I didn’t leave the study. I read the note again. You’re finally asking the right question. The handwriting wasn’t familiar. Not Catherine’s. Not Harriet’s. Not my mother’s. Not Dominic’s. Someone knew me well enough to predict how I’d think. That realization was oddly comforting… until I remembered that someone watching you closely could either be protecting you or hunting you.
Instead of leaving, I quietly asked everyone to search the estate one last time. Not frantically. Methodically. Room by room. Most rooms contained only abandoned furniture and old family possessions. Then Rose noticed something strange. One bedroom had been lived in recently. Not permanently. Occasionally. Fresh matches. A recently used kettle. A blanket folded neatly. Someone had been staying here.
Dominic checke
