chapter 7
687 Words
Hannah stood frozen, staring at the elderly woman.
For a moment, everything around her seemed to disappear.
Her heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear herself think.
"I... I don't understand," she said in a trembling voice. "What do you mean you helped my mother hide me?"
The woman let out a quiet sigh. Her eyes were already shining with unshed tears.
"My name is Eleanor Hayes," she said softly. "I've worked for the Johnson family for more than forty years."
She instinctively reached toward Hannah's face but stopped halfway, letting her hand fall back to her side.
"The last time I saw you..." she whispered, "you were only six months old."
Hannah took an uneasy step backward.
"That's impossible."
A sad smile crossed Eleanor's face.
"I wish it were."
Kevin walked over to them.
"Eleanor, let's continue this inside."
He glanced toward the gates.
"It's not safe to stay out here."
She nodded.
"You're right."
Inside the mansion, the atmosphere was completely different.
The storm still raged outside, but the warmth of the house wrapped around them.
A fire burned quietly in the large stone fireplace.
Eleanor prepared tea for everyone.
Hannah accepted the cup, holding it between her cold hands, but she couldn't bring herself to take a sip.
Her thoughts were racing.
Kevin sat across from her.
"You deserve answers," he said calmly.
He paused before continuing.
"But there are still things I can't tell you."
A bitter smile appeared on Hannah's lips.
"You seem to say that a lot."
Kevin didn't defend himself.
Instead, Eleanor took a slow breath and began her story.
"Twenty-four years ago, Sarah arrived here in the middle of the night."
Her voice softened as the memories returned.
"She was terrified."
"You were sleeping in her arms."
Hannah listened without taking her eyes off her.
"She told us that people were hunting your family."
Hannah frowned.
"My family?"
She shook her head.
"My father was just a schoolteacher."
For a split second, Eleanor and Kevin exchanged a glance.
Neither of them answered.
Hannah noticed immediately.
Her expression hardened.
"You're hiding something again."
Kevin let out a quiet sigh.
"We're trying to protect you."
She slowly put her cup down.
"No."
Her voice was steady this time.
"You're deciding what I have the right to know."
Silence settled over the room.
No one spoke.
A few moments later, Daniel stepped forward carrying an old leather journal.
He carefully placed it on the table.
"We found this inside the music box."
Hannah looked at it in surprise.
"That wasn't there."
Daniel gave a faint smile.
"It was."
He tapped the bottom of the box.
"There was a hidden compartment."
Kevin gently pushed the journal toward her.
"It belonged to your mother."
Hannah's fingers trembled as she opened it.
The handwriting was instantly familiar.
It was Sarah's.
She swallowed hard and read the first line.
If Hannah is reading this, then I have failed.
Her vision blurred with tears.
She turned the page.
Another sentence caught her attention immediately.
Never let Hannah discover who her father really is...
Her breath caught.
Slowly, she raised her head.
"What does that mean?"
No one answered.
Her heart sank.
She closed the journal with a loud snap.
"Tell me!"
Her voice echoed through the room.
Kevin remained silent.
Before anyone could speak, the door opened.
Conor walked in.
The tension on his face was impossible to miss.
"Sir..."
Kevin stood at once.
"What happened?"
"Our team searched the forest after the attack."
"And?"
Conor placed a small evidence bag on the table.
Inside was a silver locket.
The moment Hannah saw it, she gasped.
"That's my mother's."
Eleanor's face instantly lost all color.
"No..."
She slowly stepped backward, shaking her head.
"That can't be."
Hannah looked at her.
"You've seen it before?"
Eleanor nodded weakly.
Tears welled in her eyes.
"I buried that locket with Sarah."
The room fell deathly silent.
If the locket had been buried with Sarah...
Then who had left it in the forest?
And if the grave had been opened...
Who—or what—had been taken from it?
- Writer
