Chapter 4 - The Room Nobody Was Allowed to Enter
My mother's bedroom had remained untouched for twenty-three years.
The curtains were still blue.
Her books still lined the shelves.
And the faint scent of lavender seemed trapped in the air.
I stood outside the door with Nora and Dominic.
My hand trembled as I turned the key.
The lock clicked.
For a moment, I couldn't move.
Then Nora spoke softly.
"You don't have to do this alone."
I looked at her.
A maid I'd known for three days.
A woman who'd fed me when my own body rejected food.
And somehow, her presence made the impossible feel bearable.
I opened the door.
Dust floated through the afternoon sunlight.
Everything looked exactly as I remembered.
The bed.
The rocking chair.
The small writing desk beside the window.
Then Nora stepped toward the floor near the fireplace.
"Grandma said there was a loose board beneath the old rug."
Dominic frowned.
"How would she know that?"
"She worked here."
I glanced toward him.
"Let her look."
Nora lifted the edge of the rug.
A narrow wooden panel lay beneath it.
She pressed one corner.
The board shifted.
My heart pounded.
Underneath was a small steel compartment.
Nora handed me the brass key.
I inserted it.
The lock opened.
Inside sat a leather folder and a tiny cassette recorder.
My throat tightened.
I recognized the recorder.
My mother had used it to practice speeches when she volunteered at a neighborhood charity.
Dominic examined the folder.
"Arthur, these are financial records."
I opened it.
Dozens of transfers.
Shell companies.
Payments to private security contractors.
And signatures belonging to my father.
But one signature appeared repeatedly beside his.
Dominic Russo.
I slowly looked up.
My underboss stood beside the fireplace.
His expression had changed.
"Arthur," he began.
I held up the document.
"Explain this."
Dominic swallowed.
"Those are old records."
"Your signature is on them."
"I worked for your father."
I stepped closer.
"These transfers continued after he died."
Silence.
Dominic looked toward Nora.
Something dangerous flickered in his eyes.
Then he spoke quietly.
"That girl shouldn't have come here."
Nora stepped backward.
I moved between them.
"Don't look at her."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"Arthur, you don't understand."
"Then explain."
He stared at the folder.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Dominic whispered:
"Your father didn't die from a heart attack."
My breathing stopped.
"What?"
Dominic's voice became barely audible.
"He was murdered."
I stared at him.
"By whom?"
He looked directly at me.
"By someone who knew what he'd done to your mother."
Then he revealed the name.
May you like
"Evelyn Reed."
Nora's grandmother.
