Chapter 2 - The Message in the MusicNathaniel ordered every exterior door locked.
No one left the mansion.
No one entered.
The household staff gathered in the kitchen, whispering nervously while security searched the grounds.
I stayed upstairs with Sophia and Eli.
I wanted to believe it was some misunderstanding.
A strange old recording.
A frightened employer.
A grieving widower.
But there was something in Nathaniel's face that wouldn't leave me alone.
He hadn't looked surprised when Evelyn mentioned the person inside the house.
He had looked betrayed.
As if somewhere deep inside, he already knew.
At eight that evening, Nathaniel came upstairs.
He knocked before entering my small apartment above the garage.
I opened the door.
He looked exhausted.
"May I speak with you?"
I nodded.
Sophia was asleep beside me.
Eli was in the adjoining nursery.
Nathaniel stepped inside.
"I owe you an apology."
I blinked.
"For what?"
"For how I treated you when I first heard the recording."
"You didn't treat me badly."
"I suspected you."
"You had every reason."
"No."
He looked toward Sophia.
"I had every reason to suspect someone else."
He handed me a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Evelyn stood beside a young man I didn't recognize.
"Who is he?"
"My brother, Daniel."
I looked at Nathaniel.
"I thought you were an only child."
"I was told Daniel died before I was born."
That sentence chilled me.
"What?"
Nathaniel sat down.
"My father had an affair. Daniel was born from it. My father sent him away. My mother refused to speak about him."
"And Evelyn knew?"
"She discovered him."
"When?"
"Six months before she died."
He took another photograph from his pocket.
This one showed Evelyn standing outside an old warehouse.
"She started investigating my family."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe the recording tells us."
Nathaniel nodded.
"The file has been altered."
My heart sank.
"Altered?"
"Someone removed eleven minutes."
He showed me the timeline.
"There's a gap."
"Can you recover it?"
"Possibly."
He looked at me.
"But there's something else."
"What?"
"Evelyn recorded that video in this house."
I stared at him.
"How do you know?"
He pointed at the reflection in the television screen.
"Look at the piano."
I leaned closer.
In the reflection, barely visible behind Evelyn, was a clock.
The time read 2:17.
Nathaniel showed me an old photograph of the ballroom.
The same clock.
"That clock stopped at 2:17 the night Evelyn died."
I felt a chill run through me.
"What happened at 2:17?"
"Nobody knows."
"You don't know?"
"I was unconscious."
I looked at him.
He continued.
"There was a car accident outside the estate. My car was destroyed. I suffered a head injury."
"And Evelyn?"
"She was found dead in the garden."
I lowered the photograph.
"Wasn't it ruled an accident?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you investigating now?"
Nathaniel looked at the sleeping children.
"Because I was told my wife died trying to save my son."
The room became very quiet.
"From what?"
"That's what I don't know."
Suddenly Sophia sat upright.
Her eyes were still closed.
"Mommy."
I turned.
"Sophia?"
She pointed toward the hallway.
"Lady."
Nathaniel stood.
"What lady?"
Sophia opened her eyes.
"The lady from the television."
She climbed out of bed.
"She says we have to find the blue box."
Nathaniel froze.
"What blue box?"
Sophia shrugged.
"In the wall."
He looked at me.
Then at the room.
"Where?"
Sophia pointed toward the floor.
"Under the music."
Nathaniel immediately understood.
We returned to the ballroom.
The piano stood in darkness.
Nathaniel removed the bench.
Nothing.
He checked the floorboards.
Nothing.
Then Sophia walked toward the piano.
She touched the wooden panel beneath it.
"Here."
Nathaniel knelt.
A small brass keyhole was hidden behind a decorative carving.
"I've never seen that."
Mr. Harris appeared in the doorway.
He stared at it.
"Neither have I."
Nathaniel looked at him.
"Bring me tools."
Within minutes, the panel opened.
Inside was a blue metal box.
Nathaniel lifted it out.
There was no lock.
Inside were three things.
A flash drive.
A folded letter.
And a small child's bracelet.
Nathaniel picked up the bracelet.
His hands began shaking.
"Evelyn made this."
I looked at it.
A tiny silver charm hung from the chain.
It read:
E.R. + E.R.
Nathaniel unfolded the letter.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then he stopped.
"What?"
He handed it to me.
The letter was addressed to Nathaniel.
If you found this, then someone finally listened to the children.
I looked at Sophia.
Nathaniel read the rest aloud.
The first clue is in the place where you buried the truth.
He stopped.
"What does that mean?"
Mr. Harris suddenly stepped backward.
Nathaniel noticed.
"You know."
Mr. Harris shook his head.
"No."
"You know what she means."
"I don't."
Nathaniel moved toward him.
"Then why are you afraid?"
Mr. Harris looked at Sophia.
His eyes filled with tears.
"Because," he whispered, "Evelyn told me something two days before she died."
"What?"
Mr. Harris swallowed.
"She said if anything happened to her, I should never trust the person who brought the flowers."
Nathaniel went pale.
"Who brought the flowers?"
May you like
Mr. Harris looked toward the front door.
"The person who is still here."
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