Chapter 7 - The Hidden CompartmentThree days later, the mansion was eerily quiet. Margaret was being held without bail at the county detention facility, awaiting her arraignment. The media had already caught wind of the high-profile arrest, and flashing news vans lined the outer gates of the estate like vultures.
Inside the study, Daniel and Ava were sorting through the massive oak desk where the initial trap had been laid.
“The forensic accountants are tearing through her offshore accounts,” Daniel said, tossing a stack of blank corporate letterheads into the recycling bin. “It turns out she didn't just try to steal your shares, Ava. She liquidated a huge portion of my father’s original trust to cover failing speculative investments in foreign real estate. She was bankrupt, and she needed your inheritance to keep the illusion alive.”
Ava sat in her armchair, her legs wrapped in a cozy fleece blanket. The color had finally returned to her cheeks, and the chemical fog in her mind had completely lifted.
“It explains why she was so desperate,” Ava murmured, running her fingers along the ornate wood carving on the edge of the desk. “She wasn’t just a tyrant—she was a drowning woman pulling everyone else down with her.”
As Ava shifted her weight, her elbow accidentally pressed against a hidden brass medallion embedded in the desk’s side panel.
Click.
With a soft, mechanical hiss, a hidden compartment beneath the desktop slid open, revealing a velvet-lined recess that had never been touched by the automated inventory scanners. Inside sat a single, old-fashioned leather-bound diary labeled with a faded red ribbon, and a folded yellowed envelope addressed in a bold, shaky handwriting.
May you like
Daniel knelt beside the desk, pulling the envelope out. He broke the brittle wax seal and unfolded the heavy parchment paper inside.
As his eyes scanned the first few lines, his face turned completely white.
