Chapter 5 - The Nursery's Secret
Sophie knew she was risking everything, but she couldn't live in a gilded cage built on potential lies. That night, while Ethan was away at an emergency board meeting to address the rumors Victoria was spreading in the financial sector, Sophie made her move.
She left Leo under the watchful eye of Mrs. Gable, the trusted elderly housekeeper who had worked for the Vance family for decades, telling her she needed to fetch some of Leo’s specific developmental toys from the old estate.
Marcus drove her to the mansion. The grand house was dark, shrouded in a heavy fog that rolled in from the nearby coast. It felt like a mausoleum. Sophie used her security code at the side door, her heart hammering against her ribs as she slipped inside, carrying only a small flashlight.
She hurried up the grand staircase, avoiding the master bedroom entirely, and slipped into Leo’s old nursery. The room was exactly as they had left it—the plush toys, the cream-colored rocking chair, the hand-painted murals of stars and clouds on the ceiling.
She knelt down near the rocking chair, pulling back the thick wool rug. She used a small metal nail file from her purse to pry at the edges of the hardwood floorboards. For ten agonized minutes, she worked in near-total darkness, sweat dripping down her neck.
Click.
One of the boards, near the baseboard of the wall, felt loose. She wedged the file beneath it and lifted. A small, hollow cavity revealed itself in the flashlight's beam.
Inside lay two items: a small, black USB flash drive and a leather-bound journal with the initials H.S.—Helena Sterling.
With trembling hands, Sophie opened the journal to the last entry, dated the exact night of Helena’s death.
“Ethan found out. He knows I have the charity accounts. He told me if I leave this house with the data, he’ll make sure I never see Leo again. He looked at me with so much hatred. I’m terrified of him. I’m taking the car. If anything happens to me, Victoria knows what to do. The drive is hidden here. God forgive me for leaving my baby, but I have to save myself first.”
Sophie gasped, a sob choking her throat. Victoria hadn't been lying. Ethan had threatened her.
Suddenly, the overhead lights flashed on, blinding her.
Sophie shrieked, dropping the journal. She whipped around, her back against the nursery wall.
Standing in the doorway was Ethan.
He wasn't wearing his suit jacket. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, and his eyes were completely dark, devoid of the warmth he had shown her over the past few days. In his hand, he held a sleek, black smartphone, displaying a tracking app.
"You shouldn't have come here, Sophie," Ethan said, his voice terrifyingly calm as he stepped into the nursery.
"You... you killed her," Sophie whispered, clutching the USB drive against her chest like a weapon. "You threatened her. The journal... it says it right here."
Ethan looked down at the leather book on the floor, a flicker of profound sadness passing through his eyes before it was replaced by cold calculation. He took another step forward. "You’re only reading the pages Victoria wanted you to see, Sophie. You don't know the whole truth."
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"Don't come any closer!" Sophie screamed, backing up against the window. "I’ll jump! I swear to God, Ethan, I’ll scream this house down!"
"Look at the handwriting, Sophie," Ethan said, stopping in his tracks, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "Look at the ink. Helena didn't write that last entry. She was already dead when that journal was placed under the floorboards."
