Chapter 5 - a voice behind the wall
Vanessa claimed the accelerator had stuck.
Judith accepted the explanation before Rebecca finished describing what happened.
Walter examined the vehicle and found no mechanical problem.
He said this quietly to Rebecca near the garage, where no cameras were visible.
“Then she tried to hit us.”
“I did not say that.”
“You said the accelerator worked.”
“I said there is no obvious defect.”
“Dad, stop protecting them.”
Walter looked toward the house.
“I have been trying to protect you.”
“By saying nothing?”
“Silence is not always surrender.”
“It looks exactly like surrender from where I’m standing.”
Pain passed across his face.
Rebecca regretted the words, but he walked away before she could apologize.
Margaret had disappeared after the incident. The number she gave Rebecca was disconnected, and no Margaret Vale appeared in local employment records.
That night, Rebecca could not sleep.
Lily rested beside her in a portable bassinet. Every window was locked, and Rebecca had pushed a chair beneath the doorknob.
At 1:07 a.m., a faint humming came from the wall.
Rebecca sat up.
It sounded like a woman singing to a child.
The melody was slow and unfamiliar.
She followed the sound into the nursery.
It grew louder near the wardrobe.
Rebecca moved the furniture aside and found a small circular vent hidden behind it.
The humming stopped.
Then a woman’s voice whispered through the wall.
“Clara?”
Rebecca froze.
“Who’s there?”
Silence.
She placed her ear against the vent.
A click sounded from somewhere beyond it.
Rebecca searched the wall and discovered a narrow seam in the paneling. She pressed it, and part of the wall opened inward.
Behind it was a service corridor.
Dust covered the floor except for a fresh line of footprints.
Rebecca switched on her phone light and stepped inside.
The corridor extended behind the bedrooms, once allowing servants to move through the house unseen. The air smelled of wood and cold stone.
At the far end, she found a staircase leading upward.
The steps ended behind a locked door.
A brass plate had been fixed to it.
West Nursery.
Rebecca’s pulse quickened.
Martin had been right.
She tried the handle.
Locked.
A sound came from the other side.
Not humming this time.
A baby crying.
Rebecca stepped back.
The crying stopped abruptly.
“Hello?”
Something scraped beneath the door.
A small cassette tape appeared.
Rebecca picked it up.
A white label had been attached to the plastic.
CLARA, AGE 3.
Footsteps sounded behind her.
Rebecca turned.
Walter stood at the bottom of the stairs.
“Give me the tape.”
“No.”
“You should not be here.”
“Then tell me what this place is.”
“Not tonight.”
“Everyone keeps telling me to wait. Noah waited, and now he’s dead.”
Walter climbed one step.
“Lower your voice.”
“Why? Are they listening?”
“Yes.”
The answer silenced her.
Walter looked toward the wall.
“There are microphones in the old corridors. Judith installed new wiring after Noah began investigating.”
“Investigating me?”
“Investigating what happened before you came into this family.”
Rebecca held up the cassette.
“Was my name Clara?”
Walter closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
The word hurt more than she expected.
“Am I your daughter?”
His eyes opened.
“You are my daughter in every way that matters.”
“That is not what I asked.”
He moved closer.
“Give me the tape. I can make a copy.”
“How can I trust you?”
“You cannot. Not yet.”
A door slammed below.
Walter’s head turned.
“Go back to your room.”
“I need answers.”
“You need to stay alive long enough to hear them.”
He took the cassette, slipped it into his jacket, and disappeared down the corridor.
Rebecca returned to her bedroom.
The chair she had placed beneath the doorknob was lying on the floor.
Lily’s bassinet was empty.
May you like
A folded custody form rested on the mattress.
Vanessa’s name had already been written in the guardian section.
