Chapter 15: The Address Beneath the Floor
Chapter 15: The Address Beneath the Floor
The rain returned just before dawn.
Heavy drops pounded against the roof of the remote hunting cabin as Vivian Hale sat silently by the fireplace.
Charles Whitmore had barely slept.
He stood at the window with a cup of untouched coffee, staring into the darkness.
"You'll tell me eventually," he said without turning around.
Vivian remained calm.
"I've already told you everything I know."
Charles smiled faintly.
"No."
"You've told me only what you wanted me to hear."
He turned to face her.
"You slipped today."
Vivian said nothing.
"You mentioned a child."
Charles slowly walked toward her.
"Who was the child?"
Vivian met his gaze.
"A child who deserves to be left alone."
Charles's expression hardened.
"That's not your decision anymore."
Back at Carter Memorial Medical Center, Khloe was finally cleared to leave her room for a short walk through the hospital's private garden.
Marcus stayed beside her, one hand resting gently against her back.
The fresh morning air felt wonderful.
"I almost forgot what sunshine looked like," Khloe said with a smile.
Marcus laughed.
"I'll take that as a good sign."
They stopped beside a small fountain.
For the first time in days, neither of them spoke about Charles, Isabella, or the investigation.
Instead, they talked about names for the baby.
"What if it's a girl?" Khloe asked.
Marcus smiled.
"You've already made a list."
"I've made three."
"And if it's a boy?"
She looked down at her stomach.
"I want someone kind."
Marcus gently squeezed her hand.
"We'll raise someone who knows that strength and kindness belong together."
Before Khloe could answer, Marcus's phone rang.
It was Detective Laura Bennett.
His smile faded.
"Marcus," Bennett said, "we searched Vivian Hale's house again."
"Find anything?"
"Not at first."
She paused.
"But one of the forensic officers noticed fresh mud beneath the floorboards in the study."
Marcus stopped walking.
"What was hidden there?"
"A folded piece of paper."
"What did it say?"
"Just an address."
"No name?"
"No."
Marcus looked toward William's office windows across the courtyard.
"I'm coming."
Thirty minutes later, Marcus, William, Daniel Reyes, and Detective Bennett gathered around the conference table.
A photograph of the handwritten address lay in the center.
1847 Ashwood Lane
William frowned.
"I don't recognize it."
Daniel opened a city database.
"It belongs to a small farmhouse outside Millbrook."
"Who owns it?"
He typed for another moment.
"According to county records..."
Daniel's eyebrows rose.
"The property is owned by a trust."
"What trust?"
"The Carter Family Legacy Trust."
Marcus looked at William.
"You own it."
William slowly shook his head.
"I've never been there."
Detective Bennett leaned forward.
"Then someone bought it in the Trust's name without your knowledge."
William's face grew serious.
"Vivian."
An hour later, a convoy of police vehicles quietly approached the isolated farmhouse.
The property looked abandoned.
A weathered white fence surrounded the land.
Wildflowers grew freely across the yard.
Nothing suggested that it held any great secret.
Detective Bennett raised a hand.
"No one goes in alone."
Officers spread out around the house.
Marcus stayed close to William.
Daniel carefully opened the front door.
It wasn't locked.
Inside, the house was spotless.
Someone had been living there recently.
A kettle sat on the stove.
Fresh groceries filled the refrigerator.
A blanket lay folded neatly over a rocking chair.
Marcus looked around.
"Who lives here?"
No one answered.
Then...
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Everyone froze.
"Police!" Bennett called.
"Come downstairs with your hands where we can see them."
Silence.
Then slow footsteps.
A woman in her early thirties appeared at the top of the staircase.
She looked frightened but composed.
She wasn't armed.
She slowly raised her hands.
"My name is Grace."
William stared at her.
For a brief moment, he looked as though he'd seen a ghost.
Grace frowned.
"Do... do I know you?"
William couldn't speak.
Marcus looked between them.
"William?"
He finally found his voice.
"No."
His eyes never left Grace's face.
"But..."
He swallowed hard.
"...she looks exactly like her mother."
Detective Bennett gently escorted Grace into the living room.
"We're investigating a serious crime."
Grace nodded nervously.
"I figured."
"What do you know about Vivian Hale?"
Grace smiled faintly.
"She raised me."
Marcus frowned.
"Raised you?"
Grace nodded.
"Since I was a baby."
William slowly sat down.
"Where are your parents?"
Grace looked away.
"I was told they died."
William closed his eyes.
The answer hit him harder than he expected.
Detective Bennett asked carefully,
"Did Vivian ever give you any documents to keep safe?"
Grace hesitated.
"Why?"
"Because someone is trying to find them."
Grace looked toward an old bookshelf.
"I don't know what's in it."
Marcus noticed her glance.
"In what?"
She stood and walked to the bookshelf.
Hidden behind several old novels was a small wooden box.
She placed it on the table.
"Vivian told me never to open it."
William recognized the box immediately.
His hands began to tremble.
"I gave her this."
Marcus looked surprised.
"You've seen it before?"
William nodded.
"Seven years ago."
He slowly unlocked the box with the silver key he had carried for years.
Inside lay a sealed envelope.
The wax seal remained unbroken.
Across the front, written in Vivian's elegant handwriting, were the words:
To Be Opened Only If My Life Is In Danger.
The room fell silent.
William carefully broke the seal.
Inside were three items.
The original DNA report.
A handwritten letter.
And a small photograph.
Marcus picked up the photograph first.
It showed a young Vivian holding a baby wrapped in a pink blanket.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Grace — One Week Old.
Marcus slowly looked at Grace.
Then at William.
William's eyes filled with emotion as he unfolded Vivian's letter.
The first line made his hands shake.
William, if you're reading this, then Charles finally discovered that Grace exists.
Before William could continue reading, Detective Bennett's phone rang.
She answered immediately.
"What?"
Her expression changed.
"Are you certain?"
She ended the call and looked at everyone in the room.
"We have a problem."
Marcus stood.
"What happened?"
Bennett spoke quietly.
"Charles Whitmore escaped the police dragnet."
She took a slow breath.
"And according to the latest sighting..."
May you like
She looked directly at Grace.
"...he's heading this way."
