Chapter 6 - Beneath the Mansion, There Was a Room No One Was Supposed to FindVictor Shaw's old estate sat three hours outside the city.
Declan hadn't returned there in fifteen years.
The mansion had been abandoned after his father's death.
Snow covered the grounds.
The windows were boarded.
The stone walls had darkened with age.
Clara stood beside Declan at the front entrance.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
She almost laughed.
“At least you're honest.”
“Only with you.”
He pushed the door open.
The house smelled like dust and old wood.
Clara carried the music box.
The melody played faintly.
Left hallway.
Library.
Staircase.
Then a red door.
Exactly as she'd remembered.
Declan looked at her.
“You've been here.”
“I think so.”
“When?”
“I was a child.”
The door was locked.
Declan kicked it open.
Behind it was a narrow staircase.
They descended.
The air became colder.
At the bottom was a concrete corridor.
Several doors.
No windows.
Clara's stomach turned.
“This is it.”
Declan looked sick.
They opened the first room.
Empty.
The second.
Empty.
The third.
Old medical equipment.
The fourth.
Children's beds.
Clara covered her mouth.
Declan stood frozen.
On one wall were names.
Twenty-three names.
Beside each, a number.
Payments.
Clara traced one.
Lily.
Beside her name:
PROTECTED.
Another:
CLARA.
PROTECTED.
Another:
JULIAN.
Declan stared.
“Julian wasn't a child.”
He looked at the records.
“Maybe he was protecting them.”
Clara looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
He didn't answer.
Then they heard a noise.
A child's voice.
“Hello?”
Clara froze.
“Did you hear that?”
Declan pulled his gun.
They followed the voice.
At the end of the corridor was a metal door.
It was locked.
A young woman sat behind it.
She looked around twenty-five.
She had dark hair.
And Clara's eyes.
Clara's breath stopped.
“Lily?”
The woman stared.
“Clara?”
They both froze.
Declan whispered:
“No.”
Lily smiled through tears.
“You got taller.”
Clara stumbled backward.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You've been here?”
“Not all the time.”
“Where?”
“Hidden.”
“By whom?”
Lily looked at Declan.
“Your father.”
Clara felt sick.
“Why would he protect you?”
“He didn't.”
Lily's voice became bitter.
“He protected the secret.”
“What secret?”
“The children weren't being sold randomly.”
Clara felt cold.
“They were selected.”
“For what?”
“Leverage.”
Lily explained.
Victor had discovered that some wealthy families were desperate to hide scandals involving their children.
He created a network that abducted vulnerable children and then used them to manipulate politicians, judges, doctors, and businessmen.
The children became insurance.
Protection.
Blackmail.
Currency.
But some children were protected by Elena.
The protected group.
Lily belonged to it.
Clara did too.
“So why did my mother leave me?”
“Because Victor discovered the protected list.”
“Then what happened?”
“She hid the list inside your memory.”
Clara touched her temple.
“The song.”
Lily nodded.
“Yes.”
“What does the crescent mean?”
“Protected.”
“Protected from whom?”
Lily looked at Declan.
“From Victor.”
Declan looked away.
“What happened to my father?”
Lily answered softly.
“He didn't die.”
Clara stared.
“What?”
“He disappeared.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“But someone is using his network.”
Lily nodded.
“Someone with access to everything.”
“Who?”
Lily looked at Declan.
“Your aunt.”
Declan froze.
“My aunt died.”
“She faked it.”
Clara stared.
“Who is she?”
Lily whispered:
“Margaret Shaw.”
Declan's face lost all color.
“No.”
Lily continued:
“She was Victor's sister.”
“Why would she do this?”
“She didn't.”
“Then who?”
Lily looked at Clara.
“Margaret was protecting the children.”
Silence.
“Then why is she hiding?”
“Because she knows who the real mastermind is.”
“Who?”
Lily's eyes filled with fear.
“He isn't dead.”
“Who?”
“Gabriel Shaw.”
Declan stepped backward.
“That’s impossible.”
Lily shook her head.
“He changed his name.”
“Where is he?”
Before she could answer, gunfire erupted upstairs.
Declan grabbed Clara.
“Down!”
Bullets struck the door.
Lily screamed.
Someone shouted:
“Bring Clara out!”
Declan fired back.
He moved with practiced precision.
Clara grabbed Lily's hand.
“We have to go.”
They ran through a hidden passage.
Behind a panel was another staircase.
They climbed.
The mansion above was filled with men.
Declan led them through the kitchen.
Out the rear entrance.
To the woods.
Snow whipped against Clara's face.
They reached the SUV.
Then Lily stopped.
“We can't leave.”
“What?”
She pointed toward the road.
A convoy approached.
Black vehicles.
At least six.
Declan looked at Clara.
“Someone knew we'd come.”
“Who?”
He watched the first vehicle stop.
The door opened.
An elderly man stepped out.
He had silver hair.
A black coat.
And an expression that made Declan go completely still.
“Dad?”
The man smiled.
“Hello, son.”
Clara stared.
Gabriel Shaw was alive.
And he looked directly at her.
May you like
Then he said:
“Your mother was always better at hiding things than I was.”
Related Stories
