Chapter 6 - the room beneath the house
Hale House had been built by Elias’s grandfather and expanded by every generation that followed.
Richard treated it like a kingdom.
The iron gates opened only after Margaret presented a court authorization allowing inspection of trust property. Richard was attending a board meeting in Chicago, and Diane claimed not to know they were coming.
Her hands trembled when Leah showed her the H-3 key.
“There is no room beneath the house,” Diane said.
“You dropped a glass when you saw the beneficiary page,” Leah replied. “So let’s stop pretending you don’t know anything.”
Diane glanced at Maisie, who had accompanied Leah because she refused to leave her with anyone connected to Richard.
“Not in front of the child.”
“The child has a name.”
“I know her name.”
“You have never used it when Dad was nearby.”
Diane’s face tightened.
“I was trying to protect her.”
“Silence never protected anyone in this family.”
Margaret led them through the library to an old freight elevator hidden behind wood panels. The control panel contained buttons for the first, second and third floors.
Below them was a key slot marked H.
The silver key fit perfectly.
The elevator descended.
Maisie held Leah’s hand.
The doors opened into a narrow stone corridor.
Three metal doors lined one wall.
H-1.
H-2.
H-3.
The key opened the last door.
Inside was a windowless records room containing filing cabinets, a desk and dozens of labeled boxes. Dust covered everything except one cabinet near the back.
Someone had opened it recently.
The lock was scratched.
Several folders were missing.
Margaret examined the labels.
“Hale Holdings internal investigations,” she said. “These files should have been destroyed after Elias died.”
Maisie wandered toward the desk.
“Mom, there’s a picture.”
Leah found a framed photograph lying facedown.
It showed a summer gathering beside the Hale lake house.
Elias stood in the center.
Richard and Diane were beside him.
A younger Leah sat on the dock with Chelsea.
Near the edge of the photograph was Rose Mercer, holding the hand of a dark-haired young man Leah did not recognize.
Margaret recognized him.
“Daniel Mercer.”
“Your relative?”
“My son.”
Leah turned toward her.
“You never told me you had a son.”
“Daniel disappeared nine years ago.”
“When?”
“Two days before Rose died.”
Maisie studied the photograph.
“He looks like the man from the station.”
Leah crouched.
“What station?”
“The train station. Last month.”
“You never told me about a man.”
“He didn’t talk to me. He just watched us.”
Margaret’s skin turned pale.
“Did he have a scar near his left eyebrow?”
Maisie nodded.
Margaret gripped the desk.
“My son had that scar.”
Leah felt anger rise.
“Your missing son may be Maisie’s father, and you failed to mention him?”
“I didn’t know he and Rose were together.”
“They’re holding hands in the photograph.”
“Rose never told me.”
“Your family keeps a great deal from you.”
Margaret accepted the blow without responding.
Diane remained near the doorway.
She looked ready to run.
Leah faced her.
“What happened to Daniel Mercer?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to Rose?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Dad take Maisie from her?”
Diane whispered, “I never saw the baby.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
A floorboard creaked in the corridor.
Margaret turned.
“Who else is in the house?”
Diane’s eyes widened.
“No one.”
The door slammed shut.
The lock turned from the outside.
Maisie cried out.
Leah rushed forward and struck the metal with both hands.
“Open the door!”
No one answered.
Then a ventilation fan stopped.
Margaret looked toward the ceiling.
“This room is airtight.”
Leah pulled out her phone.
There was no signal.
Diane began pounding on the door.
“Richard!” she shouted.
Leah stared at her.
“You said he was in Chicago.”
May you like
Diane’s face collapsed.
“He never left.”
