The Room Behind the Red Curtains
Chapter 03 - The Room Behind the Red Curtains
Donnelly returned to the mansion with two officers while Ethan, Margaret, and Natalie waited in the hall. Natalie had stopped accusing Claire, but guilt made her defensive. She insisted Richard had always protected the family.
Margaret led the officers toward the west wing. The hallway had been closed since Daniel’s death, and heavy curtains covered its windows. Outside, police lights flashed red through the fabric, making the corridor look as though it were burning.
The door was locked from the inside.
Ethan used a brass key Victoria had hidden inside the second phone case. Beyond the door they found Richard’s jacket draped across a chair. One silver wolf button was missing.
The room contained no bed, only filing cabinets, surveillance monitors, and a shredder still warm from use. On a desk sat Claire’s sewing scissors and a folder labeled MONROE. Inside were photographs of Claire, copies of her private messages, and drafts of the threats Natalie had shown police.
Richard had built the case against Claire long before Victoria fell.
A monitor displayed a live view of the hospital corridor outside Victoria’s room.
“He’s watching her,” Ethan said.
Then Natalie noticed a set of headphones connected to the security system. She put them on and heard Richard speaking to someone by phone.
“Victoria wakes up, we lose everything,” he said. “Move her before midnight.”
The call ended before Donnelly could trace it.
They raced to the hospital, but Victoria’s room was empty. A nurse claimed a physician had ordered an emergency scan. No such order existed.
Security footage showed a masked orderly pushing Victoria toward the service elevator. On his wrist was a Carver signet watch—Richard’s watch.
Claire, still waiting at the station, remembered something Victoria had once told her: Daniel had created a hidden archive beneath the old Carver greenhouse. If Richard believed Victoria had the original vehicle records, he might take her there to force her to reveal where they were.
Donnelly released Claire into Ethan’s custody, and they drove through heavy rain toward the abandoned greenhouse at the edge of the estate.
Inside, they found Victoria awake on a cot, weak but alive. Richard stood beside her holding a metal lockbox.
He demanded the archive key. Victoria refused.
Richard turned when Claire entered. “You should have accepted the blame,” he said. “Everyone was ready to believe you.”
Claire lifted her phone. “Not everyone.”
Donnelly’s voice came through the speaker. Police were surrounding the building.
May you like
Richard smiled and held up a small remote.
“If I press this,” he said, “the archive burns—and Daniel’s truth disappears forever.”
