Chapter 5: Daniel Begins His Investigation
Chapter 5: Daniel Begins His Investigation
The hidden room remained silent except for the faint rustle of old paper.
Daniel sat motionless at the small wooden desk, one of Sarah Carter's letters resting in his hands. The ink had faded over the years, but every word was still legible.
He took a slow breath and began to read.
My Dearest William,
I know we agreed that no one must ever discover the truth. Every day I tell myself that leaving was the right decision. Emily deserves a life far away from the lies that surround your family. Promise me that you will never let anyone use her as a pawn. If one day she returns to Ashford Manor, it will mean fate has chosen a path neither of us could stop...
Daniel stopped reading.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
Emily.
Her name was there.
Written twenty-one years ago.
His hands trembled as he searched for the signature at the bottom.
Sarah.
There was no doubt.
The letter was genuine.
He quickly untied the faded blue ribbon and discovered more than thirty letters.
Some were sealed.
Others had already been opened.
Most were dated between twenty-one and eighteen years earlier.
One envelope immediately caught his attention.
Across the front, his father's handwriting read:
"To be opened only if I cannot protect them."
Daniel carefully opened it.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
The message was painfully short.
If you are reading this, then I have failed. Trust no one until you know who ordered the fire.
Daniel frowned.
"The fire?"
He had never heard of any fire connected to the Ashford family.
His father had never mentioned one.
Neither had Margaret.
He folded the letter and slipped it into his jacket.
This investigation had just become much bigger than a stolen necklace.
The next morning, Daniel skipped breakfast.
Instead, he drove directly to the city archives.
The old stone building held decades of newspapers, property records, and public documents.
If there had been a fire connected to his family, someone would have reported it.
An elderly archivist greeted him.
"Can I help you?"
"I'm looking for newspaper records from about twenty-one years ago."
"What topic?"
Daniel hesitated.
"A fire."
The archivist adjusted her glasses.
"There were quite a few."
Daniel thought for a moment.
"Ashford Manor."
She typed into her computer.
Seconds later, her expression changed.
"There was one."
"When?"
"October 17th... twenty-one years ago."
Daniel leaned closer.
"What happened?"
The archivist frowned.
"That's strange."
"What?"
"The article has been restricted."
"Restricted?"
"It was removed from the public archive."
Daniel's heart sank.
"Who requested that?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you."
She paused.
"But I can tell you the headline."
Daniel waited.
She slowly read it from the database.
'Fire at Ashford Estate Claims One Life.'
Daniel felt the room spin.
One life?
Who had died?
Back at the mansion, Emily tried to focus on polishing the grand staircase.
She had cleaned the same railing three times without realizing it.
Her thoughts kept returning to the anonymous note.
Someone inside the mansion knew her past.
Someone wanted her frightened.
Mrs. Harris approached quietly.
"Emily."
Emily looked up.
"There's someone asking for you."
"For me?"
Mrs. Harris nodded.
"At the front gate."
Emily frowned.
"I don't know anyone."
Together they walked outside.
Waiting beside the security booth stood an elderly woman wearing a faded blue coat.
Her silver hair was tied neatly beneath a small hat.
The moment she saw Emily, tears filled her eyes.
"My goodness..."
She whispered.
"You look exactly like your mother."
Emily froze.
"Do... do I know you?"
The woman smiled sadly.
"No."
"But I knew Sarah."
Emily's breath caught.
"My mother?"
The woman nodded.
"My name is Eleanor Brooks."
"I worked as the Ashford family's nurse many years ago."
Emily stepped closer.
"You knew my mother?"
"I knew her well."
Before the conversation could continue, a black luxury car suddenly stopped beside the gate.
Vanessa stepped out.
Her smile appeared warm.
Too warm.
"What a lovely surprise."
Eleanor's smile disappeared instantly.
"You."
Vanessa looked equally shocked.
"I didn't expect to see you alive."
Emily looked between them in confusion.
"You know each other?"
Neither woman answered.
The silence said enough.
Inside the mansion, Detective Hayes continued interviewing employees.
This time, he requested maintenance records.
The chief groundskeeper handed him several old logbooks.
Most entries were routine.
Broken windows.
Leaking pipes.
Electrical repairs.
Then one note caught Hayes' attention.
October 18th.
Twenty-one years ago.
East Wing sealed following fire damage. Access prohibited by order of William Ashford.
Hayes underlined the sentence.
The fire had occurred in the East Wing.
Exactly where Vanessa's hidden archive room was located.
Coincidence?
He no longer believed in coincidences.
Meanwhile, Daniel visited St. Mary's Hospital.
According to public records, survivors of the fire had been treated there.
A retired nurse agreed to search the old archives.
Nearly an hour later, she returned carrying a thin folder.
"There wasn't much left."
Daniel accepted it.
"Thank you."
He opened the file.
Patient Name:
Sarah Carter.
Diagnosis:
Smoke inhalation.
Minor burns.
Released after two days.
Daniel stared at the record.
Sarah had survived the fire.
Then who had died?
He turned the page.
A second patient.
No name.
Only the words:
Male. Approximately forty years old. Pronounced dead at the scene. Identity withheld.
Daniel frowned.
Identity withheld?
Why?
Who hides the identity of a fire victim?
Back at the mansion, Eleanor Brooks sat with Emily in the quiet garden.
"I've wanted to find you for years."
Emily listened carefully.
"My mother never mentioned you."
"She couldn't."
Eleanor sighed.
"Your mother was protecting you."
"From what?"
Eleanor hesitated.
"The Ashford family."
Emily looked confused.
"But she worked here."
"Yes."
"And she trusted only one person."
Daniel's father.
Before Eleanor could say his name, a loud crash echoed across the garden.
A flowerpot had shattered nearby.
Someone had deliberately knocked it over.
By the time Daniel's security guards reached the area...
The person responsible had disappeared.
Eleanor looked around nervously.
"They're watching."
Emily frowned.
"Who?"
Eleanor stood abruptly.
"I've already said too much."
She grabbed Emily's hand.
"Whatever happens..."
Her voice trembled.
"Don't go into the East Wing."
"Why?"
But Eleanor was already walking away.
She never answered.
That evening, Daniel gathered everything he had discovered.
The letters.
The hospital records.
The employee file.
The financial transfers.
The restricted newspaper headline.
The missing documents.
He spread them across the library table.
Each clue seemed connected.
Yet one piece was still missing.
Someone knocked gently.
It was Richard Collins.
"I thought you'd still be awake."
Daniel gestured toward the documents.
"Tell me about the fire."
Richard's face instantly lost its color.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You do."
Daniel held up the old letter.
"My father wrote this."
Richard remained silent.
"You were his attorney."
Still silence.
Finally, Richard spoke.
"Some secrets..."
He swallowed hard.
"...were buried for a reason."
Daniel's patience snapped.
"Someone framed an innocent woman!"
"My father's name is all over these letters!"
"Now tell me what happened!"
Richard closed his eyes.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then he whispered,
"The fire wasn't an accident."
Daniel stared at him.
"What?"
"It was supposed to destroy evidence."
"What evidence?"
Richard looked directly into Daniel's eyes.
"A birth certificate."
The room fell silent.
Daniel barely breathed.
"A birth certificate?"
Richard nodded.
"There was proof that someone..."
His voice broke.
"...someone in this family had a child the world was never meant to know about."
Before Daniel could ask another question, every light in the library suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then—
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Glass shattered.
An alarm began screaming throughout the mansion.
Daniel grabbed a flashlight and rushed into the hallway.
Smoke was rising from the East Wing.
Someone had started another fire.
And this time...
It wasn't meant to erase the past.
May you like
It was meant to silence the truth forever.
End of Chapter 5
