THE OLD OFFICE
1043 Words
CHAPTER 8
The Old Office
The old law office looked nothing like Chloe remembered.
She had only seen it once as a child, but the image had stayed with her—the tall windows, the wooden doors, and the brass sign that once read:
ZANE & VILLANO LAW ASSOCIATES
Now the sign was covered in dust.
Half of the letters had fallen away.
Chloe stood beside Andrian, staring at the building.
“This is where my father worked?”
Andrian nodded.
“Before everything happened.”
She looked at him.
“And your father worked here too?”
“Yes.”
They walked toward the entrance.
The door was unlocked.
Chloe stopped.
“That's strange.”
Andrian looked at the lock.
“It wasn't like this before.”
“You've been here?”
“Once. Years ago.”
They entered.
Dust covered the floor, and old furniture sat beneath white sheets.
The building was silent.
Almost too silent.
Chloe switched on her flashlight.
“Where do we start?”
Andrian looked around.
“Your father's office.”
They climbed the stairs.
At the end of the hallway was a wooden door.
A faded nameplate remained.
DANIEL ZANE — SENIOR PARTNER
Chloe reached for the handle.
She hesitated.
Andrian noticed.
“You don't have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.”
She opened the door.
---
The office looked frozen in time.
Old books filled the shelves.
A desk sat beside the window.
A broken clock remained on the wall.
Chloe slowly walked toward the desk.
“This was his.”
Andrian stood behind her.
“Yes.”
She opened the drawers.
Most were empty.
Then she found something beneath the bottom drawer.
A small wooden box.
Her father's initials were carved into the lid.
D.Z.
Chloe opened it.
Inside was an old key.
And a folded piece of paper.
She unfolded it.
There were only three words.
THE BLUE ROOM.
Andrian frowned.
“What is the Blue Room?”
“I don't know.”
Chloe looked around.
“Maybe there's another room.”
They searched the office.
Nothing.
Then Andrian noticed a bookshelf.
“Wait.”
He moved several books aside.
Behind them was a small keyhole.
Chloe held up the key.
“You think?”
Andrian nodded.
She inserted it.
Click.
The bookshelf moved slightly.
A hidden passage opened behind it.
Chloe stared.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Andrian switched on his flashlight.
“Stay close.”
They entered.
---
The passage led to a small room.
The walls were painted blue.
Chloe stared.
“The Blue Room.”
Andrian looked around.
There was a desk in the center.
On it sat an old tape recorder.
Beside it was a handwritten note.
FOR CHLOE.
Her heart stopped.
“For me?”
Andrian looked at her.
“Apparently.”
She picked up the note.
It was written in her father's handwriting.
Her hands trembled.
She unfolded it.
Chloe,
If you're reading this, then someone has finally found the room.
I don't know when you'll discover this, but I need you to understand one thing.
I never abandoned you.
Chloe's eyes filled with tears.
Andrian remained silent beside her.
She continued reading.
Everything I did was to keep you safe.
Trust Andrian.
Chloe stopped.
She looked at Andrian.
He looked equally shocked.
“Why would your father tell me to trust you?”
“I don't know.”
She continued.
His father isn't the enemy you think he is.
But someone close to both families is.
Find the second key.
It will lead you to the truth.
The note ended there.
Chloe lowered it.
“Second key?”
Andrian looked around the room.
“There has to be another clue.”
They searched the desk.
Nothing.
Then Chloe noticed the tape recorder.
“Maybe this.”
She pressed the play button.
Static filled the room.
Then a familiar voice came through.
Her father's voice.
“I'm recording this because I don't know who I can trust anymore.”
Chloe froze.
Andrian listened carefully.
“I discovered that Exhibit 17 wasn't the only evidence.”
A pause.
“There is another file.”
Chloe leaned closer.
“Where?”
Her father's voice continued.
“The original is hidden somewhere nobody would think to look.”
Static interrupted the recording.
Then another voice appeared.
A man's voice.
Andrian's eyes widened.
“That's my father.”
Chloe looked at him.
Marcus's voice came through the recorder.
“Daniel, you need to leave now.”
Daniel replied:
“I won't leave without the evidence.”
“You don't understand. They're watching you.”
“I know.”
“Then take your family and disappear.”
Silence.
Then Daniel said:
“I can't.”
Marcus's voice became desperate.
“If you stay, they'll find Chloe.”
The recording suddenly ended.
Chloe stared at the machine.
“They knew about me.”
Andrian nodded.
“Long before you came to the firm.”
Suddenly, they heard a noise outside the room.
Both froze.
Footsteps.
Someone was walking through the passage.
Andrian immediately turned off the flashlight.
They stood in silence.
The footsteps came closer.
Then stopped outside the hidden room.
Chloe held her breath.
The door slowly opened.
A figure stood in the darkness.
Andrian stepped forward.
“Who are you?”
The person didn't answer.
Instead, they dropped something onto the floor.
A small metal key.
Then they turned and ran.
Andrian rushed after them.
“Stay here!”
Chloe followed anyway.
They reached the main hallway.
But the person was gone.
Andrian looked down.
The key remained in his hand.
Chloe approached.
“What does it open?”
He examined it.
There was a number engraved on it.
17.
Chloe's eyes widened.
“Exhibit 17?”
“Maybe.”
Then she noticed something else.
A tiny piece of paper was attached to the key.
She unfolded it.
Four words were written across it.
HE NEVER LEFT THE CITY.
Chloe stared at the message.
Her father's disappearance suddenly felt different.
Maybe Daniel Zane hadn't run away.
Maybe he had been hiding.
Maybe he had been waiting.
And somewhere in Manila, twelve years after everyone believed he was gone...
Daniel Zane was still alive.
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