Chapter 2 - Rebecca’s Hidden Drawer
Rebecca’s bedroom had been locked for almost two years.
I was the one who locked it.
After my wife died, I could not stand the smell of her perfume, the books on her nightstand, or the robe hanging behind the bathroom door. I told the staff to dust the room but change nothing. It became a museum to a life I still could not explain to Noah.
Grace walked in carrying the silver key between two fingers.
Victoria stood in the hall between two security guards.
“You’re making a mistake,” she called after me. “Daniel, listen to me.”
I shut the door in her face.
Noah stayed downstairs with Mrs. Alvarez, our housekeeper. Grace and I searched Rebecca’s desk until the key slid into a tiny lock beneath the center drawer.
Click.
A false panel dropped open.
Inside were three folders, a flash drive, a sealed envelope, and an old laptop I had never seen before.
Grace swallowed. “I didn’t open any of it.”
“Why were you in here?”
She looked at me. “Because somebody else had been.”
She pointed to the carpet. Fresh fibers were pulled near the desk leg. One brass screw on the false panel had scratches around it.
My stomach tightened.
The laptop still had power. Grace plugged in the flash drive.
A video file opened.
Rebecca appeared on screen.
Alive.
Her blond hair was tied back. She looked exhausted. Her eyes kept moving toward the door.
“Daniel,” she said, “if you’re watching this, then Victoria has already found a way into our lives.”
I stopped breathing.
I had met Victoria at a charity dinner eleven months after Rebecca died.
Rebecca continued.
“Victoria Vale is not her real professional name. Before she started using Vale, she worked for your brother, Eric, under the name Victoria Shaw.”
Grace whispered, “Oh my God.”
Rebecca leaned toward the camera.
“They’re trying to get control of Noah’s trust. If something happens to you, Eric wants Victoria positioned close enough to become Noah’s legal guardian.”
I heard pounding from the hallway.
“Daniel!” Victoria screamed. “Turn that off!”
Rebecca’s face filled the screen.
May you like
“And if Eric tells you my death was an accident, don’t believe him.”
The lights in the room suddenly went black.
