The Secret Beneath the Boathouse
Chapter 03 - The Secret Beneath the Boathouse
Nathan hid the tapes inside his jacket and told the twins to stay with Eleanor. Then he went downstairs to face Victor.
Victor greeted him like a brother, but his smile never reached his eyes. He claimed the girls’ trust was losing money and suggested transferring them to a private boarding school overseas. If Nathan signed the papers that evening, Victor would take permanent control of the estate.
Nathan pretended to agree.
While Victor prepared documents in the library, Eleanor led the twins through an old servants’ passage. Nathan joined them near the kitchen, and together they escaped through a garden door.
They crossed the terrace as the sun lowered over the lake. The girls ran between Nathan and Eleanor, frightened but silent. Behind them, Victor’s men discovered the open passage and began searching the grounds.
The brass key opened a rusted door beneath the old boathouse. Inside, Nathan found a narrow staircase descending below the waterline.
The hidden room contained files, photographs, and a battery-powered radio. Ava found a recent picture of Claire beside a mountain clinic. On the back was an address and the name Dr. Samuel Reed.
Nathan used the radio. Dr. Reed answered and explained that Claire had reached his clinic after the crash with serious injuries and no identification. Victor later moved her to a private recovery center under a false name.
Claire escaped six months ago and began collecting evidence. Her recordings reached the manor through a former housekeeper loyal to Eleanor, but someone had recently discovered where she was hiding.
“She left the clinic yesterday,” Dr. Reed said. “She said she was coming for her daughters.”
A crash sounded above them.
Victor had entered the boathouse.
Nathan sent the files to Detective Maya Brooks, whose contact information Claire had included in the archive. Then he led Eleanor and the twins through a narrow tunnel opening near the shoreline.
They almost reached the trees when Victor stepped into their path.
“You should have signed the papers,” he said.
Before his men could move, police sirens echoed across the lake. Nathan had delayed Victor long enough for Detective Brooks to arrive.
Victor laughed. “You think some old files can save you?”
Then he pointed toward the manor.
Smoke was rising from the nursery window.
May you like
Eleanor gasped. The original trust documents and Claire’s final evidence were still hidden inside.
And somewhere beyond the gates, a woman’s voice screamed the twins’ names.
