Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN IN THE RED SCARF
Mrs. Hart disappeared before Adrian could question her.
Her room at Vale House had been emptied.
Her passport, clothing, and personal photographs were gone.
The only thing she left behind was a small envelope addressed to Elena.
Inside was a map of Blackwood Lake.
A red circle marked the old house.
Beneath it, Mrs. Hart had written:
THE STAIRS ARE NOT BENEATH THE HOUSE.
THE HOUSE IS BENEATH THE STAIRS.
Julian read the message twice.
“That sounds deliberately unhelpful.”
Elena folded the map.
“She was frightened.”
“Everyone in this family is frightened. We express it through riddles and financial crimes.”
Adrian stood near the library window.
Sophie had returned from the hospital but remained upstairs under Rosa’s care. Adrian had replaced the entire security staff and hired an outside firm.
Celeste was staying at a Manhattan hotel under legal advice.
Owen had vanished.
Dr. Carrow had closed his clinic.
Three people fleeing within forty-eight hours was no longer a coincidence.
“We go to Blackwood,” Elena said.
Adrian shook his head.
“It may be a trap.”
“It is definitely a trap.”
Julian nodded.
“Nice to agree on something.”
Adrian ignored him.
“I’m not taking Sophie.”
“She may be the only person who knows where to look,” Elena said.
“She was nearly killed.”
“And leaving her here has been safe?”
His expression hardened.
Elena did not retreat.
Sophie appeared in the doorway.
“I’m going.”
Adrian turned.
“You should be resting.”
“I remember the stairs.”
“No.”
She walked closer.
“You said you would believe me.”
“I said I would listen.”
“That is what you always say before you decide I’m wrong.”
Adrian flinched.
Julian looked away.
Finally, Adrian nodded.
They left before dawn in two armored vehicles with four members of the new security team.
Blackwood Lake lay four hours north, beyond a small town and several miles of unpaved road. Pine trees crowded the sky. Mist covered the water.
The old cedar house stood on a hill overlooking the lake.
It looked exactly like Sophie’s drawing.
Black windows.
A steep roof.
A narrow porch.
Sophie stopped at the gate.
“This isn’t right.”
Elena crouched beside her.
“What changed?”
“The trees.”
Julian looked around.
“There are thousands of trees.”
“There used to be one with a face.”
Adrian studied the hill.
“A carved tree?”
Sophie nodded.
They searched for nearly an hour.
Elena found the stump behind the house. The top had been cut recently, but a faded carving remained near the roots.
A woman’s face.
Beneath it was an arrow.
It pointed away from the house toward a stone staircase descending to the lake.
“The stairs are not beneath the house,” Elena said.
They followed them.
Halfway down, Sophie stopped beside a cracked stone wall.
She pressed both hands against it.
“This opens.”
Adrian examined the stones.
“There’s no mechanism.”
Sophie removed the locket from her neck.
The brass key was missing because Elena still carried it.
Elena inserted it into a narrow opening.
The wall moved inward.
Behind it was a metal door.
The house is beneath the stairs.
Julian stared.
“Isabel built a bunker?”
Adrian shook his head.
“My father built shelters on several properties during the kidnapping threats.”
The metal door opened onto a descending corridor.
Emergency lights flickered to life.
Dust covered the floor.
Except for one set of footprints.
Someone had entered recently.
They reached an underground room filled with filing cabinets and old computer equipment.
A desk stood at the center.
On it was a red scarf.
Sophie began trembling.
“The woman wore that.”
Elena approached the desk.
Beside the scarf lay a black ring shaped like an eye.
Adrian picked it up.
“I’ve seen this.”
“Where?” Elena asked.
“At my father’s funeral.”
A screen on the desk suddenly turned on.
Static appeared.
Then security footage.
Isabel stood in this room four years earlier, holding three-year-old Sophie.
A woman in a red scarf entered.
Mrs. Hart.
Sophie gasped.
“She was the woman.”
On the recording, Isabel knelt before her daughter.
There was no sound, but her fear was visible.
She gave Sophie the locket.
Then Mrs. Hart carried the child away.
Isabel remained in the room.
A man entered moments later.
The camera angle showed only his back.
Adrian moved closer to the screen.
The man wore a dark coat.
A black ring gleamed on his right hand.
Isabel slapped him.
He grabbed her arms.
Then the video ended.
A file appeared on the screen.
PLAY FINAL MESSAGE?
Adrian reached toward the keyboard.
Before he touched it, the metal door slammed shut behind them.
The lights went red.
A mechanical voice filled the bunker.
“Security lockdown initiated.”
Julian ran to the door.
“It’s sealed.”
The screen changed.
A countdown appeared.
Ten minutes.
Nine minutes fifty-nine seconds.
Elena looked at Adrian.
“What happens when it reaches zero?”
His face went pale.
“The shelter destroys its records.”
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“How?”
“Fire.”
