Chapter 4: The Secret Room Beneath Blackwood
The next morning, Blackwood Mansion looked completely different.
The same perfect gardens.
The same polished marble floors.
The same expensive paintings hanging on the walls.
But now I could see what was underneath.
Fear.
Everyone inside the mansion was pretending nothing had happened.
And that made it worse.
I was allowed back inside temporarily because the police needed my statement.
Victor sat in his office with his lawyer beside him.
He looked calm again.
Almost too calm.
“Ms. Carter,” he said, “I hope you understand how serious your actions were.””
I stared at him.
“My actions?””
“You entered a restricted area.””
“A locked room where a child was being kept.””
His lawyer interrupted.
“Be careful with your accusations.””
I looked at Victor.
“Why was Lily hidden?””
Victor leaned back.
“That is a family matter.””
“A seven-year-old child locked in a room is not a family matter.””
His expression darkened.
“You don’t understand this family.””
“No,” I said.
“I understand exactly what I saw.””
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Victor smiled slightly.
“You think you found a secret.””
He stood.
“But secrets are complicated, Elena.””
The way he said my name made me uncomfortable.
Like he already knew everything about me.
“How do you know about my past?”” I asked.
His smile disappeared.
“Everyone has a past.””
Before I could respond, Daniel entered the office.
“Mr. Blackwood, we need access to the east wing.””
Victor immediately refused.
“That area is private.””
Daniel held up a document.
“Not anymore.””
Victor’s jaw tightened.
The police searched the room where Lily had been hidden.
I followed them carefully.
The photographs were gone.
Every single one.
The walls were empty.
The room looked abandoned again.
Someone had removed the evidence overnight.
But Lily’s recorder was still safe.
Daniel examined it carefully.
“We need a professional audio analysis.””
Then Lily appeared at the doorway.
She looked smaller without the recorder in her hand.
“Can I tell Elena something?””
Daniel nodded.
“What is it?””
Lily looked at me.
“There is another room.””
Everyone became silent.
“What room?”” I asked.
She pointed toward the wall behind the old bookshelf.
“The room where they kept the pictures.””
Victor appeared behind us.
“Lily.””
The little girl immediately stepped back.
Daniel noticed.
“Mr. Blackwood, stay where you are.””
Victor stopped.
Lily whispered.
“There is a door behind the bookshelf.””
The officers moved the furniture carefully.
Behind it was a narrow wooden door.
A door hidden inside the wall.
Daniel looked at Victor.
“Did you know this existed?””
Victor didn’t answer.
That was enough.
The lock was old.
But the door opened easily.
Inside was a small hidden room.
The walls were covered with photographs.
Not just of the Blackwood family.
Of Lily.
Hundreds of pictures.
Her eating.
Sleeping.
Playing in the garden.
Going to school.
Living her life.
Someone had been watching her for years.
At the center of the room was a small table.
On it were files.
Not documents about business.
Not financial records.
Something else.
Personal records.
Names.
Dates.
Notes.
Lily walked closer.
Then she pointed to one folder.
“That’s the one.””
Daniel opened it.
His expression changed immediately.
“What is it?””
He looked at Victor.
Then at Victoria.
Then back at the folder.
“I need everyone to step away.””
Nobody moved.
Because everyone had seen the same thing.
A name written on the first page.
A name that should not have been there.
My name.
Elena Carter.
I stared at the folder in disbelief.
I had never met the Blackwoods before three months ago.
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So why did they already have a file about me?
And why was it created years before I ever entered their mansion?
