Chapter 15 – The Keeper of Secrets
Grace and Charles forced the hidden door open.
A narrow staircase spiraled upward.
The smoke grew thinner.
At the top stood an old observation room overlooking the ballroom through concealed glass panels.
Someone had watched the mansion for years without ever being seen.
Maps covered the walls.
Photographs.
Schedules.
Family trees.
Every generation of the Ashcroft family had been monitored.
In the center of the room stood a single chair.
Still warm.
Whoever had been there had left only moments earlier.
Grace noticed a notebook resting on the desk.
Its final page contained one handwritten sentence.
You rescued one child.
You still haven't found the others.
Charles slowly looked around the room.
"The others?"
Detective Brooks' radio suddenly crackled.
Her expression changed instantly.
"All units respond."
"We've just received reports from another Ashcroft property."
Grace stepped closer.
"What happened?"
The detective swallowed hard.
"A maintenance worker found another hidden room."
"And this time..."
May you like
"...it wasn't empty."
End of Chapter 15
