“Very well.” He took her by the hand and led her down the hall. They stopped in front of a wall with a lovely painting of the Seine River. He used a small key from his pocket, not connected to his other keys, to unlock a hidden door behind the painting. Callie carefully memorized how he found the key hole and opened the door. As she followed him into the darkness behind the painting, she shivered. This must be what Royce had called the black room.
A sudden bloom of gold light filed the room and illuminated the black, sleek furniture. There was a black leather couch, a dark grenadilla wood desk, and a massive four-poster bed with a black silk comforter. The walls weren’t black but painted a storm-cloud gray and decorated with art. Her gaze jumped from piece to piece. A Monet, a Renoir, her
