Chapter 4 - The Woman in the Photograph
The door slammed shut behind them.
Emma turned around immediately.
The hidden room was sealed.
No handle.
No lock.
No way out.
Victor walked toward the door and pushed against it.
Nothing happened.
He hit it once.
Still nothing.
Then he looked back at the computer screen.
Her photograph was still there.
Emma Lawson.
A picture taken before she ever stepped inside Blackwood Manor.
A picture that should not exist.
Victor’s eyes moved back to her.
"Explain."
Emma swallowed.
"I can’t."
Victor stared at her.
"That picture says someone knew you were coming."
"I didn’t know anything about this house."
"Then why does my mother have a file with your name on it?"
Emma looked at the screen.
She had no answer.
For the first time since arriving at the mansion, she felt something worse than fear.
Confusion.
She had accepted that Blackwood Manor was full of secrets.
But she never imagined she was one of them.
Victor stepped closer.
"Who are you?"
Emma looked at him.
"I already told you."
"My name is Emma Lawson."
Victor’s expression remained cold.
"That’s what everyone calls you."
A pause.
"But I’m asking who you really are."
Emma looked away.
She hated that question.
Not because she was hiding something.
Because she had spent years asking herself the same thing.
The computer screen suddenly changed.
The photograph disappeared.
A new message appeared.
"ACCESS DENIED."
Then another line.
"IDENTITY CONFIRMED."
Victor noticed.
"Confirmed?"
Emma stepped closer.
The screen showed a file.
Not hers.
Not Victor’s.
Someone else's.
The title appeared.
"BLACKWOOD FAMILY ARCHIVE."
Victor clicked it.
Hundreds of documents appeared.
Birth records.
Financial reports.
Medical files.
Then one folder caught his attention.
"ELEANOR’S FINAL INVESTIGATION."
He opened it.
Inside were dozens of photographs.
One showed Victor as a child.
Another showed Adrian.
Another showed Eleanor.
Then the final photograph appeared.
Emma froze.
It was her.
But younger.
Much younger.
She was standing outside Blackwood Manor.
Holding hands with Eleanor Blackwood.
Victor noticed her reaction.
"You know her."
Emma shook her head.
"No."
But her voice was not convincing.
Victor looked at the photograph.
"When was this taken?"
Emma stared at it.
"I don’t know."
Victor zoomed in.
A date appeared.
Fourteen years earlier.
Emma felt the room disappear around her.
Fourteen years ago.
She was only fifteen.
She had no memory of being there.
But the photograph proved she had been.
Victor looked at her carefully.
"Why don't you remember?"
Emma touched the screen.
"I don't know."
Then she noticed something.
On the back of the photograph was handwriting.
The same handwriting from Eleanor.
Victor turned the image around.
A sentence appeared.
"She is the last person who remembers what happened that night."
Victor read it twice.
Emma felt her heartbeat increase.
"What night?"
Victor looked at her.
"The night my mother died."
Silence filled the room.
A loud sound came from above.
A door opening.
Victor looked upward.
Someone was inside the mansion.
Someone else.
He tried the hidden door again.
Still locked.
Then the computer screen flashed.
A countdown appeared.
10:00.
Emma looked confused.
"What is that?"
Victor watched the timer.
"Someone activated a security system."
"How do we stop it?"
Victor looked at the walls.
"We don't."
The timer continued.
9:42.
9:41.
Emma stepped back.
"What happens when it reaches zero?"
Victor didn't answer immediately.
That worried her more.
"Victor."
He looked at her.
"The room seals permanently."
Emma stared.
"Meaning?"
"Meaning whoever built this room never wanted anyone inside to leave."
The timer continued.
9:10.
Victor searched the walls.
Emma searched the shelves.
They needed another exit.
Anything.
Then Emma noticed something strange.
A book on the shelf.
Every book around it was covered in dust.
Except one.
She pulled it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a small key.
And a letter.
Victor took the letter.
The handwriting was Eleanor’s.
His expression changed before he even opened it.
"Victor."
Emma looked at him.
"Read it."
He hesitated.
Then unfolded the paper.
"My son,
If you found this room, then the truth has finally reached you.
But before you learn who betrayed our family, you must understand one thing.
The person you believe died twelve years ago is not the only person who disappeared."
Victor stopped.
Emma noticed his hands shaking.
He continued.
"Adrian was not the only one taken from this family."
The room became silent.
Victor looked at Emma.
Then back at the letter.
"The girl who witnessed everything was protected by changing her identity."
Emma felt cold.
A terrible thought entered her mind.
Victor read the next sentence.
"Her name was not Emma Lawson."
Emma stepped back.
"No."
Victor looked at her.
The letter continued.
"She was the child who saw the person who killed me."
Emma covered her mouth.
The timer continued.
6:22.
6:21.
Victor looked at her.
"Emma..."
She shook her head.
"I don't remember."
"Maybe someone made sure you wouldn't."
Emma looked at the photograph again.
Fifteen-year-old Emma.
Standing beside Eleanor.
Standing outside Blackwood Manor.
Then another memory appeared.
A small room.
A woman's voice.
A promise.
"Don't tell anyone what you saw."
Emma closed her eyes.
She suddenly remembered something.
A man.
A black suit.
A ring.
A familiar voice.
Victor noticed her expression.
"What did you remember?"
Emma opened her eyes.
"I saw someone."
"Who?"
She looked terrified.
"I don't know his name."
"Describe him."
Emma tried.
But one detail came back clearly.
"The ring."
Victor froze.
"What ring?"
Emma looked at him.
"A black stone ring."
The color drained from Victor’s face.
Because he knew that ring.
His father had worn it.
The countdown reached 3:00.
The room began changing.
Metal panels started sliding over the walls.
Victor grabbed the key.
"There must be another door."
Emma looked around.
Then she saw something behind the computer.
A small keyhole.
Victor inserted the key.
Nothing happened.
He turned it.
A click.
The computer screen changed.
A video file appeared.
"Eleanor Blackwood — Final Message."
Victor stared.
"No."
Emma looked at him.
"What?"
He stepped back.
"My mother never recorded a final message."
The file opened.
Eleanor appeared on screen.
But this time she was not alone.
A young girl sat beside her.
A teenage girl.
Emma stopped breathing.
Because the girl on the screen was her.
Eleanor looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this, then Emma has finally returned."
Victor looked at Emma.
The girl on the screen looked frightened.
Eleanor continued.
"And Victor, if you are watching this..."
She paused.
Her eyes filled with sadness.
"...it means the person who betrayed us has already found her."
The video suddenly glitched.
The screen went black.
Then one final image appeared.
A man standing behind teenage Emma.
Victor stepped closer.
Emma looked at the screen.
The face was hidden.
But the ring was visible.
The black stone ring.
Then the hidden room’s door unlocked.
Slowly.
Someone turned the handle from the outside.
May you like
And a familiar voice whispered:
"Victor... you should have left this buried."
