Chapter 8 - The Forgotten Key
Three years of quiet peace had healed the physical wounds, but the Whitmore mansion still held secrets buried deep within its foundation.
It was a cold Tuesday morning when a package arrived at the front gates, wrapped in plain brown paper with no return address.
Nathaniel picked up the box from the security table, his eyebrows narrowing as he saw the name written in faded blue ink on top:
To Claire.
He brought it up to the sunlit conservatory where Claire was drinking her morning tea.
"What is it, Nathaniel?" Claire asked, setting her porcelain cup down softly.
"It came by registered courier," Nathaniel replied, handing her a silver letter opener. "No name. No return address."
Claire carefully sliced through the heavy brown tape and opened the cardboard flaps.
Inside lay a heavy, tarnished brass key with a heart-shaped handle, resting on top of a folded sheet of parchment.
Nathaniel stepped closer, his instincts instantly on high alert.
Claire unfolded the paper with trembling fingers.
The handwriting inside was thin, sharp, and unmistakably familiar:
"Dear Claire,
You think you found all of Julian's secrets in his clinic.
You think you know why Vanessa took your life.
Look under the floorboards of the old gatehouse.
The key fits the dark oak box.
Your father didn't die of a heart attack twenty years ago.
May you like
He left something for you before Julian took him."
The paper slipped from Claire's hands, floating down to the marble floor.
