Chapter 6 - THE MESSAGE FROM NOWHERE
We returned to the house quietly.
Julian stayed hidden in the garden while Claire and I slipped inside. We agreed to say nothing to my father or Sarah—not yet. Because if there was a traitor in our midst… anyone could be them.
I locked my bedroom door. I placed the letter and photographs inside a small metal box beneath my floorboards. Then I sat on the bed, staring at my watch.
Someone had sent that message. Someone knew I had found the envelope. Someone was watching me.
Claire came in an hour later. She carried a small bag. Her face was tight with worry.
“Julian is watching the perimeter,” she said. “No one followed us here. But someone definitely sent that message.”
“Who could it be?” I asked.
“Someone who knows Vanessa is gone. Someone who knows about the letter. Someone who has access to private information.” Claire sat beside me. “That limits it to very few people.”
“Sarah?” I said the name with difficulty. I liked Sarah. She had always been kind.
“Sarah is a lawyer. She keeps records. She knows secrets. But so does your father’s business manager. So does the head of security. So do a few trusted staff.” Claire paused. “And whoever it is… they have been here a long time.”
I thought of my mother’s letter. Someone I trusted. Someone hiding in plain sight.
“Mother trusted them,” I said. “Which means they were here when she was alive.”
Claire went still. “That changes everything.”
That evening, my father came to my room. He looked exhausted. Dark circles shadowed his eyes.
“Mia,” he said gently. “I need to ask you something. Have you seen Claire acting strangely?”
My heart skipped. “Why?”
“Sarah looked into her background,” he said. “Claire’s references… they were faked. Her name… it is not the one she used to have. And she arrived here within weeks of Vanessa’s arrival.”
I kept my face steady. “She is nice to me.”
“Is she?” He sat beside me. “Mia… Sarah also found something in Vanessa’s emails. She was communicating with someone inside this house. Someone code-named ‘WITNESS.’”
My breath caught. The locket. The word.
“Do you know who that is?” he asked.
I hesitated. If I told him everything… would he believe me? Or would he send Claire away before we learned the truth? And if the traitor was someone else entirely… would we lose our only chance to catch them?
“I don’t know,” I said.
He studied my face. “You seem certain.”
“I don’t know who ‘WITNESS’ is.” That much was true.
He sighed. “Be careful, Mia. Trust no one until we know exactly what is happening. Not even me. Not until this is over.”
He stood to leave. Then he paused at the door.
“Sarah also found something else,” he said quietly. “Vanessa did not leave the country. Her passport was never used. Her bank accounts were untouched. She is still here. Somewhere.”
He left.
I sat frozen. Vanessa was still here. She had not fled. She had been silenced. Which meant… the traitor had her. Or had gotten rid of her.
And now they wanted the letter. The only proof of who they really were.
I tapped my watch. I had recorded my father’s words. I had recorded everything.
I stood up. I pulled the metal box from the floorboards. I took the letter. I folded it carefully. And then I took a photograph of it with my watch.
If they came for the original… I would still have a copy.
That night, I waited.
At eleven-thirty, I slipped out of bed. I dressed in dark clothes. I put the letter inside my pocket. I strapped my watch tight.
I opened the door slowly. The hallway was dark and silent.
I walked down the back staircase. I reached the kitchen door. It was unlocked. Claire had left it for me.
I stepped outside. The air was cold. The moon was hidden behind clouds.
I walked toward the lake. The boathouse stood at the far end, dark and silent.
When I arrived, I did not go inside immediately. I stayed in the shadows beneath the trees.
“Come out,” a voice called. “I know you are there.”
I stepped forward.
Standing in the doorway of the boathouse was a figure in dark clothing. Face hidden in shadow.
“Give me the letter,” the figure said.
“Show me who you are first,” I said.
The figure stepped into the moonlight.
May you like
I gasped.
It was Sarah.
