Chapter 12: The Secret Hidden Beneath Hawthorne Estate
Chapter 12: The Secret Hidden Beneath Hawthorne Estate
The phone fell silent.
Claire stood motionless.
Evelyn’s final words continued to echo inside her mind.
Trust no one.
The warning should have helped her.
But instead, it made everything more terrifying.
Because everyone around her had already lied.
Her parents.
Her family.
The people who claimed they were protecting her.
Claire looked around the room.
Ethan.
Victoria.
Daniel.
Eleanor.
Adrian.
Everyone had secrets.
Everyone had a reason to hide something.
Ethan noticed the fear in her eyes.
"Claire."
"Don't listen to fear."
She looked at him.
"How can I not?"
"My whole life was built on things people didn't tell me."
Ethan stepped closer.
"I know."
"But I'm not going anywhere."
Claire wanted to believe him.
She truly did.
But after everything she had learned, trusting someone felt impossible.
Daniel looked toward the hidden room.
"We need to find the evidence before whoever is behind this destroys it."
Adrian nodded.
"There is still one place we haven't searched."
Everyone turned toward him.
Victoria frowned.
"Where?"
Adrian looked beneath the mansion floor.
"The underground archive."
A strange silence filled the room.
Claire looked confused.
"Underground?"
Adrian nodded.
"Your grandfather built a hidden facility beneath Hawthorne Estate."
"Only a few people knew about it."
Eleanor immediately reacted.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
Her face had lost all color.
"You know about it."
It wasn't a question.
It was an accusation.
Eleanor looked away.
Daniel stepped forward.
"You knew there was something beneath this house?"
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Claire felt another wave of disappointment.
"Another secret."
Eleanor looked at her.
"I was trying to keep you away from it."
Claire shook her head.
"That's what everyone says."
"But somehow every secret leads back to you."
The words hurt Eleanor.
But she didn't argue.
Because she knew Claire was right.
Adrian walked toward an old painting hanging in the hallway.
He removed it carefully.
Behind it was a small metal panel.
Everyone stared.
Claire whispered:
"How long has this been here?"
"Decades."
Adrian entered a code.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Then he looked at Claire.
"Try."
She frowned.
"Me?"
Adrian nodded.
"Your grandfather created this system."
"He designed it for his bloodline."
Claire slowly stepped forward.
She placed her hand on the panel.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a small light appeared.
The door unlocked.
Everyone froze.
Because Claire had opened something nobody else could.
The hidden door slowly moved aside.
Cold air rushed out.
A dark staircase appeared beneath the mansion.
Ethan looked down.
"That's been under us this whole time?"
Daniel nodded.
"The Hawthorne family always had two faces."
"The one everyone saw."
"And the one hidden underground."
Claire looked at the stairs.
Then started walking.
Ethan immediately followed.
The others moved behind them.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
After several minutes, they reached a massive underground room.
The walls were covered with shelves.
Files.
Photographs.
Old recordings.
Everything the family had hidden.
Claire looked around.
"This is where they kept the truth."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"This is where your grandfather controlled everything."
Daniel walked toward a desk.
He found a folder with his name on it.
Victoria found one with hers.
Claire saw one with her own name.
She picked it up.
But before she opened it, Ethan noticed something.
"Claire."
"What?"
He pointed toward a screen in the corner.
It was already turned on.
A video file was waiting.
The title appeared.
Claire’s Memory Restoration Project.
Her blood ran cold.
"What is that?"
Nobody answered.
Claire pressed play.
The screen showed a doctor speaking.
"Patient Claire Hawthorne."
"Age six."
"Procedure completed successfully."
Claire covered her mouth.
The room became silent.
The video continued.
"The traumatic memory has been suppressed."
"She will no longer remember the events from the night of Daniel Hawthorne’s disappearance."
Claire stepped backward.
"No..."
Ethan looked at the screen.
"They erased your memories."
Claire looked at Eleanor.
"You knew."
Eleanor looked devastated.
"I knew they were going to do it."
"But I tried to stop them."
Daniel looked at her.
"Did you?"
Eleanor couldn't answer.
The video continued.
Then another person appeared on screen.
Everyone froze.
Because the person giving the instructions was not Claire’s grandfather.
It wasn't Evelyn.
It wasn't Marcus.
It wasn't anyone they expected.
The person on the screen looked directly at the camera.
And said:
"Make sure Claire never remembers what she saw."
Claire’s face turned pale.
Because she knew that voice.
Everyone did.
The voice belonged to someone standing in the underground room with them.
The screen suddenly went black.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Then Claire slowly turned around.
Her eyes filled with betrayal.
May you like
Because the person who ordered her memories erased...
Was standing right behind her.
