Chapter 7 – The Secret Journal
Back upstairs, Charles searched the locked archives.
Hidden behind old legal files sat a weathered leather journal.
The initials M.H. were embossed in faded gold.
Grace carefully opened the first page.
Every entry described renovations beneath the mansion.
Secret corridors.
Hidden locks.
Emergency exits.
Then the handwriting changed.
The later pages were hurried.
Uneven.
Afraid.
One sentence had been underlined three times.
Never trust anyone who wants control of the children.
Grace continued reading.
Another page had been torn out.
Several more were missing.
Charles found a folded photograph tucked inside the back cover.
It showed Margaret standing beside a smiling little girl.
Behind them stood the unfinished west wing.
Grace turned the photograph over.
A date.
Twenty-two years earlier.
Along with a warning.
If anything happens to me, search beneath the fountain.
Charles immediately looked up.
"The courtyard."
Without another word, they hurried outside.
High above them...
Someone watched from a second-floor window.
May you like
A curtain slowly closed.
End of Chapter 7
