The Key in the Dollhouse
Chapter 05 - The Key in the Dollhouse
Sophie had found the velvet pouch hidden inside the dollhouse in the upstairs nursery. Camille sometimes used the room to store wedding decorations, claiming the closets elsewhere were full.
Lucas immediately called Hannah. They searched the dollhouse and discovered more than the office key. Beneath its wooden floor was a disposable phone, a packet of white tablets, and Rosa’s missing security badge.
Camille denied knowing how the items got there.
“Anyone could have planted them,” she said.
“Only four people knew Sophie played in that room,” Lucas replied.
Camille’s attorney arrived before Hannah could question her further. He insisted the search was illegal because Lucas had no authority over Camille’s private belongings. Hannah sealed the room while she sought a warrant.
By nightfall, the story changed. Camille claimed Rosa had hidden the items to frame her. Her father released a statement accusing Lucas of suffering a breakdown under the pressure of Eleanor’s illness.
The Whitmore board began discussing whether Lucas should be temporarily removed as chief executive.
It was exactly what Camille needed. If Lucas lost control and Eleanor remained unconscious, Ashford Capital could push the merger through sympathetic directors.
Rosa packed her belongings.
“I should leave,” she told Lucas. “Every day we stay, Sophie becomes more afraid.”
“If you leave now, they will say you ran.”
“I care more about my daughter than what they say.”
Lucas understood. For years, the Whitmore family had spoken about loyalty as though employees owed it upward. Rosa had stayed through illnesses, funerals, and scandals. Now loyalty meant giving her the freedom to go.
Before leaving, Sophie handed Lucas a folded drawing. It showed the dollhouse, the staircase, and a black square above the nursery door.
“What is this?” he asked.
“The blinking eye.”
Lucas looked up at the hallway camera. It had been disconnected years ago during renovations, or so he had believed.
The wiring still disappeared into the wall.
A technician traced it to a hidden storage unit in Eleanor’s old sewing room. Someone had installed a private recording system separate from the mansion’s main security network. Eleanor had likely created it after suspecting staff codes were being misused.
Most files had been deleted.
One remained.
The video showed Camille entering the nursery the night before Eleanor collapsed. She placed something inside the dollhouse, then turned toward the camera.
Beside her stood a man wearing an Ashford Capital identification badge.
Camille said, “Once Eleanor is gone, Lucas will sign anything I put in front of him.”
The man answered, “And the maid?”
May you like
Camille smiled.
“Everyone already knows who they will believe.”
