Chapter Eight: The Room That Time Forgot
978 Words
The voice echoed through the underground chamber.
“So… you’re finally here.”
Amelia pressed herself against the cold stone wall, barely daring to breathe.
The beam of a flashlight swept slowly across the room, lingering on the old desk before moving toward the bookshelves.
She tightened her grip on the brass key.
Every instinct screamed at her to run.
But there was nowhere to run.
The hidden study had only one entrance.
If the stranger reached the back of the room, he would find her.
The footsteps came closer.
One…
Two…
Three…
Then they stopped.
A second voice spoke from outside the doorway.
“Is she inside?”
The first man didn’t answer immediately.
“No.”
His tone was flat.
“The room hasn’t been opened in years.”
Amelia frowned.
He was lying.
Why?
The second man sighed.
“Then we’ve wasted our time.”
“The Chairman wouldn’t hide it here.”
A heavy silence followed.
Then came the scrape of a chair being dragged across the floor.
Amelia cautiously peeked through a narrow gap between the shelves.
The man in the gray suit—the same one she had seen outside her grandfather’s bedroom—was sitting at the old wooden desk.
His face remained partly hidden in the shadows, but she recognized his sharp jawline and composed expression.
He opened one of the drawers.
Empty.
Another.
Nothing.
His eyes narrowed.
“Search again.”
The other man began checking the shelves, running his fingers over the spines of old books.
Amelia’s pulse quickened.
The envelope.
It was still lying on the desk.
If they found it…
Whatever her grandfather had left for her would be gone.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment.
Think.
Her gaze drifted upward.
The ceiling.
Old wooden support beams stretched across the room.
Age had weakened them.
A small stone lay near her foot.
She picked it up carefully.
Took a slow breath.
And threw it toward the far corner of the room.
The stone struck the wall.
Clack.
Both men spun instantly.
“What was that?”
The second man hurried toward the sound.
The man in gray rose from his chair.
“Check it.”
The moment they disappeared into the adjoining corridor, Amelia moved.
She darted from behind the bookshelf, crossed the room, and snatched the envelope from the desk.
She slid it beneath her coat just as footsteps echoed again.
Too late.
She glanced around desperately.
There,
An old curtain hanging beside a cracked portrait.
She slipped behind it.
Seconds later, the men returned.
“Nothing.”
The man in gray scanned the room one final time.
His gaze lingered on the desk.
For the first time…
His expression changed.
“The envelope.”
The other man frowned.
“What envelope?”
“There was one here.”
Silence.
His eyes slowly swept across the room.
Amelia held her breath so tightly her chest began to ache.
Then, unexpectedly, the man’s phone vibrated.
He answered immediately.
“Yes?”
His expression hardened.
“We’re coming.”
He ended the call.
“The Chairman regained consciousness.”
The second man cursed softly.
“We have to go.”
Without another word, both men hurried out.
Their footsteps faded up the staircase.
Only after several long minutes did Amelia emerge.
Her knees almost gave way.
She looked toward the iron door.
It remained slightly open.
They were gone.
For now.
She removed the envelope from beneath her coat.
The paper had yellowed with age, but her name was unmistakable.
To Amelia Carter.
Her fingers trembled as she broke the wax seal.
Inside was a single handwritten letter.
My dearest Amelia,
If you are reading this, it means I no longer have enough time to protect you.
She stopped.
A chill ran down her spine.
The handwriting was her grandfather’s.
Every word carried the firm, elegant strokes she remembered from childhood.
She continued.
For twenty years, you have believed your parents died in a tragic accident.
They did not.
Amelia’s vision blurred.
Her breathing became uneven.
No.
No…
This couldn’t be true.
She forced herself to read on.
Your parents were murdered.
The words seemed to leap from the page.
She staggered backward until she hit the edge of the desk.
Murdered?
Who?
Why?
She turned the page with shaking hands.
The people responsible are still alive.
Some of them carry the Carter name.
A loud c***k echoed above her.
She looked toward the ceiling.
Footsteps.
Someone was running through the library upstairs.
Had the men returned?
Or had someone else discovered the passage?
Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.
She folded the letter and slipped it into her coat.
There would be time to finish reading later.
Right now…
She needed to leave.
As she reached the doorway, something on the desk caught her eye.
A framed photograph, its glass covered in dust.
She wiped it clean with her sleeve.
The picture showed her parents on the day of their engagement.
Her father was smiling.
Her mother rested her head against his shoulder.
Standing just behind them was a younger version of her grandfather.
And beside him…
A man Amelia had never seen before.
His face had been scratched out with something sharp.
Not faded.
Deliberately destroyed.
Before she could study it further
A deafening bang echoed through the passage.
The iron door slammed shut.
The lock clicked from the outside.
Amelia rushed toward it.
She pulled with all her strength.
It didn’t move.
Someone had locked her inside.
Then, from the other side of the door, came a calm, familiar voice.
“You should have stayed away, Amelia.”
Her blood ran cold.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it only once before.
In the hallway outside her grandfather’s room.
The man in the gray suit.
And somehow…
He knew her name.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD