Chapter 2 — The Daughter No One Knew
Chapter 2 — The Daughter No One Knew
The lights went out.
For three seconds, nobody moved.
Then someone screamed.
It wasn't me.
It was Vivian.
A crash came from the second floor.
Daniel immediately shouted, “Everyone stay where you are!”
The emergency lights flickered on.
Dim red bulbs along the walls illuminated the foyer.
Margaret was gripping my arm.
The security guards were already moving toward the staircase.
I could hear footsteps above us.
Fast.
Then another door slammed.
Daniel grabbed a flashlight.
“Second floor!”
Two guards ran upstairs.
I followed.
“Maria, stay here.”
“No.”
“It's dangerous.”
“So is being kept in the dark.”
He stared at me.
For the first time since I'd met him, he didn't know what to say to me.
I walked past him.
We climbed the stairs.
At the end of the hallway, a door stood open.
It was my mother's old room.
I stopped.
My mother had lived in this house for almost twenty years.
Not as an owner.
Not as family.
As an employee.
She had slept in a small room at the back of the servants' quarters.
Yet somehow, she had once been inside this room.
I knew it because the photograph of her was hanging beside the fireplace.
I had seen that photograph before.
But I had never understood why.
Now I did.
“Maria,” Margaret whispered.
I turned.
She was standing behind me.
“That was your mother's room.”
I looked inside.
“Why?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Because Edward gave it to her.”
Daniel stared at his mother.
“You told me Father never had an affair.”
Margaret looked down.
“I lied.”
The words seemed to echo.
Daniel stepped backward.
“You knew?”
“I knew there was another woman.”
“You knew about Maria?”
“I knew about her mother.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father begged me not to.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“And you agreed?”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Losing everything.”
I looked at her.
“You mean losing the money.”
She didn't deny it.
I felt something inside me break.
Not because I expected Margaret to love me.
I had only known her as an employer.
But because I had spent six years caring for this woman.
I had helped her bathe after surgery.
I had sat beside her when she cried after Edward's funeral.
I had cooked her meals.
I had listened to her stories.
And all that time, she knew I was her husband's daughter.
My daughter.
My mother's only child.
And she had said nothing.
“Why?”
My voice trembled.
“Why did you let me work here?”
Margaret looked at me.
“Because I wanted to know you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You could have introduced yourself as my family.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because your father had enemies.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What enemies?”
Margaret didn't answer.
The sound of footsteps interrupted us.
One of the guards appeared at the end of the hallway.
“Mr. Harrington.”
Daniel turned.
“We didn't find anyone.”
“Where did they go?”
“The window was open.”
Daniel walked toward it.
I followed.
Below us was the garden.
Fresh snow covered the ground.
There were footprints.
Someone had escaped.
But there was something else.
A black envelope sat on the windowsill.
Daniel picked it up.
My name was written on the front.
MARIA SANTOS.
My hands went cold.
“Don't open it,” Daniel said.
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“We don't know who sent it.”
“Exactly.”
I took the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Three sentences.
Your father didn't abandon you.
He was murdered before he could claim you.
And the person who killed him still lives in this house.
I stared at the words.
Daniel read them over my shoulder.
Margaret covered her mouth.
“That's impossible.”
I looked at her.
“Is it?”
She didn't answer.
Daniel took the paper.
“Who would send this?”
I shook my head.
“I don't know.”
A sound came from downstairs.
Vivian.
She was shouting.
“Let me go!”
We rushed down.
Vivian was standing near the front door.
Two security guards had stopped her.
She had removed her coat.
Her blonde hair was disheveled for the first time.
“I'm leaving.”
Daniel stepped in front of her.
“No.”
“You can't keep me here.”
“You're not leaving until we understand what you know.”
“I know nothing.”
“You knew Maria was my sister.”
Vivian stared at him.
Then at me.
Her expression changed.
“You don't know what you're getting yourself into.”
I stepped closer.
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Why did you frame me?”
“Because you were going to find the inheritance.”
“What inheritance?”
Vivian looked at Margaret.
“Tell her.”
Margaret shook her head.
Vivian laughed.
“You're still protecting him.”
Daniel frowned.
“Protecting who?”
Vivian pointed toward the hallway.
“Your father.”
Daniel stared at her.
“My father is dead.”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
“But his secrets aren't.”
We moved into the library.
The security guards remained outside.
Vivian sat across from me.
Daniel stood behind my chair.
Margaret sat beside the fireplace.
No one spoke for almost a minute.
Finally I said:
“Tell me everything.”
Vivian looked at me.
“You think you're entitled to the Harrington fortune.”
“I don't want your money.”
“You will.”
“No.”
“You don't understand what money does to people.”
I stared at her.
“Neither do you?”
Her jaw tightened.
“My mother taught me.”
“What did she teach you?”
“To survive.”
I waited.
Vivian looked toward Margaret.
“Your mother came here twenty-eight years ago.”
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“She was already pregnant.”
I felt my heart race.
“With me?”
Vivian nodded.
“Your father knew.”
Margaret interrupted.
“He loved her.”
Vivian laughed.
“He loved everyone who made him feel young.”
Margaret looked hurt.
Vivian continued.
“He promised Maria's mother that he would leave Margaret.”
Daniel's face changed.
“Father was going to leave Mother?”
“Yes.”
“For my mother?”
“Yes.”
I looked at Margaret.
She nodded slowly.
“He wanted a divorce.”
“Why didn't he?”
“Because of the company.”
Daniel frowned.
“What did the company have to do with it?”
“Your grandfather's will.”
Margaret's voice was barely audible.
“If Edward divorced me, he would lose control of the company.”
Daniel stared at her.
“So he stayed.”
“Yes.”
“And hid Maria.”
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
My entire life had been built on a lie.
I looked at Vivian.
“How did you know about me?”
“My mother knew.”
“Your mother?”
“She worked for Edward's lawyers.”
I frowned.
“What?”
Vivian leaned forward.
“She wasn't just a housekeeper.”
The room became silent.
“She was an accountant.”
Margaret looked shocked.
Daniel stared at Vivian.
“She handled Edward's private accounts.”
Vivian smiled.
“And she knew about the trust.”
My heart stopped.
“What trust?”
Vivian didn't answer.
Daniel did.
“The inheritance.”
Vivian nodded.
“Edward created a private trust before he died.”
“For Maria?”
“Yes.”
I shook my head.
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he knew you were his daughter.”
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
Vivian's expression darkened.
“Because he didn't have time.”
I remembered the note.
Your father didn't abandon you.
He was murdered before he could claim you.
My hands went cold.
“Who killed him?”
Vivian looked at Margaret.
Margaret stood abruptly.
“That's enough.”
“No,” I said.
Margaret stared at me.
“Maria…”
“Who killed my father?”
She looked away.
“Your father died of a heart attack.”
Vivian laughed.
“No.”
Margaret closed her eyes.
Vivian continued.
“Edward Harrington did not die naturally.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“What are you talking about?”
Vivian leaned toward him.
“Your father was poisoned.”
The room went silent.
Daniel shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
“The medical report was altered.”
“By whom?”
Vivian looked at Margaret.
Margaret whispered:
“Stop.”
I stared at her.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“You're lying.”
“I didn't know.”
Vivian smiled.
“She didn't order it.”
“Then who did?”
Vivian's face became pale.
“I don't know.”
I stood.
“Then why did you frame me?”
“Because whoever killed your father believed you were dead.”
My breath caught.
“What?”
Vivian continued.
“They thought your mother had taken you away.”
“But she didn't.”
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
Vivian looked at Margaret.
“Your mother was threatened.”
Margaret finally spoke.
“Edward's enemies found out about you.”
“Who?”
“People inside the company.”
“Why?”
“Because Edward had planned to transfer ownership.”
“To me?”
Margaret nodded.
“When you turned twenty-five.”
I stared.
“My twenty-fifth birthday?”
“Yes.”
“That was twelve years ago.”
Margaret nodded.
“Your father had arranged everything.”
“Then why didn't I receive anything?”
“Because someone forged the documents.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“And you let them?”
“I didn't know.”
Vivian interrupted.
“You knew enough.”
Margaret turned toward her.
“Don't.”
“You signed the papers.”
“I was told they were necessary.”
“You signed away the trust.”
Margaret's face went white.
Daniel stepped forward.
“What did you sign?”
Margaret looked at him.
“I signed documents transferring control of Edward's private estate.”
“To whom?”
She didn't answer.
Daniel's voice became harder.
“To whom?”
Margaret whispered:
“An offshore company.”
My stomach dropped.
“Whose company?”
Vivian smiled.
“That's the question.”
That night, I couldn't sleep.
I sat in the small room I had used whenever I stayed overnight at the estate.
The irony wasn't lost on me.
For six years, I had slept in a room belonging to the staff.
Now I knew I was the daughter of the man who owned the entire house.
But the money didn't matter.
Not anymore.
I wanted answers.
At midnight, I heard footsteps.
I opened the door.
Nobody was there.
Then I noticed something on the floor.
An old brass key.
I picked it up.
A tag was attached.
ROOM 17.
There was no room seventeen in the mansion.
I searched the hallway.
Nothing.
Then I remembered the basement.
The Harrington estate had sixteen numbered storage rooms.
I had cleaned them many times.
But there was one door I'd never been allowed to open.
A plain wooden door beneath the staircase.
It had always been locked.
I walked downstairs.
The house was silent.
I inserted the brass key.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a narrow room.
Dust covered everything.
Boxes lined the walls.
Old documents.
Photographs.
Bank statements.
And in the center of the room...
a desk.
I walked toward it.
On the desk was a letter.
My name was written on it.
Maria.
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
But the first sentence made my heart stop.
If you are reading this, Edward is dead and I failed to protect you.
I read on.
Your father trusted the wrong person.
The person who betrayed him is closer to you than you think.
I looked toward the doorway.
For one second, I thought I heard breathing.
I turned.
Nobody.
I looked back at the letter.
There was one final line.
Do not trust Margaret.
I stopped breathing.
Behind me, the basement door slowly began to close.
And from the darkness outside came a man's voice.
“Maria?”
I froze.
It was Daniel.
But there was something wrong with his voice.
Something cold.
Something unfamiliar.
“Maria,” he said again.
“Come upstairs.”
I didn't move.
His shadow appeared beneath the door.
Then he said six words that made my blood run cold.
“You were never supposed to find this.”
The door slammed shut.
May you like
And the lock turned from the outside.
To be continued.
