The Hidden Door — Part Three
1051 Words
Chapter Seven
The journey back to the Hawthorne Estate was quieter than usual.
Rain clouds gathered over the city once more, casting long shadows across the roads. Lucas drove while Ethan sat in the passenger seat. Ava stared out of the window, replaying the anonymous photograph in her mind.
Someone had been in the university library.
Close enough to photograph them.
Close enough to know exactly what they were researching.
She tightened her grip on her phone.
"This doesn't make sense."
Lucas kept his eyes on the road.
"What part?"
"They knew we'd look at the blueprints."
"Or..."
Ethan spoke without turning around.
"They followed us."
No one answered.
That possibility was somehow worse.
---
The estate gates opened automatically as the car approached.
Normally, the entrance felt welcoming.
Tonight it felt like a prison.
Security guards stood at the front entrance speaking into radios.
Two unfamiliar vehicles were parked beside the fountain.
"What's going on?" Ava asked.
Lucas frowned.
"Those aren't ours."
Before they reached the front steps, Adrian Wells hurried outside.
"I'm glad you're back."
His expression was tense.
Victoria followed close behind.
"Where have you three been?"
"The university library," Ethan replied.
Victoria folded her arms.
"I wish one of you had told me."
Lucas sighed.
"We were only gone for a couple of hours."
"A couple of hours is enough."
Her voice softened slightly.
"I'm not trying to control you."
"I'm trying to keep you safe."
Ava noticed something unusual.
Victoria looked exhausted.
The confident businesswoman who always seemed perfectly composed now had dark circles beneath her eyes.
She looked...
Afraid.
---
Inside the mansion, Adrian spread several photographs across the dining table.
"We've had another incident."
Richard looked up sharply.
"What now?"
"Someone entered the west wing."
Lucas frowned.
"One of the staff?"
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
He pointed to a grainy CCTV image.
The figure wore a dark hooded jacket and gloves.
Their face was hidden.
"They appeared on camera at 3:14 this afternoon."
Another image.
"They disappeared exactly thirty-seven seconds later."
"Where did they go?" Ava asked.
"That's the problem."
Adrian tapped the screen.
"They vanished."
Lucas frowned.
"People don't just vanish."
"They do if they know where the cameras can't see."
The room fell silent.
Ethan leaned closer to the screen.
"They walked towards the third-floor corridor."
Ava's heart skipped.
The hidden door.
---
Later that evening, Ethan found Ava sitting alone in the conservatory.
The glass walls overlooked the moonlit gardens, where gentle lights illuminated winding stone paths and neatly trimmed hedges.
She looked lost in thought.
"Mind if I join you?"
She smiled faintly.
"I was hoping you would."
He sat opposite her.
Neither spoke for a while.
Finally, Ava broke the silence.
"Do you ever feel like you're being watched?"
Ethan considered the question.
"Since last week?"
She nodded.
"Constantly."
He looked out towards the gardens.
"When I was younger, this place felt magical."
"What changed?"
"I grew up."
She laughed quietly.
"I guess that happens."
"My parents always said wealth brings opportunities."
He paused.
"They forgot to mention it also attracts secrets."
Ava rested her chin on her folded arms.
"Back home..."
"...our biggest problem was deciding whose turn it was to wash the dishes."
"And now?"
"Now I'm living inside what feels like a mystery novel."
Ethan smiled.
"I wish this were fiction."
For the first time in days, they simply sat together in comfortable silence.
It wasn't awkward.
It wasn't forced.
It felt natural.
Neither of them noticed the faint reflection in the conservatory glass.
Someone was standing outside.
Watching.
The figure disappeared before either of them turned around.
---
At exactly 10:00 p.m., Adrian called an emergency meeting in Victoria's study.
Everyone arrived within minutes.
House staff had been dismissed for the evening.
The heavy wooden doors closed behind them.
Adrian connected his laptop to the television mounted on the wall.
"I've recovered part of the deleted security footage from the night of the gala."
Victoria straightened immediately.
"You recovered it?"
"Only thirty-two seconds."
"Show us."
The grainy footage appeared on the screen.
A timestamp confirmed it had been recorded just before the mysterious message interrupted the gala.
The camera overlooked the west corridor.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then...
A hooded figure crossed the hallway.
Not running.
Walking calmly.
They stopped outside Victoria's office.
Reached into a pocket.
Unlocked the office door.
And disappeared inside.
The recording skipped.
Static filled the screen.
When the picture returned, the figure was leaving.
They paused briefly.
Turned towards the camera.
Then...
Raised one gloved hand.
And waved.
The room fell deathly silent.
"They knew the camera was there," Richard whispered.
"They wanted us to see them," Ethan added.
Adrian nodded.
"I believe so."
Victoria's face had turned pale.
"Can you zoom in?"
"I already tried."
The image sharpened slightly.
Not enough to reveal a face.
But enough to reveal something else.
A silver ring.
Plain.
With a small black stone set into it.
Lucas frowned.
"That's strange."
"What?" Ava asked.
"I've seen that ring before."
Every eye in the room turned towards him.
"Where?" Victoria asked.
Lucas hesitated.
"I..."
He frowned, searching his memory.
"I don't know."
"I just..."
"...I know I've seen it."
Before anyone could respond, every phone in the room vibrated simultaneously.
One notification.
One sender.
@ShatteredTruths
A new post.
Victoria opened it first.
Her face drained of colour.
"What is it?" Richard asked.
Without speaking, she turned her phone around.
It was an old family photograph.
A much younger Victoria stood outside the mansion with her late husband Charles.
Lucas looked about eight years old.
Standing beside him...
Was the same little girl from the faded photograph Ava had glimpsed earlier that morning.
This time, someone had circled the child in red.
The caption beneath the image contained only five words.
Who remembers Eleanor Hawthorne?
Silence crashed over the room.
Richard looked confused.
"Eleanor?"
He turned to Victoria.
"Who's Eleanor?"
Victoria stared at the photograph.
Her hands began to tremble.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Finally, barely above a whisper, she said,
"...She was my daughter."
No one moved.
No one breathed.
Because Lucas had never once mentioned having a sister.
And Ava was certain of one thing.
Whatever had happened to Eleanor Hawthorne...
It was the secret that had started everything.
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