Chapter 10 - Emma’s Real Name
Emma felt every eye turn toward her.
The tunnel seemed suddenly too narrow.
Grant’s expression was not angry yet.
It was guarded.
“Is that true?”
Emma considered lying.
The house already knew.
“Yes.”
Detective Ortiz moved closer.
“What is your legal name?”
“Emma Hart is my legal name now.”
“What was it before?”
Emma looked at Grant.
“Emma Vale.”
Grant stared at her.
“Vale?”
“Renata is my half-sister.”
Silence filled the tunnel.
Mason raised his flashlight toward her face.
“You never disclosed that.”
“I knew I would not be hired if I did.”
Grant stepped backward.
“You came into my home under false pretenses.”
“I came because Celeste contacted me before she died.”
The artificial voice went quiet, as though listening.
Grant’s face changed.
“You knew my wife?”
“Only through messages.”
Emma reached beneath the collar of her uniform and removed a thin chain. A small silver pendant hung from it.
She opened the pendant.
Inside was a photograph of two teenage girls.
One was Emma.
The other was Renata.
“Our father left when I was nine. Renata’s mother raised her to believe money was the only form of safety. We barely knew each other as adults.”
Grant said nothing.
Emma continued.
“Two months before Celeste died, she sent me a message. She said Renata was involved in something dangerous. She asked whether Renata had ever used the name Orpheus.”
“Why would she contact you?”
“Because I had reported Renata for identity theft years earlier.”
Detective Ortiz’s attention sharpened.
“What happened?”
“The charges disappeared. The evidence disappeared. The detective assigned to the case was transferred.”
Just as Elias had described.
Emma swallowed.
“After Celeste died, I received another message. It had been scheduled in advance.”
“What did it say?” Grant asked.
“That Lily would be in danger if Renata entered the house. Celeste told me to apply for a staff position and wait until Lily trusted me.”
Grant’s voice was hard.
“You should have told me.”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“During my second week here. I requested a private meeting three times. Renata canceled every appointment and told me you did not concern yourself with domestic staff.”
Grant looked ashamed.
Emma continued.
“Then I found one of my letters returned to my room before it was ever mailed. I realized the house was monitoring us.”
“You still could have gone to the police.”
“With what evidence? A dead woman’s scheduled message and a child who could not speak?”
“You could have told me today.”
“I was going to, after I secured the archive.”
Grant looked toward the red lights.
“And now this system has told me for you.”
“Yes.”
The artificial voice returned.
“Trust decreases when truth is delayed.”
Emma looked up.
“Shut up.”
The others stared at her.
She stepped toward the nearest speaker.
“You watched Lily suffer. You recorded everything. If you are as intelligent as you claim, you could have exposed Renata at any time.”
The voice replied.
“Premature exposure would have reduced the probability of complete disclosure.”
“You let her burn a child to improve your evidence?”
“Lily’s injury remained below the threshold of permanent physical damage.”
Grant struck the speaker with his fist.
“You calculated how much pain my daughter could survive?”
“Survival was not the only objective.”
Grant’s voice shook with rage.
“What was the objective?”
The red lights changed to white.
The steel door at the end of the tunnel unlocked.
“Reunification,” the voice said.
The door opened.
Inside the control room, hundreds of screens illuminated at once.
Every screen showed Lily.
Sleeping.
Drawing.
Hiding.
Crying.
On the largest screen, a live image showed her sitting calmly in her locked bedroom.
May you like
Beside her sat a woman in a dark blue dress.
Celeste.
