The Room No One Used
Chapter 03 - The Room No One Used
The brass key opened a narrow door hidden behind a tapestry in the east wing.
Daniel had lived in the estate for most of his life, yet he had never noticed it. Beyond the door was a windowless room filled with metal filing cabinets, surveillance equipment, and shelves of labeled videotapes.
The newest tape carried Claire’s name.
Daniel inserted it into an old player. The screen flickered, revealing Claire in the mansion library two weeks earlier. She was alone, searching through financial records. The camera angle came from above the fireplace.
Someone had been watching her.
Another tape showed Vivian entering the secret room and speaking to a man whose face remained outside the frame.
“She found the trust documents,” Vivian said. “She knows Richard is alive.”
The man replied, “Then make sure Daniel never hears it from her.”
Daniel recognized the voice.
It belonged to Marcus Hale, his father’s former attorney and the current chairman of Langford Industries.
Before Daniel could play more, footsteps sounded in the corridor. He switched off the monitor and hid behind a cabinet.
Marcus entered with a flashlight. He searched the room, discovered the missing tape, and immediately called someone.
“The key is gone,” he said. “Daniel may have it.”
After Marcus left, Daniel contacted Detective Ruiz. She arrived quietly and collected the tapes, but warned him that the recordings might not be admissible without confirming their origin.
At the hospital, Claire remained unconscious. Her doctor explained that swelling around her brain could affect her memory if she woke.
Vivian appeared with flowers and asked to sit beside her. Daniel refused.
“You knew my father survived,” he said.
Her eyes filled with fear. “Daniel, please. Not here.”
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
He showed her the photograph. Vivian lowered her voice.
“Your father did survive the crash. But the man who came back was not the father you remember.”
Before she could explain, the hospital lights went out. Emergency alarms sounded. Nurses rushed toward Claire’s room.
Someone dressed in medical scrubs ran from the hall.
Daniel reached Claire’s bed and found her oxygen tube disconnected.
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She was still alive, but barely.
On the floor beside her lay a blue ribbon identical to the one tied around the brass key.
