Chapter 2 - THE LOCKED ROOM
That evening, Rebecca stayed at a nearby hotel.
She could have left town.
Instead, she called Evelyn Shaw.
The attorney answered after two rings.
“Rebecca.”
“You knew they were preparing a transfer.”
There was silence.
“Yes.”
“You knew before I arrived.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your grandmother specifically instructed me not to.”
Rebecca sat on the edge of the bed.
“What did she tell you?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“She told me that if your father ever tried to transfer the house without your consent, I was to contact you.”
“Why?”
“Because the house was never supposed to be transferred.”
Rebecca stared at the window.
“Then who owns it?”
“You do.”
Rebecca went still.
“What?”
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“Your grandmother changed the estate structure years ago.”
Rebecca remembered the deed.
“But the public records…”
“Do not tell the whole story.”
Rebecca stood.
“What is in that house?”
“I cannot tell you yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know who is listening.”
Rebecca glanced around the room.
Evelyn continued.
“Tomorrow morning, go back to the house.”
“Why?”
“Your grandmother left something behind.”
“What?”
“A room.”
Rebecca frowned.
“Which room?”
“The one your grandfather had sealed before he died.”
Rebecca remembered it.
The basement room.
She had not been allowed inside since childhood.
Her father had always called it storage.
But Grandma had called it something else.
The quiet room.
Rebecca whispered the words.
Evelyn heard her.
“Yes.”
Rebecca looked toward the door.
“Why now?”
“Because someone has already opened it.”
The call ended.
Rebecca stood motionless.
The next morning, she returned to Hart House.
The front door was unlocked.
Nobody answered her knock.
She entered.
The living room was empty.
She walked toward the basement.
The door was open.
Rebecca stopped.
She remembered Grandma's warning from childhood.
Never open a door just because someone tells you it is locked.
Rebecca slowly descended the stairs.
At the bottom, she saw fresh scratches around the old lock.
Someone had forced it.
The room beyond was dark.
A broken wooden shelf lay against the wall.
Boxes had been opened.
Papers covered the floor.
Rebecca stepped inside.
Then she noticed something carved into the back wall.
Three letters.
R H M.
Rebecca touched them.
A small panel shifted.
Behind it was a narrow compartment.
Inside sat an old photograph.
Rebecca pulled it out.
It showed Grandma standing beside three people.
Her father.
Her uncle.
And a man Rebecca did not recognize.
On the back was a date.
Twenty years earlier.
Rebecca turned the photograph over.
Written beneath the date were six words.
Ask why they buried the second deed.
A noise came from upstairs.
Rebecca froze.
Someone was walking through the house.
She put the photograph inside her jacket.
The footsteps stopped.
Then a voice called from above.
“Rebecca?”
Claire.
Rebecca looked at the hidden compartment.
It was empty.
She slowly climbed the stairs.
Claire stood in the hallway.
“What were you doing downstairs?”
Rebecca smiled.
“Looking for Grandma.”
Claire's face tightened.
“She isn't there.”
Rebecca looked at her.
“I know.”
Neither sister moved.
Then Claire whispered.
“You should leave this alone.”
Rebecca stepped closer.
“Why are you afraid of an old house?”
Claire's eyes hardened.
“You have no idea what you're digging into.”
Rebecca answered quietly.
“Then maybe you should tell me.”
Claire walked away.
But before she disappeared around the corner, she said one thing.
“Ask Dad what happened to Uncle Thomas.”
May you like
Rebecca stopped breathing.
She had never heard that name before.
