Chapter 6 - What Mia Heard in the Dark
Mia did not know how long they remained inside the cellar.
There were no windows.
No clock.
Only the dim light of Adrian’s flashlight and the sound of Harper breathing against her chest.
After the gunshot above, the footsteps faded.
Adrian moved through the darkness, searching the walls.
“We cannot stay here,” Mia whispered.
“They may be waiting.”
“Mrs. Bell could be injured.”
“She could be dead.”
Harper began crying again.
Mia glared at Adrian.
“Do not say that.”
“Pretending does not protect her.”
“You know a great deal about hiding children in basements and very little about comforting them.”
Adrian stopped.
His expression hardened, but he said nothing.
Mia turned to Harper.
“Mrs. Bell is brave. Brave people know how to find help.”
“Like Daddy?”
“Yes.”
“Is Daddy brave?”
“The bravest.”
Adrian pressed his palm against the wall.
A section shifted.
Cold air entered through a narrow crack.
“This passage leads toward the old boiler room.”
“Does Vivienne know it?”
“She knows most of them.”
“Most?”
“Julian changed the tunnels after she tried to kill me.”
Mia stared.
“She tried to kill a child?”
Adrian looked at Harper.
“She told the doctor I had a heart condition. The medicine he gave me was slowly stopping my heart. Julian discovered it.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because I was older than Dominic.”
Mia understood.
The inheritance rules.
The sealed registry.
The oldest eligible descendant.
Adrian had threatened the future Vivienne planned for her sons.
“You are the heir,” Mia said.
“I was.”
“What changed?”
“Julian removed my name.”
“Could he legally do that?”
“No.”
The word echoed.
Mia thought of Nathan’s recorded conversation.
Keep Mia hidden until Dominic signs the estate over to—
Perhaps the missing name was Adrian.
Or Vivienne.
Or someone else.
Adrian pushed the panel open.
They entered a narrow corridor lined with pipes.
A low mechanical hum came from ahead.
Mia touched the wall.
“It is warm.”
“The boiler room is operating.”
“Then someone is still maintaining the house.”
They followed the corridor until voices made them stop.
Nathan spoke on the other side of a metal grate.
“I told you Dominic will not sign if you hurt them.”
Vivienne answered.
“Dominic will sign because he believes suffering is temporary and guilt is permanent.”
“You promised Harper would remain untouched.”
“I promised she would inherit.”
“She is a child.”
“So were you when you learned obedience.”
A slap followed.
Nathan’s voice became strained.
“I will not let you use her.”
Vivienne laughed softly.
“You already did.”
Mia held Harper closer.
Through the grate, she saw part of the boiler room.
Nathan stood beside a steel table. A cut marked his lip. Vivienne faced him with her cane in one hand.
A man in a brown coat held Mrs. Bell against the wall.
She was alive.
Blood stained her shoulder, but she was standing.
Relief nearly made Mia cry out.
Vivienne continued.
“Where is Mia?”
“I do not know.”
“You searched the cellar as a child.”
“I searched the rooms Father showed us.”
“Julian never trusted you.”
“He trusted no one.”
“He trusted Dominic.”
Nathan’s eyes darkened.
“That was his final mistake.”
Vivienne walked around the table.
“The trustees meet Friday at noon. Without Dominic’s signature, the restructuring fails. Without the restructuring, the original covenant remains active.”
“And Adrian can challenge.”
“Adrian is not the problem.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Then who is?”
Vivienne’s expression became almost amused.
“The child Julian hid after Adrian.”
Mia felt Adrian stiffen beside her.
Nathan stared at his mother.
“There is another heir?”
“You knew there was a possibility.”
“I thought you meant Harper.”
“Harper is useful. She is not the threat.”
“Who is it?”
Vivienne leaned close to him.
“Someone Dominic already loves.”
Before Mia could understand, Harper shifted.
Her heel struck the pipe.
The metallic sound rang through the corridor.
Everyone in the boiler room stopped.
Vivienne looked directly toward the grate.
Mia covered Harper’s mouth.
Nathan moved first.
“A rat,” he said.
Vivienne did not turn away.
“In a house full of cats?”
She lifted her cane and struck the grate.
The metal panel flew inward.
Adrian seized Mia’s arm.
They ran.
Behind them, Vivienne shouted.
The passage divided.
Adrian pushed Mia and Harper left.
“I will lead them right.”
“No.”
“You cannot outrun them carrying her.”
“What about you?”
“I know where I am going.”
He took the brass cylinder from his pocket and gave it to Mia.
“Find the portrait.”
“Adrian—”
“Dominic must see the registry before the vote.”
He turned and ran down the right passage.
Mia carried Harper left.
Men followed Adrian’s footsteps.
For several minutes, Mia heard nothing but her own breathing.
Then Nathan stepped from an alcove ahead.
Mia stopped.
He looked behind her.
“Where is Adrian?”
“I don’t know.”
Nathan held up both hands.
“I am trying to help you.”
“You locked me inside this estate.”
“I stopped Mother from taking you somewhere worse.”
“You chased my daughter.”
“My men were supposed to protect her.”
“One of them held a cloth over her mouth.”
“That man was not mine.”
Mia backed away.
Nathan lowered his voice.
“Dominic is coming. Mother wants him to sign the restructuring documents.”
“You said the restructuring was dangerous.”
“It is.”
“Then why does she want it?”
“Because she altered the replacement deed.”
Mia stared.
“When Dominic signs, he will not transfer control into Harper’s trust. He will transfer it to a private entity owned by Mother.”
“Tell him.”
“She controls his communications.”
“Then help me reach him.”
Nathan looked at Harper.
“I can get her out.”
“What about me?”
His silence answered.
Mia’s fear became cold anger.
“You need me hidden.”
“Only until Dominic signs a different document.”
“The recording.”
Nathan’s eyes dropped to Harper’s pocket.
“You heard it?”
“Enough.”
He stepped forward.
Mia moved back.
“Mia, give me the recorder.”
“No.”
“If Mother hears it, Harper becomes a liability.”
“You are threatening a six-year-old.”
“I am warning you.”
Harper reached into her nightdress.
Mia caught her hand.
Too late.
Nathan saw the silver device.
He lunged.
Mia turned and ran.
The passage ended at a wooden ladder.
She climbed with Harper in one arm.
Nathan followed.
Mia pushed open a trapdoor and emerged inside Dominic’s study.
Nathan caught her ankle.
She kicked him in the face and slammed the trapdoor shut.
The study door opened.
Vivienne stood outside.
Behind her, two men aimed guns at Mia.
May you like
Vivienne looked at the brass cylinder in Mia’s hand.
“Thank you,” she said. “I have been searching for that for twenty years.”
