Chapter 3: The Blue Room
The library smelled of leather, polished wood, and the faint trace of Daniel's favorite cedarwood cologne.
Lily stopped just inside the doorway.
Her father used to call this room their castle.
He had built a little reading corner near the fireplace, complete with a miniature armchair and a bookshelf filled with fairy tales.
Now the chair was empty.
The books remained untouched.
And the fireplace was cold.
“Can we sit here?”” Lily asked.
Thomas looked at the little chair.
“Of course.””
She walked over and touched its armrest.
“Daddy sat there.””
“I know.””
“He said he would read me another story when he got home.””
Thomas swallowed.
“I know, sweetheart.””
Lily climbed into the chair.
Thomas stood near the fireplace, studying the stonework.
Henry's words repeated in his mind.
The original lock.
Behind the library fireplace.
He ran his fingers along the carved wooden mantel.
Nothing.
Then he noticed a narrow decorative panel beneath the mantelpiece.
It looked like part of the original design, but one corner was slightly raised.
Thomas pressed it.
A soft click came from inside the wall.
He stepped back.
“Lily, stay there.””
A narrow compartment had opened.
Inside was a small metal plate with a keyhole.
Thomas stared.
The brass key in Lily's hand suddenly seemed heavier.
“Uncle Thomas?””
He turned.
“Can I try?””
Thomas hesitated.
Then he crouched beside her.
“Very carefully.””
Lily approached the fireplace.
She inserted the antique key.
It fit perfectly.
She turned it.
Click.
A section of the wooden panel shifted inward.
Behind it was a narrow staircase descending into darkness.
Lily gasped.
“Daddy had a secret staircase!””
Thomas pulled his phone from his pocket and switched on the flashlight.
“Stay behind me.””
They descended slowly.
The air grew cooler with every step.
At the bottom, they found a short hallway lined with dark blue wallpaper.
A single door stood at the end.
Its surface was painted a deep navy blue, with a brass handle shaped like a lion's head.
Lily smiled faintly.
“The blue room.””
Thomas stared at the door.
There was another keyhole.
The same shape as the key in Lily's hand.
But before he could reach for it, a voice came from the staircase.
“Thomas!””
Victoria.
He turned.
She stood at the top of the stairs, holding the railing.
Her face was flushed.
“What are you doing down here?””
Thomas raised his phone.
“Looking for the blue room.””
Victoria's eyes moved toward Lily.
“Get her out of there.””
“Why?””
“Because it's dangerous.””
Thomas looked at the door.
“What's behind it?””
“I don't know.””
“You seem very interested in keeping us away from it.””
Victoria descended two steps.
“Thomas, please. This is not the time.””
“When would be a good time?””
She stopped.
For a moment, the only sound was the low hum of the heating system.
Then she spoke.
“Daniel wasn't himself near the end.””
Thomas shook his head.
“You've said that already.””
“He was obsessed with things that weren't real.””
“Like this room?””
Victoria looked toward the blue door.
Her face tightened.
“Especially this room.””
Lily held the key.
“Mommy, did you know about Daddy's secret?””
Victoria's expression softened.
“Sweetheart, your father was going through a difficult time.””
“Was he hiding from somebody?””
“No.””
“Then why did he lock the room?””
Victoria didn't answer.
Thomas stepped closer.
“Move.””
Victoria lifted her chin.
“I won't let you open that door.””
“It's not your decision.””
“I'm his wife!””
“And I'm his brother.””
“And she's my daughter!””
Lily flinched at the shouting.
Thomas immediately lowered his voice.
“Lily, sweetheart, go stand by the stairs.””
She obeyed, clutching the key.
Victoria looked at Thomas.
“Think about what you're doing. If you open that door, you could destroy everything Daniel built.””
Thomas stared at her.
“Maybe that's exactly what he wanted.””
He turned the key.
It wouldn't move.
He tried again.
Nothing.
“It's stuck,” he muttered.
Victoria released a breath.
But Lily was watching the door.
There was a small brass symbol beneath the handle.
A flower.
Exactly like the one on the key.
She stepped closer.
“Uncle Thomas, maybe it's upside down.””
Thomas examined the lock.
The key had a tiny engraved mark near its handle.
He turned it over.
Then inserted it again.
This time, the key rotated smoothly.
A deep mechanical sound came from behind the door.
Something heavy shifted.
The lock released.
Thomas pulled the handle.
The blue door opened.
The room was larger than they expected.
It contained a desk, several filing cabinets, a wall of photographs, and a massive safe built into the far wall.
A blue velvet curtain covered the window.
Dust floated through the beam of Thomas's flashlight.
But the strangest thing was the photograph above the desk.
It showed Daniel standing beside a woman.
Not Victoria.
A younger woman with dark hair and a little girl in her arms.
Thomas stepped closer.
He recognized the woman immediately.
“That's impossible.””
Victoria appeared behind him.
Her eyes fixed on the photograph.
Then she whispered:
“Close the door.””
Thomas didn't move.
“Who is she?””
Victoria looked at him.
“Nobody.””
“Nobody?””
“An old employee.””
Thomas studied the photograph again.
The woman wasn't wearing a uniform.
She was standing beside Daniel in front of a hospital entrance.
And the little girl in her arms looked remarkably like Lily.
Thomas took the photograph off the wall.
On the back, someone had written a date.
Eleven years earlier.
And beneath it:
*THE DAY WE BROUGHT HER HOME.*
Thomas stared at the words.
“Victoria, what does this mean?””
Victoria reached for the photograph.
He pulled it away.
“Don't touch it.””
“Thomas, listen to me.””
“Who is this woman?””
Victoria's eyes glistened.
“She was nobody important.””
“Then why did Daniel keep her picture in a locked room?””
Victoria's lips trembled.
Before she could answer, Lily pointed toward the desk.
“Uncle Thomas?””
He turned.
“What is it?””
“There's a picture of me.””
On the desk sat a smaller photograph.
Lily was a baby, wrapped in a pink blanket.
Daniel was holding her.
But beside him stood the same dark-haired woman from the larger photograph.
This time, someone had drawn a red circle around her face.
Underneath the photograph was a folded hospital document.
Thomas opened it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
He read the heading again.
And again.
*BIRTH RECORD — PRIVATE MATERNITY WARD.*
His fingers began to shake.
“Victoria?””
She stood perfectly still.
Thomas looked up.
“Why does this document list another woman as Lily's biological mother?””
Lily's little face went blank.
“Uncle Thomas?””
Victoria lunged forward.
“Give me that!””
Thomas stepped backward.
“Don't you dare.””
“Thomas, you don't understand!””
“Then explain it!””
Victoria looked at Lily.
For the first time, her perfectly controlled expression completely collapsed.
She opened her mouth.
But no words came out.
Lily looked down at the photograph of herself as a baby.
Then she looked at Victoria.
“Mommy?””
Victoria began crying.
Not the quiet, elegant tears she had displayed at the funeral.
These were desperate tears.
“Sweetheart, I can explain.””
Lily took a small step backward.
“Am I not your little girl?””
Victoria reached for her.
But Lily moved behind Thomas.
Thomas placed a protective hand on her shoulder.
“Don't touch her until you tell us the truth.””
Victoria looked toward the safe.
Her expression suddenly changed.
“Daniel shouldn't have left that open.””
Thomas turned.
“What safe?””
Victoria walked toward the wall.
She knelt beside a small metal panel and pressed a hidden button.
A red light appeared.
Then a green one.
Thomas stared.
“You knew the code?””
Victoria didn't answer.
The safe door clicked open.
Inside were several thick folders, a small black recorder, and a sealed envelope bearing Daniel's signature.
Thomas reached for the envelope.
Victoria grabbed his wrist.
“Don't.””
He looked at her.
“Why?””
She leaned close.
Her voice was barely audible.
“Because the woman in that photograph isn't just Lily's biological mother.””
Thomas went still.
Victoria's eyes filled with terror.
“She's the reason Daniel is dead.””
And before Thomas could ask another question, the black recorder inside the safe suddenly switched on by itself.
A familiar voice filled the blue room.
Daniel's voice.
“If you're hearing this, then Victoria has found the room.””
A pause.
Then Daniel continued.
“Thomas, if you're there, listen carefully. There is something you need to know about the night Lily was born.””
The recording crackled.
A second voice emerged.
A woman's voice.
And Lily recognized it immediately.
It was the voice of Mrs. Bennett, the housekeeper.
“Daniel, you promised you would never tell her what we did.””
Thomas slowly turned toward the staircase.
May you like
Mrs. Bennett was standing at the top.
And she was holding a photograph of a newborn baby with a hospital bracelet bearing Lily's name.
