Margaret had cried for Lily for fifteen years.
But she did not cry for her father.
After the funeral, Noah and Daniel went to Harold’s old house to clear it out.
The house smelled of dust, medicine, and closed windows. Heavy curtains blocked the light. Family photos hung crookedly on the walls. Harold’s bedroom was at the end of the hall.
Noah entered and felt cold.
Daniel opened drawers while Noah stripped the bed. Then he noticed that the mattress looked uneven.
One corner was higher than the others.
He lifted them up.
First he saw old newspapers.
Then something pink.
Noah’s heart stopped.
He pulled it out slowly.
It was a piece of old fabric. Faded. Dirty. Almost falling apart.
But in one corner were three small white flowers.
Hand-embroidered.
Noah sank to his knees.
— Dad…
Daniel turned around.
– What is?
Noah held the cloth up with trembling hands.
— I think that belonged to Lily.
Daniel stared at it. All the color drained from his face.
Then he whispered:
Then he whispered:
— Don’t touch anything else.
Twenty minutes later, police cars were parked in front of the house.
Everything changed when Detective Claire Bennett entered Harold’s bedroom.
It was no longer an old man’s house.
It was a crime scene.
Dann kam Margaret.
She saw the pink fabric and froze.
She didn’t scream.
This silence was worse.
—That’s Lily’s — she whispered. —I made these flowers with her.
Hours later, an officer found a brown notebook hidden in an old pillowcase.
Detective Bennett opened it.
Her face changed.
Then she looked towards the back window.
— There’s a shed in the yard — she said.
The officers broke into the castle by midnight.
In the shed, they found a hidden door under some wooden boards.
And below that…
A staircase that led into darkness.
PART 2
Noah stood in the yard and could not move.
The rain had stopped, but water was still dripping from the shed roof. The whole place smelled of wet wood, mud, and something old that had been locked away for far too long.
Margaret began to tremble.
—No — she whispered. —Please, no…
Daniel put his arms around her, but even he looked as if his legs might give way at any moment.
Two officers went down first.
Two officers went down first.
