Chapter 6: The Evidence Hidden Beneath the Christmas Tree
The scream came from downstairs.
A single sound.
Sharp.
Terrified.
The kind of scream that didn’t belong in a house filled with Christmas lights and expensive decorations.
For one second, nobody moved.
Then everyone did.
I ran.
Not because I cared about the people who had stood by and watched my daughters suffer.
Because I knew something.
Secrets made people desperate.
And desperate people did dangerous things.
The ballroom was chaos.
Guests were moving around, asking questions, searching for answers.
The Christmas tree stood in the center of the room, glowing beautifully.
A ridiculous picture.
A perfect holiday scene.
Except everyone knew the truth now.
The mansion wasn’t full of celebration.
It was full of fear.
“What happened?”” I demanded.
Nobody answered.
Then I saw her.
Eleanor Vale was standing beside the fireplace.
One hand pressed against her shoulder.
Blood stained the sleeve of her dress.
My first instinct was shock.
My second was suspicion.
Because after everything I had seen, I trusted no one.
“Who did this?”” Richard asked.
His voice was different.
For the first time, his calm mask was gone.
He rushed toward Eleanor.
She pushed him away.
“I’m fine.””
“You’re bleeding.””
“I said I’m fine.””
I looked around the room.
Vanessa was still upstairs.
Grant was near the staircase.
And one person was missing.
The man from the fireplace.
The stranger.
I pointed toward the empty spot.
“Where did he go?””
Nobody answered.
Richard looked around.
His face changed.
“You saw him?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
Eleanor looked at me.
“You saw him?””
“Yes.””
Her expression became serious.
“Then he knows.””
“Knows what?””
She looked toward the Christmas tree.
Before she could answer, something moved beneath the branches.
A small object.
A black envelope.
I walked toward it.
Richard grabbed my arm.
“Don’t.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because that’s how this started.””
I pulled away.
“How what started?””
He didn’t answer.
I picked up the envelope.
There was no name.
No writing.
Only a symbol pressed into the paper.
A small circle with a line through it.
Claire used that symbol.
I remembered.
Years ago, when she organized family documents, she used it as a personal mark.
A secret signature.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
My daughters.
Sleeping.
Taken from above.
My stomach dropped.
The picture had been taken inside the house.
Someone had been watching them.
There was a note attached.
*You wanted the truth. Now you’ll lose everything.*
I felt anger rise.
Not fear.
Anger.
Someone had been threatening my children.
My family.
For months.
I turned around.
“Who had access to this house?””
Everyone stayed silent.
I looked at the guests.
“Answer me.””
A man near the bar cleared his throat.
“Ethan…”
I recognized him.
One of Richard’s business partners.
“You need to understand that not everyone here knew what was happening.””
I walked toward him.
“Did you know my daughters were locked away?””
He looked down.
“No.””
“Did you notice they weren’t at dinner?””
His silence answered.
I turned away.
One by one, the excuses were collapsing.
People had seen.
They had chosen not to see.
“Where are my daughters?””
My voice changed instantly.
The anger disappeared.
Because suddenly I remembered.
I had left them upstairs.
Alone.
I ran.
“Ethan!”” Richard called.
I didn’t stop.
I reached the hallway.
The door to the room where my daughters had been sitting was open.
My heart stopped.
“Harper?””
No answer.
“Lily?””
Silence.
I stepped inside.
The room was empty.
The blankets were folded.
The toys were untouched.
My daughters were gone.
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
Then I saw something on the floor.
A small stuffed rabbit.
Harper’s favorite.
Beside it was a note.
My hands shook as I picked it up.
The handwriting was childish.
Not Claire’s.
Not an adult’s.
Harper’s.
*Daddy, we went with the nice lady because she said Mommy was waiting.*
The world went quiet.
No.
No.
I ran back into the hallway.
“WHERE ARE MY DAUGHTERS?””
Everyone froze.
Vanessa appeared at the top of the stairs.
Her face changed when she saw me.
“What happened?””
I walked toward her.
“Where are they?””
Her eyes widened.
“I don’t know.””
“You were upstairs.””
“I was in the office.””
“You were the only one near them.””
She shook her head.
“I swear.””
I wanted to believe she was lying.
But something about her expression stopped me.
She wasn’t acting.
She looked genuinely terrified.
Then Richard spoke.
“Eleanor.””
Everyone turned.
His wife stood at the bottom of the stairs.
She looked away.
“Where are my granddaughters?””
Eleanor didn’t answer.
The silence was louder than a confession.
I stared at her.
“You took them.””
Her face remained calm.
“I needed to talk to them.””
My blood ran cold.
“You took four three-year-old children?””
“They are my grandchildren.””
“They are my daughters.””
“And Claire was my daughter.””
Her voice cracked slightly.
For a second, I saw pain.
Real pain.
Then it disappeared.
“You don’t understand what Claire was trying to do.””
I stepped closer.
“Where are they?””
Eleanor looked at me.
“You need to listen.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You listen.””
I pointed toward the empty room.
“My daughters have been scared for months.””
I pointed toward the stairs.
“They have been lied to.””
I pointed toward the photograph in my hand.
“They have been watched.””
Then I looked at Eleanor.
“And now they’re missing.””
The room was silent.
“Tell me where they are.””
Eleanor finally spoke.
“In the old guest house.””
Richard looked shocked.
“What?””
She looked at him.
“You didn’t know?””
That question revealed more than anything else.
Richard didn’t know.
Not everything.
Eleanor continued.
“I brought them somewhere safe.””
“Safe?””
I almost laughed.
“You terrified them.””
“No.””
Her voice became stronger.
“I saved them.””
“From who?””
She looked toward the upstairs office.
Then whispered:
“From the person who killed Claire.””
Everyone froze.
I stared at her.
“What did you say?””
Eleanor’s eyes filled with tears.
“I should have told her the truth sooner.””
Richard looked at his wife.
“What are you talking about?””
Eleanor ignored him.
“She found out too much.””
“Who killed her?””
Eleanor looked directly at me.
“I don’t know.””
The answer shocked me.
Because it sounded honest.
“But I know who helped cover it up.””
A long pause.
Then she said:
“Your brother.””
I froze.
“My brother?””
I didn’t have a brother.
At least…
Not one who was alive.
My face must have shown my confusion.
Eleanor looked surprised.
“You don’t know.””
“Know what?””
She stepped closer.
“Claire found documents proving that someone changed your family records before you were born.””
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?””
“It means the man who has been controlling this family from the beginning…”
She looked toward the ballroom entrance.
Toward the empty doorway where the stranger had disappeared.
“…is someone you have spent your entire life believing was gone.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who?””
Eleanor opened her mouth.
Before she could answer, every light in the mansion turned off.
Again.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then a phone rang.
Not mine.
Not Richard’s.
A phone sitting on the table.
Everyone looked at it.
The screen lit up.
One name appeared.
*Claire.*
Nobody moved.
Because Claire had been dead for six months.
The phone continued ringing.
And then, from the speaker…
May you like
A woman’s voice whispered:
“Ethan… if you can hear this, they found the backup.””
