CHAPTER 2: The Basement Ledger
No one in the ballroom moved.
Nathaniel never took his eyes off Claire.
He stepped toward her slowly, as if she might disappear again if he moved too fast.
"Claire..."
She flinched.
Not because she didn't recognize him.
Because she had learned that every time someone called her name, pain usually followed.
"Don't," she whispered.
Her voice was barely audible.
"They'll punish the others."
Nathaniel frowned.
"The others?"
Claire's eyes drifted toward the line of servants standing silently against the wall.
Every one of them kept their heads down.
No one dared speak.
Vanessa laughed nervously.
"This is getting ridiculous. She's obviously confused."
Nathaniel ignored her.
He gently took Claire's hand.
The bruises around her wrist were old.
Some were fresh.
Some had already faded.
None of them belonged there.
"Who did this?"
Claire opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, an elderly housekeeper suddenly stepped forward.
"I did."
Everyone turned.
The woman lowered her head.
"I hit her."
Nathaniel stared.
The confession felt wrong.
Too rehearsed.
Too quick.
Claire squeezed his hand.
"No..."
The old woman looked at Claire with tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Nathaniel understood immediately.
She was lying.
Protecting someone.
His phone rang.
It was the head of his private security team.
"Sir..."
"We searched the guest wing."
"And?"
"We found a locked basement office."
Nathaniel's expression hardened.
"What was inside?"
"A ledger."
"A hidden DVR system."
"And dozens of employee files."
He looked at Vanessa.
She had stopped smiling.
"The police are already on their way," the guard continued.
"You need to see one more thing."
"What?"
"There are video recordings."
"They go back almost three years."
Nathaniel slowly looked up at the grand staircase.
Three years.
Exactly the day Claire disappeared.
May you like
He whispered,
"Don't let anyone leave this house."
