Chapter 6: The Secret Hidden Beneath the Floor
I couldn’t move.
The phone was still pressed against my ear.
Daniel was speaking, but his words felt distant.
“Lily? Are you still there?””
I stared at the thin line of light beneath the garden room door.
Someone was inside.
Someone who knew.
Someone who had found the same clue my mother left for me.
“Lily, listen carefully,” Daniel said.
“Do not enter that room alone.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“But what if they find it?””
A pause.
Then his voice became quieter.
“That is exactly what I’m afraid of.””
I looked down the hallway.
The mansion that once felt like my childhood home suddenly felt unfamiliar.
Every shadow looked like it was hiding something.
Every closed door felt like it contained another secret.
I thought about my mother’s words.
*Look where our story began.*
She had known this moment might happen.
She had known someone might try to erase the truth.
And now someone was inside the room where she had hidden it.
“I’m going,” I whispered.
“Lily—”
“I need to know.””
For a few seconds, Daniel said nothing.
Then he replied:
“Stay outside the door. Do not touch anything. I’m coming back.””
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me.
Then I slowly walked toward the garden room.
Each step felt louder than it should.
The old wooden floor creaked beneath my feet.
The light beneath the door moved.
Someone was searching.
I reached the door.
My hand hovered above the handle.
I heard voices.
My heart stopped.
Not one person.
Two.
“You should have destroyed these years ago.””
Vanessa.
My blood ran cold.
The other voice was my father’s.
“I didn’t know she left this behind.””
“You should have checked.””
“I thought everything was gone.””
“You thought?””
The anger in Vanessa’s voice was different.
This wasn’t the woman who smiled at guests.
This wasn’t the woman who calmly told a six-year-old child she didn’t belong.
This was someone afraid.
I leaned closer.
“You told me Claire didn’t have anything,” Vanessa continued.
“She didn’t.””
“She had this room.””
“She kept it locked.””
“And you never opened it?””
“No.””
A bitter laugh.
“You really were careless.””
My stomach twisted.
My father was in there.
With Vanessa.
Searching through my mother’s things.
The same things she left for me.
I pushed the door open.
“What are you doing?””
Both of them turned.
The room went silent.
My father looked shocked.
Vanessa looked angry.
But the anger disappeared quickly.
She replaced it with a smile.
A fake one.
“Lily, sweetheart, you shouldn’t be awake.””
I stared at her.
“You’re looking for something.””
Nobody answered.
That was enough.
I stepped inside.
The garden room looked different from when I was little.
Back then, it had been warm.
A place where my parents danced.
A place where my mother grew flowers near the windows.
Now shelves were overturned.
Drawers were open.
Papers were scattered everywhere.
Someone had searched through it.
Carefully.
Desperately.
“What did you lose?”” I asked.
My father looked away.
Vanessa crossed her arms.
“You don’t understand what you’re seeing.””
“I understand you’re touching my mother’s things.””
Her expression hardened.
“Your mother’s things?””
“Yes.””
“This isn’t a game, Lily.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“It’s my life.””
The words surprised even me.
Vanessa stared.
For a moment, she looked at me like she was seeing someone different.
Not a child.
Someone who could challenge her.
My father stepped forward.
“Lily, go back to your room.””
I looked at him.
“Are you serious?””
“I’m trying to protect you.””
I laughed softly.
It wasn’t a happy laugh.
“Everybody keeps saying that.””
His face changed.
“Lily…”
“You said you were protecting me when you let me stay outside.””
He looked down.
“You said you were protecting me when you didn’t tell me about the house.””
My voice cracked.
“How many more things are you going to hide?””
He had no answer.
And that hurt more than anything.
Vanessa looked at him.
“Richard, say something.””
But he didn’t.
For once, my father was silent because he knew he was wrong.
Then I noticed something.
A small piece of paper near the bookshelf.
Not torn.
Not old.
Recently moved.
I walked toward it.
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
“Don’t touch that.””
I stopped.
Why would she care about a random piece of paper?
Daniel’s warning echoed in my mind.
Someone already went there.
Someone was searching.
I picked it up.
Vanessa’s face changed.
The paper was a photograph.
A photograph of my mother.
But she wasn’t alone.
She was standing beside someone I had never seen before.
A man.
Older.
Wearing a suit.
On the back of the photo was a handwritten note.
*Claire, if anything happens, he is the only person who can confirm what we found.*
I looked up.
“Who is he?””
Neither of them answered.
That scared me.
Because they both knew.
My father’s face became pale.
Vanessa looked angry.
Not surprised.
Angry.
“Give me that.””
She reached for the photo.
I moved away.
“No.””
“Lily.””
“No.””
My father looked at the picture.
Then whispered:
“Thomas.””
I turned toward him.
“Who is Thomas?””
My father didn’t respond.
Vanessa did.
“He was nobody.””
But my father looked terrified.
Nobody doesn’t make adults look afraid.
The front door opened downstairs.
A few seconds later, Daniel’s voice echoed through the mansion.
“Lily?””
He reached the hallway and stopped when he saw the room.
His eyes moved over the mess.
Then to Vanessa.
Then Richard.
Then the photograph in my hand.
His expression changed.
“Where did you get that?””
I held it out.
“Who is Thomas?””
Daniel took the photo carefully.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked at my father.
“Richard.””
My father swallowed.
“Daniel.””
“You knew.””
The accusation was quiet.
But everyone heard it.
My father shook his head.
“I didn’t know he was involved.””
“Involved in what?””
I looked between them.
Nobody answered.
I stepped forward.
“Involved in what?””
Daniel looked at me.
His expression softened.
“Lily…”
“No.””
I pointed at the photograph.
“My mother left this for me.””
I looked at my father.
“Why does everyone know more about my life than I do?””
That question broke the room.
My father sat down.
He looked older suddenly.
Much older.
“There was a problem with the estate.””
“What kind of problem?””
He rubbed his hands together.
“Before your mother died, she discovered someone was trying to transfer ownership of parts of the property.””
“Who?””
Silence.
Then Daniel answered.
“Thomas Reed.””
I frowned.
“Reed?””
Daniel nodded.
“Vanessa’s father.””
The room became still.
I looked at Vanessa.
She didn’t deny it.
She just stared.
“My grandfather?””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
I looked at the photo again.
My mother had discovered something.
Something involving Vanessa’s family.
Something involving my home.
And somehow…
Vanessa knew.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”” I asked.
My father looked broken.
“Because Claire asked me not to until we had proof.””
“Then why did you let Vanessa live here?””
His eyes closed.
“I thought I could handle it.””
Daniel looked at him.
“You thought you could control the situation.””
My father didn’t argue.
Because it was true.
Vanessa walked toward the window.
“You’re all acting like I did something.””
Everyone looked at her.
She smiled.
But there was no warmth left.
“You have no proof.””
Daniel replied immediately.
“Not yet.””
Her eyes narrowed.
“Exactly.””
Then she turned to me.
“You should be careful, Lily.””
The warning in her voice made my skin crawl.
“Because sometimes when people dig for the truth…”
She glanced at the papers scattered around the room.
“They find things they wish they never knew.””
I stared at her.
“You’re threatening me?””
“No.””
She smiled slightly.
“I’m warning you.””
Before anyone could respond, something fell behind the bookshelf.
A loud crash.
Everyone turned.
Daniel walked toward it.
The bookshelf had shifted.
Behind it was a narrow opening in the wall.
A hidden compartment.
My heart raced.
My mother had hidden something.
Inside was a small metal box.
Daniel carefully removed it.
There was a lock.
But no key.
I looked down at my necklace.
The pendant.
The same symbol.
I stepped forward.
“Let me try.””
Daniel handed it to me.
I inserted the pendant.
The lock opened.
Inside the box was one document.
Only one.
At the top was a title.
*Transfer Agreement.*
Below it were signatures.
My mother’s.
My father’s.
And one more.
Vanessa’s father.
But the date was what made everyone stop.
Because it was signed…
two weeks before my mother died.
And beneath the signatures was a handwritten note.
A note from my mother.
May you like
Three words.
*Richard knew everything.*
