Chapter 6 - The Lie in the Marble Hall
Lily and Ethan emerged from the hidden passage behind the library fireplace.
The mansion appeared silent.
Too silent.
Lily looked through the doorway.
No staff crossed the main corridor. No security guards stood near the staircase. Serena had emptied the center of the house.
She crouched beside Ethan.
“We need to reach the front door.”
“Is Daddy coming?”
“Yes.”
Lily did not know whether that was true, but Ethan needed to believe it.
She placed Celeste’s documents beneath a loose panel in the library desk. Carrying them openly would make escape impossible.
She kept only the forged transport order and the old passport in her pocket.
The recording remained on her phone.
They entered the corridor.
At the far end, two men in white medical uniforms stepped through the main entrance.
Serena followed them.
“There he is,” she said.
Ethan gripped Lily’s hand.
Serena smiled at him.
“These men are going to help you.”
“No.”
“It’s only for one night.”
“No!”
The men approached.
Lily moved in front of Ethan.
“You are not taking him.”
Serena stopped smiling.
“You have no authority here.”
“Neither do those papers.”
Serena’s eyes narrowed.
Lily pulled out the forged transfer form.
“You used Victor’s signature.”
For the first time, Serena looked uncertain.
“Where did you find that?”
“In the room Celeste prepared for you.”
The men exchanged glances.
Serena’s expression hardened.
“Take the child.”
Neither man moved.
Lily raised her phone.
“I recorded your conversation with Conrad.”
Serena lunged toward her.
Lily stepped back.
Ethan ran toward the front doors, but Serena caught the back of the yellow dress. The fabric pulled tight around his shoulders, forcing him to the floor.
Lily dropped the document and rushed forward.
Serena seized Ethan’s ankle as he tried to crawl away.
“Let him go!” Lily shouted. “He’s just a baby!”
Serena turned toward her.
“Shut up. No one trusts a maid.”
Then the entrance door opened.
Victor stood beneath the archway.
“Take your hands off my son.”
The medical workers stepped away immediately.
Serena released Ethan and pointed at Lily.
“She did this! I’m stopping her!”
Lily lifted the phone and played the recording.
Serena’s own voice filled the hall.
“Victor’s child must disappear before the trust activates.”
Victor looked at his wife.
Lily began to play the next section.
“Then explain why your voice says that Victor’s child must disappear before…”
The mansion went dark.
Someone struck Lily’s wrist and took the phone.
Emergency lights came on.
Serena was gone.
Victor gathered Ethan into his arms.
The child buried his face against his father’s chest.
“You came back,” he whispered.
“I’m here.”
Victor looked at Lily.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Where did she go?”
“I don’t know.”
Victor saw the gold key on the floor, its surface marked with red sealing wax.
Before he could pick it up, Marcus entered with three security guards.
“What happened?” Marcus demanded.
Victor turned toward him.
“Where were you?”
“The security system locked us in the control room.”
“Serena escaped.”
Marcus looked toward the corridors.
“No one has passed the exterior gates.”
“Then she’s still inside.”
Marcus ordered the guards to seal every exit.
Lily looked at him carefully.
Victor remembered her interrupted warning.
Do not trust…
“Marcus,” Victor said, “give me your phone.”
The security chief hesitated.
It lasted less than a second.
But Victor saw it.
“Why?” Marcus asked.
“Because every camera in this house is showing a loop, and only three people have access to that system.”
Marcus removed the phone from his pocket and handed it over.
Victor checked the recent calls.
There was only one.
May you like
It had been placed two minutes before the blackout.
The number belonged to Conrad Vale.
