Chapter 6 - The Brass Key
The yellow toy piano had cost forty dollars.
Now five adults stood around it as if it were a bomb.
"This is ridiculous," Celeste said.
Ethan ignored her.
The G key looked normal.
He pressed it.
A thin metallic note chimed.
Sophie sat on the rug beside him.
"Nora said it needed a secret fix."
Ethan's fingers stopped.
"Those exact words?"
"She said, 'Sometimes the best place for something important is somewhere nobody important would look.'"
Grant swore under his breath.
Ethan looked up.
"Problem?"
"This has gone far enough."
"Then leave."
Grant stared at him.
Ethan slid a letter opener beneath the brass key.
It lifted.
Underneath was a thin square of black plastic.
A microSD card.
Nobody moved.
Celeste whispered, "She planted that."
"Obviously," Ethan said.
"You know what I mean."
He stood and carried the card toward his laptop.
Rourke blocked him.
Ethan looked down at the lawyer's hand on his desk.
"Move it."
Rourke moved.
The card contained a folder named SOPHIE.
Ethan opened the text file first.
If you are seeing this, something happened to me before I could get Sophie out safely. Please do not trust the family medical file until an outside doctor compares it with the original prescriptions. Do not let anyone destroy the videos.
- Nora
Celeste's face went white.
Ethan clicked the first video.
It showed Sophie's nursery at 2:11 a.m.
Miles Benton entered carrying a black medical case.
Two minutes later, Celeste followed.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
The second video had been filmed from inside a linen closet.
Grant stood in the hallway speaking quietly to Dr. Vale.
"We need the evaluation before the quarterly vote," Grant said.
Vale shook his head. "I can't diagnose cognitive impairment from fatigue."
"Then stop calling it fatigue."
Ethan's hand froze on the mouse.
Celeste backed toward the door.
"This is edited."
The third file began automatically.
Nora's camera pointed through a cracked door toward the study.
Celeste stood beside Malcolm Rourke.
Rourke placed a document on the desk.
"Once Ethan signs the temporary trustee amendment, we don't need his cooperation again."
Celeste smiled.
"He won't even read it."
May you like
Ethan slowly turned from the screen.
Rourke was already gone.
