Chapter 2 - The Signal Inside the House
Emma stood frozen beside Victor as the butler turned the phone around.
The map displayed a pulsing red dot.
Not outside.
Not across town.
Not at some abandoned warehouse.
Inside Blackwood Manor.
Victor took the phone.
“Show me.”
The butler enlarged the map.
The red dot moved.
Emma frowned.
“It’s moving.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
Someone carrying the receiver was walking through the mansion.
The signal moved from the east corridor toward the servants' wing.
Then stopped.
Victor looked at the butler.
“Lock the house.”
The butler nodded.
“No one leaves.”
Within minutes, every exterior door was secured.
Emma watched servants being questioned one by one.
She stayed near Victor.
She didn't know why.
Maybe because everyone else seemed terrified of him.
Maybe because he was the only person who didn't look surprised anymore.
The signal began moving again.
Downstairs.
Toward the kitchen.
Emma's heart began racing.
“That’s where I work.”
Victor looked at her.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
His eyebrows lifted.
Emma swallowed.
“I saw the device first.”
“That doesn't make you safe.”
“I know.”
The signal stopped.
Victor moved toward the kitchen.
Emma followed.
They entered through a narrow service corridor.
The kitchen was empty.
Pots hung from copper rails.
The ovens were cold.
A clock ticked above the pantry door.
Victor raised one hand.
Everyone stopped.
A faint sound came from the pantry.
A drawer opening.
Victor moved silently.
He pulled the door open.
Nobody was inside.
But one cabinet stood open.
Emma approached.
Inside was a stack of folded napkins.
Nothing else.
Victor crouched.
He touched the floor.
Dust had been disturbed.
Someone had stood there recently.
Emma noticed a black thread caught on the cabinet hinge.
She picked it up.
Victor stared at it.
“What?”
“Suit fabric.”
He took it.
“Who wears a black suit?”
Emma glanced toward the hallway.
“Everyone important here.”
The butler appeared behind them.
Victor asked, “Who has access to the east wing?”
The butler hesitated.
“Family. Security. Senior staff.”
“And?”
The man's face tightened.
“Your mother's private secretary.”
Victor went still.
“My mother hasn't had a secretary in twelve years.”
The butler nodded.
“I know.”
Emma felt the air change.
“Then why did you mention her?”
The butler looked at Victor.
“Because someone has been using her name.”
Victor's phone rang.
He answered.
A distorted voice came through.
“You should have left the chair alone.”
Victor's expression didn't move.
“Who are you?”
The caller laughed softly.
“You moved it twelve years too late.”
The line disconnected.
Emma looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
Victor stared at the phone.
Then he looked toward the corridor.
Someone was standing at the far end.
A maid.
She turned and disappeared.
Victor moved immediately.
“Stay here.”
Emma ran after him anyway.
They reached the corridor.
Empty.
Only a silver tray lay on the floor.
Emma crouched.
Something was beneath it.
A photograph.
She picked it up.
It showed Eleanor Blackwood sitting in the forbidden chair.
Victor stood behind her as a young boy.
But someone had written a date on the back.
Three days before Eleanor died.
Emma turned the photograph over.
There was another line.
She knew who betrayed her.
Victor read it.
His face became cold.
“Who wrote this?”
Emma shook her head.
Then she noticed something else.
A tiny handwritten initial.
E.
Victor stared at it.
“Eleanor?”
“No,” Emma whispered.
The footsteps returned.
This time from behind them.
Victor slowly turned.
The hallway lights flickered.
A woman's voice whispered from the darkness.
“Victor.”
He froze.
Emma looked at him.
She had never seen him afraid.
Until that moment.
The voice came again.
“Your mother didn't die twelve years ago.”
May you like
The lights went out.
And something touched Emma's shoulder.
