CHAPTER 3 — THE LOCKED NURSERY
Preston broke free from the officer nearest him.
He ran up the stairs and grabbed the envelope from the housekeeper.
Emily followed.
“Give it back!”
Preston tore the letter in half.
Then again.
The pieces scattered across the hallway.
Emily stared at them.
Her father’s final warning lay beneath Preston’s shoes.
“You had no right,” she whispered.
Preston stepped closer.
“I am your husband. Everything in this house concerns me.”
Emily looked at the torn pieces.
Then at the bruises covering her wrists.
“You stopped being my husband a long time ago.”
His face hardened.
He raised his hand.
Detective Grant caught his wrist before he could strike her.
“That is enough.”
Preston was dragged downstairs.
Vanessa was taken to another room for questioning.
But Emily did not leave the hallway.
She looked toward the locked nursery.
Preston had forbidden her from entering for two weeks.
He claimed the room was being repainted.
Now Emily knew there was another reason.
The housekeeper, Rosa, produced a hidden key.
“I heard voices inside last night,” she whispered.
Emily’s blood turned cold.
“What kind of voices?”
“A man speaking.”
They unlocked the door.
The nursery appeared perfect.
White crib.
Pale blue walls.
Stuffed animals arranged carefully on wooden shelves.
But the room smelled of fresh paint and something chemical beneath it.
Rosa moved the crib away from the wall.
Behind it was a narrow panel.
Emily pressed the edge.
It opened.
Inside was a digital recorder.
Only one file was saved.
The recording began with static.
Then Charles Bennett’s voice filled the room.
“Emily, if you are hearing this, Preston discovered that I was investigating him.”
Emily covered her mouth.
Her father continued.
“Ashford Development is laundering money through false construction projects. Preston is not working alone.”
Rosa stepped closer.
Charles’s breathing sounded weak.
“A woman gained access to my medication. She altered the dosage before I was taken to the hospital.”
Emily thought of Vanessa.
But Charles continued.
“The woman using the name Vanessa Crane is not who she claims to be.”
The recording crackled.
“She was connected to our family long before Preston met her.”
Emily’s heart pounded.
“Do not trust anyone who reads my will. Someone inside my legal team betrayed me.”
The recording ended.
Emily stared at the device.
Daniel and Lydia were both downstairs.
One of them had been working for Preston.
A floorboard creaked in the hallway.
Rosa locked the nursery door.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
Then the handle moved.
Preston’s voice came from outside.
“Open the door, Emily.”
“How did he get away from the police?” Rosa whispered.
The lights went out.
The room fell into darkness.
Preston struck the door with his shoulder.
Wood cracked near the lock.
Emily backed toward the crib.
Then another sound came from behind her.
The bookcase slowly opened.
A hidden passage appeared.
Vanessa stepped into the nursery holding a metal fireplace poker.
She looked at Emily.
Then at the recorder in her hand.
“Give it to me.”
Rosa moved in front of Emily.
Vanessa raised the poker.
Outside, Preston stopped pounding on the door.
His voice became urgent.
“Vanessa, don’t hurt the baby.”
May you like
Vanessa smiled.
“That isn’t what you told me yesterday.”
