Chapter 8 - The Voice in the Walls
The intercom went silent.
For several seconds, no one moved.
Claire heard breathing, a quiet sob from Rebecca, and the faint hum of the elevator disappearing above them.
Arthur found the emergency flashlight mounted near the door.
Its beam swept across frightened faces.
Daniel reached for the intercom.
“Who are you?”
Static answered.
Clara moved toward Elias.
“We need to stop the bleeding.”
Margaret removed her scarf and pressed it against the wound on his head.
Claire looked for another exit.
“You mentioned an old tunnel.”
Arthur nodded.
“This property was used as a supply station during the war. A service tunnel connects the basement to the chapel.”
“The chapel in the cemetery?” Rebecca asked.
“Yes.”
Daniel looked at Arthur.
“You never told me that.”
“I never trusted you with everything.”
Mason laughed bitterly.
“At least he’s honest about that.”
Arthur led them deeper into the archive.
The tunnel entrance was hidden behind a steel shelving unit. Together, Claire and Clara pushed it aside.
A narrow stone passage appeared.
Cold air moved through it.
Arthur handed the flashlight to Claire.
“You lead.”
“Why me?”
“Because whoever is inside this house expects me to.”
They entered in single file.
Claire went first, followed by Clara, Arthur, Margaret and Elias, Rebecca, Mason, and Daniel.
The passage was barely wide enough for one person. Water dripped from the ceiling. Dust and spiderwebs covered the walls.
After several minutes, Clara spoke quietly.
“Did you know about me?”
Claire shook her head.
“Did you ever suspect you were adopted?”
“No.”
“Rebecca never told you?”
“She barely spoke about my birth.”
Clara gave a humorless laugh.
“Helen told me too much. Most of it was lies.”
“What did she say?”
“That Eleanor abandoned me.”
Claire looked back.
“I’m sorry.”
“She said my mother was selfish, unstable, and dangerous. She said Daniel paid for my care because he felt guilty.”
“Did Helen know you were one of twins?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t she find me?”
“She claimed she did.”
Claire stopped walking.
“What?”
Clara’s face remained shadowed.
“When I was sixteen, Helen showed me a photograph of you.”
“Why?”
“She said you were happy. She said contacting you would destroy your life.”
“Did you believe her?”
“I wanted to.”
Claire continued walking.
“Why come now?”
“Because Helen’s final confession was recorded.”
Clara touched the satchel.
“She said Daniel ordered her to remove me from the harbor before the explosion. She thought he intended to rescue both babies. When she returned, the warehouse was burning. You were gone. Eleanor was gone. Daniel told her to disappear with me.”
“Did she see who caused the explosion?”
“No.”
“Then how can you prove Dad murdered Eleanor?”
“I can’t.”
Claire looked at her.
Clara continued.
“But I can prove he lied, paid witnesses, and concealed evidence.”
“That may not be murder.”
“No.”
Clara’s eyes hardened.
“But it is enough to make him afraid.”
A sound came from behind them.
Stone scraping against stone.
Daniel shouted.
The tunnel wall shifted.
A hidden barrier dropped between Mason and Daniel, separating Daniel from the group.
“Dad,” Mason shouted.
Daniel pounded on the stone.
“Open it.”
Arthur turned.
“There is a lever on your side.”
“I don’t see anything.”
Claire shone the light across the barrier.
The stone fit perfectly into the passage.
The intercom crackled above them, hidden somewhere in the tunnel.
The woman’s voice returned.
“Daniel Hawthorne.”
He stopped pounding.
“You left me in the fire.”
Daniel whispered, “Eleanor?”
Rebecca stared at him.
Arthur gripped his cane.
The voice continued.
“You took my daughter.”
Claire looked at Clara.
Clara shook her head.
The voice was not hers.
Daniel pressed his face close to the barrier.
“Eleanor, listen to me.”
“You watched the roof fall.”
“I tried to help you.”
“You ran.”
“I thought you were dead.”
The voice laughed.
“You hoped I was.”
Arthur looked as if his legs might fail.
“Eleanor,” he called. “Where are you?”
There was a pause.
Then the woman spoke more softly.
“You do not get to call me that.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Please.”
“Did you search for me?”
“Yes.”
“You searched for evidence. Not for me.”
“That is not true.”
“You protected the company.”
“I made mistakes.”
“You made choices.”
The lights in the tunnel flickered on.
A red emergency bulb illuminated the stone barrier.
Words had been painted across it.
ONE SON.
TWO DAUGHTERS.
THREE LIES.
ONE BODY.
Claire stared at the message.
“What body?”
Clara stepped closer.
“There was no body recovered from the harbor.”
Arthur looked toward the far end of the passage.
“There was another death that night.”
Daniel struck the barrier.
“Arthur, do not tell them.”
Claire turned toward her grandfather.
“Who died?”
Arthur’s answer came slowly.
“Your grandmother.”
Rebecca gasped.
Everyone had been told that Rose Hawthorne died in a car accident six months after the harbor explosion.
Arthur’s voice broke.
“She was at Pier 17.”
Claire felt the air leave her lungs.
“Why?”
“She followed me.”
“Why was she there?”
Arthur looked at the message on the wall.
“Because Rose knew Eleanor was my daughter.”
Clara’s expression darkened.
“And she wanted her gone.”
A mechanical click came from behind them.
The stone barrier began to rise.
Daniel was no longer on the other side.
Only his coat remained on the floor.
Mason pushed beneath the opening.
“Dad?”
No answer.
Claire found drops of blood leading into a side passage that had not been there before.
Clara picked up something beside the coat.
Daniel’s phone.
The screen lit up.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
BRING CLAIRE TO THE CHAPEL OR DANIEL DIES.
Claire stared at it.
Then another message appeared.
May you like
NOT CLARA.
THE OTHER ONE.
