Chapter 3 - The Butler’s Hidden Room
The door opened by itself.
Emma stared at the dark hallway beyond it.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Victor Blackwood was the first person to step forward.
"Stay here."
His voice was quiet.
But everyone obeyed.
Emma watched him walk toward the staircase.
The message on his phone still remained on the screen.
"She trusted the person standing beside you."
Those words followed him like a shadow.
Henry Blackwood had disappeared.
The man who had served Victor’s family for more than thirty years.
The man who claimed to protect his mother’s memory.
The man who knew every secret inside Blackwood Manor.
Now he was gone.
And the strangest part was not that he had vanished.
It was that nobody seemed surprised.
Emma noticed the servants exchanging looks.
Not fear.
Recognition.
They knew something.
Victor reached the second floor.
Emma followed before she could stop herself.
"Emma."
Victor’s voice stopped her.
She froze.
"I told everyone to stay downstairs."
She looked at him.
"I know."
"Then why are you here?"
Emma glanced toward the open door of Eleanor Blackwood’s room.
"Because I was the person who found the device."
Victor stared at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he turned away.
"Stay behind me."
Emma nodded.
Inside the room, everything was exactly as they had left it.
The old photograph.
The hidden compartment.
The message on the back.
But something was different.
Victor noticed it immediately.
"The window."
Emma looked over.
The window was slightly open.
A cold breeze moved the curtains.
Victor walked toward it.
He touched the frame.
Fresh scratches marked the wood.
Someone had opened it recently.
"Henry."
Victor said the name quietly.
Emma looked at him.
"You think he escaped through here?"
Victor shook his head.
"No."
He looked outside.
"Henry knows this mansion better than anyone."
A pause.
"If he wanted to escape, he wouldn't leave evidence."
Emma felt uneasy.
"Then why leave the window open?"
Victor didn't answer.
Because he already knew.
It wasn't an escape.
It was an invitation.
Behind the bookshelf, the hidden compartment remained open.
Victor returned to the wall and examined it carefully.
Emma stood beside him.
"There was something else inside."
Victor looked at her.
"What?"
"When you found the envelope, you moved the paper too quickly."
She hesitated.
"I saw another mark."
Victor said nothing.
Emma pointed inside the compartment.
At the very back was a small metal button.
Almost invisible.
Victor pressed it.
A click echoed through the room.
The wall beside them moved.
Slowly.
A hidden doorway appeared.
Emma stepped back.
She had worked at Blackwood Manor long enough to understand one thing.
This family did not hide ordinary things.
Victor entered first.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
The air smelled old.
Like a place that had not been opened in years.
Emma followed.
The hidden room below was small.
But it was filled with evidence.
Files.
Photographs.
Old documents.
Security recordings.
And hundreds of pages covered with names.
Victor picked up the nearest folder.
The label made him stop.
"Eleanor Blackwood Investigation."
Emma looked at him.
"Your mother was investigating herself?"
Victor opened the folder.
Inside were photographs of people around the mansion.
Servants.
Business partners.
Family members.
Everyone.
A surveillance file.
Emma saw Henry’s picture.
Next to it were dozens of notes.
Victor read silently.
Then his expression changed.
"What does it say?"
He handed her the paper.
The handwriting was old but clear.
"Henry knows the truth, but he is not the traitor."
Emma looked confused.
"Then why was he hiding?"
Victor took another page.
His mother's handwriting continued.
"Someone forced him to protect the secret."
Victor looked around the room.
"My mother knew Henry wasn't working against her."
Emma looked at the files.
"Then who was she afraid of?"
Victor didn't answer.
Because another photograph had caught his attention.
A picture of a young man.
Standing beside Eleanor Blackwood.
Victor picked it up.
His face changed.
Emma noticed.
"Who is that?"
Victor stared at the photograph.
"My brother."
Silence.
Emma looked at him.
"You have a brother?"
Victor placed the photo down.
"I had a brother."
The words sounded heavy.
"His name was Adrian."
"What happened to him?"
Victor looked away.
"Everyone said he died."
Emma looked at the picture again.
The young man looked almost identical to Victor.
Same eyes.
Same expression.
But there was one difference.
Adrian was smiling.
Victor rarely did.
"When?"
"Twelve years ago."
Emma realized.
"The same time your mother died."
Victor nodded.
"My brother disappeared the night she died."
The room became colder.
Emma looked at the files.
"Your mother was investigating his disappearance?"
Victor opened another document.
This one contained a handwritten message.
He read it slowly.
"Victor, if you ever find this, do not trust the person who tells you Adrian is dead."
His hand tightened.
Emma looked at him.
"Your mother thought he was alive."
Victor stared at the paper.
For twelve years, he believed he had lost both his mother and brother.
But now everything was changing.
His mother had left clues.
She had hidden evidence.
She had prepared for someone to discover the truth.
And that someone was him.
They searched the hidden room for almost an hour.
Every file created more questions.
Every answer created another secret.
Then Emma found something.
A small memory card inside a locked metal box.
She looked at Victor.
"Another one."
Victor took it carefully.
The same type of memory card.
The same black design.
The same hidden purpose.
He inserted it into the old computer inside the room.
The screen flickered.
A video appeared.
A woman sat in front of the camera.
Eleanor Blackwood.
Victor froze.
His mother.
Alive.
Recorded twelve years earlier.
Emma watched his face.
She had never seen him look so vulnerable.
The video started.
Eleanor looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this, then I failed."
Victor stepped closer.
His breathing changed.
His mother's voice continued.
"I could not protect this family forever."
The screen showed her placing documents on a table.
"I discovered someone inside Blackwood Manor was selling information."
Victor clenched his fist.
"But the person helping them was not a servant."
Eleanor looked down.
She looked afraid.
"It was someone I trusted more than anyone."
The video suddenly glitched.
The image distorted.
Then came back.
Eleanor leaned closer.
"Victor, listen carefully."
Her voice became urgent.
"The person who betrayed me is still inside the mansion."
The screen froze.
Emma looked at Victor.
Then the computer made a sound.
A new file appeared automatically.
Created moments ago.
Victor frowned.
"That wasn't there before."
The file name appeared.
One word.
"EMMA."
She stopped breathing.
Victor slowly turned toward her.
The hidden room became silent.
Then the computer opened the file by itself.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph of Emma.
Taken before she ever arrived at Blackwood Manor.
And beneath the picture was a message:
"She was sent here to find what you buried."
Victor looked at Emma.
Emma looked at the screen.
Neither of them spoke.
May you like
Then the hidden door behind them slowly closed...
And locked from the outside.
