Chapter 5 - The Second DoorSarah crossed the room before anyone could stop her.
The concealed door had no visible handle.
Only a narrow metal plate, flush against the wall.
Daniel followed.
“There's another room behind this?”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“Sarah, don't.”
That was all Sarah needed to hear.
She pressed along the edge of the panel.
Nothing moved.
Daniel examined the metal plate.
“It's electronic.”
The security supervisor approached with a flashlight. A small light blinked beneath the panel.
“A keypad, sir. The cover's been painted over.”
He carefully lifted the decorative plate.
Beneath it were six numbered buttons.
Daniel stared at Evelyn.
“What's the code?”
She remained silent.
“Mom.”
“I don't remember.”
“Then we'll open it another way.”
The supervisor contacted a specialist while Daniel tried to remain calm.
Sarah couldn't.
She called Mia's name again and again.
No answer came.
Twenty minutes later, two county sheriff's deputies arrived with Detective Olivia Brooks, a forty-two-year-old investigator whose steady manner gave Sarah something solid to hold on to.
Brooks listened without interrupting.
She examined the room, photographed the bed and drawing, and spoke privately with Zoe and Renee. She carefully avoided pushing the frightened child to repeat more than she wanted to say.
Then she approached Evelyn.
“Mrs. Whitmore, can you explain why this room was prepared for a child?”
Evelyn folded her hands.
“My granddaughter has been having emotional difficulties.”
Sarah stared at her.
“What?”
“She has separation anxiety. Sarah's work schedule has been upsetting her.”
Sarah worked part-time as an art therapist at a children's hospital. She had deliberately reduced her hours when Mia was born.
“That's a lie.”
Evelyn ignored her.
“I was trying to help.”
“By hiding my daughter in a locked room?”
“I never said she was hidden.”
Brooks looked at the bed.
“Where is Mia now?”
Evelyn said nothing.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Answer her.”
A long silence followed.
Then Evelyn whispered, “I arranged for someone to take care of her.”
Sarah felt a sharp, sickening fear.
“Someone?”
“She's safe.”
“Where?”
Evelyn looked toward the floor.
Brooks spoke calmly.
“Mrs. Whitmore, we need a location immediately.”
Evelyn pressed her lips together.
“I want my attorney.”
The detective nodded and directed another officer to continue gathering available evidence and checking the estate's other rooms and exits.
Sarah moved away before she screamed.
Daniel followed her into the corridor.
“I swear, Sarah, I didn't know.”
She turned on him.
“You knew she hated me.”
“That's not fair.”
“You knew she tried to control how I raised Mia. You knew she told people I was unstable. Every time I complained, you said she meant well.”
Daniel looked away.
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
“She was planning something, Daniel. And you kept telling me to ignore it.”
He opened his mouth.
No defense came.
A deputy emerged from the green room.
“Detective?”
Brooks approached.
The deputy held up a small black device.
“We found this behind the bed.”
It was a wireless audio transmitter.
Brooks examined it.
A faint indicator light remained illuminated.
The device had been recording or transmitting audio from the room.
The detective looked toward the ceiling.
“Find out where this signal goes.”
Across the hall, Helen Carter stood near the staircase.
Her face was ashen.
Sarah approached her.
“Helen, did you know about this?”
The housekeeper began crying.
“I knew about the room.”
Sarah swallowed.
“What else?”
Helen shook her head.
“I didn't know she would take the little girl away.”
Then she reached into her apron.
May you like
And handed Sarah a folded envelope.
“Your father-in-law gave me this before he died. He told me to keep it until the family was in danger.”
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