

Every guard reached for their weapon.

Every security monitor showed the same thing.

Nothing.

No movement.

No intruder.

No explanation.

But someone was inside.

Someone had spoken through my security system.

Someone had mentioned my wife.

I stood in the center of the hallway, staring at the speakers.

“Show yourself.”

My voice echoed.

No answer.

Then the voice returned.

Low.

Distorted.

Almost calm.

“You always believed your walls could protect you, Lawson.”

My jaw tightened.

“Who are you?”

A quiet laugh came through the speakers.

“That’s the wrong question.”

I looked at Prescott.

“Trace the signal.”

He nodded and moved immediately.

The voice continued.

“You built a fortress around your family.”

A pause.

“But you never noticed the danger already living inside it.”

My eyes narrowed.

“What do you want?”

The answer came instantly.

“I want you to remember.”

The lights flickered again.

Then every screen in the hallway turned on.

A video appeared.

A hospital hallway.

Two years ago.

The day Genevieve died.

My entire body froze.

Because I knew that hallway.

I had stood there.

I had waited there.

I had watched doctors walk out with sympathy in their eyes.

But this footage was different.

The camera angle was hidden.

Someone had been watching.

The video showed Genevieve walking with someone.

A person beside her.

Talking.

Arguing.

I stepped closer.

“Enhance the image.”

Prescott worked quickly.

The face was unclear.

But the voice was clear.

Genevieve sounded afraid.

“You promised me you would stop.”

The person replied.

“You should have stayed quiet.”

My heart stopped.

The video ended.

The screen went black.

Then one final message appeared.

SHE KNEW THE TRUTH.

NOW YOU WILL TOO.

I stared at the words.

Clara stood behind me.

Her face had lost all color.

“What?”

She whispered.

“That was the last day I saw her.”

I turned toward her.

“You were there?”

Clara nodded slowly.

“I was the nurse who found Genevieve after she collapsed.”

The room became silent.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Because someone threatened my family.”

“You said you had no family.”

She looked down.

“I lied.”

The answer shocked me.

“You lied?”

“I had a sister.”

“What happened?”

Clara’s voice broke.

“She disappeared three days after Genevieve died.”

Nobody spoke.

Because suddenly, this was bigger than my children’s illness.

Bigger than a hidden enemy.

Someone had been removing every person who knew the truth.

I looked toward Jonah and Blythe’s room.

Then I understood.

My children weren’t the only targets.

Anyone who tried to save them was a target too.

A few minutes later, Prescott returned.

His expression was serious.

“We traced the signal.”

“Where?”

He looked at me.

“Inside the property.”

My eyes narrowed.

“That’s impossible.”

“I checked three times.”

“Where?”

He handed me the tablet.

The location appeared.

The old east wing.

The abandoned section of the mansion.

The place nobody used anymore.

The place where Genevieve kept her personal office.

I looked at Clara.

She immediately understood.

“Genevieve’s office.”

I started walking.

“Lawson.”

I stopped.

Prescott looked worried.

“You should wait for backup.”

I looked back at him.

“No.”

My voice became cold.

“Someone has been hiding in my house.”

I continued toward the east wing.

“I’m done waiting.”

The old hallway had not been opened in years.

Dust covered the floor.

The lights barely worked.

Every step felt like walking into the past.

Into the parts of my life I had tried to forget.

Genevieve’s office was at the end.

The door was locked.

Prescott checked it.

“No damage.”

I stared at the door.

“Open it.”

He unlocked it.

The room was dark.

Empty.

At first.

Then I noticed something.

A photograph on the desk.

A picture of my family.

Me.

Genevieve.

Jonah.

Blythe.

But someone had written across it.

YOU FAILED TO PROTECT THEM.

My hands tightened.

Then a small sound came from inside the room.

A hidden compartment opening.

Everyone turned.

Behind the bookshelf, a secret drawer slowly moved forward.

Inside was one thing.

A file.

With my name on it.

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