Chapter 9 - The List Hidden Inside Daniel’s Notebook
Chapter 9 - The List Hidden Inside Daniel’s Notebook
The Harrow mansion disappeared into darkness.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Victoria stood frozen in the hallway.
Margaret Harrow held the old notebook tightly against her chest.
The sound of the stopped car outside became louder in the silence.
Daniel had arrived.
Victoria whispered.
“He knows you’re here.”
Margaret nodded.
“He always knows more than people think.”
A flash of lightning crossed the windows.
For one brief second, Victoria saw the driveway outside.
A black vehicle parked near the entrance.
The driver’s door was open.
But nobody was standing beside it.
“Where is he?”
Margaret looked toward the back hallway.
“He won’t come through the front.”
Victoria frowned.
“How do you know?”
“Because Daniel never enters a room where he can be seen first.”
Those words made Victoria uncomfortable.
Because they sounded like the words of someone who had spent years studying him.
Margaret handed the notebook to her daughter.
“Hide this.”
Victoria looked down.
“Why?”
“Because if Daniel gets this back, everyone who disappeared will disappear forever.”
Victoria held the notebook tightly.
“What is inside?”
Margaret looked toward the dark hallway.
“The truth.”
At the hospital, Claire received an unexpected visitor.
A woman wearing a dark coat entered the room.
Claire immediately became tense.
The woman stopped near the door.
“Mrs. Bell?”
Claire looked at her carefully.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Laura Bennett.”
Claire remembered the name.
Emily’s sister.
The woman searching for answers.
“I heard you found something.”
Claire nodded slowly.
“The hidden room.”
Laura looked down.
“Then it’s finally happening.”
“What?”
“The truth is coming out.”
Claire studied her.
“You knew about the room?”
Laura hesitated.
“I knew Daniel had places where he hid things.”
Claire’s expression changed.
“How?”
Laura sat down.
“Because Emily found them.”
The name still carried pain.
“She spent months investigating Daniel.”
“Why?”
“Because she realized women around him were disappearing.”
Claire looked away.
“And she tried to warn me.”
Laura nodded.
“She knew you were next.”
Claire closed her eyes.
A terrible realization formed.
“Emily tried to save me.”
“Yes.”
“But she failed.”
Laura looked at her sadly.
“No.”
Claire looked confused.
“She succeeded.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because she left clues.”
Back at the mansion, Victoria carefully opened Daniel’s notebook.
The first pages were filled with numbers.
Dates.
Locations.
Initials.
Then she saw the names.
Her hands began shaking.
Elizabeth.
Emily.
Claire.
Three names she already knew.
But there were more.
Many more.
Women from different cities.
Different backgrounds.
Different years.
All connected to Daniel Harrow.
Victoria turned another page.
At the bottom was a note written in Daniel’s handwriting.
THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE WOMEN.
THE PROBLEM IS WHAT THEY KNOW.
Victoria covered her mouth.
Her brother had not been hiding affairs.
He had been hiding evidence.
A noise came from behind her.
The notebook slipped slightly from her hands.
She turned around.
Daniel stood at the end of the hallway.
His expression was calm.
Almost disappointed.
“Victoria.”
She stepped backward.
“How long have you been here?”
Daniel ignored the question.
“You should not have opened that.”
Victoria held the notebook behind her.
“You lied to me.”
Daniel sighed.
“I protected this family.”
“No.”
Her voice became stronger.
“You destroyed it.”
Daniel walked closer.
“You don’t understand what you found.”
“I understand enough.”
“No, you don’t.”
Daniel stopped.
“You think the world will believe you?”
Victoria stared at him.
“They will believe Claire.”
Daniel’s expression changed slightly.
That was the first thing that bothered him.
Not the police.
Not the evidence.
Not the missing women.
Claire.
Because Claire was alive.
Daniel lowered his voice.
“You need to listen to me.”
Victoria shook her head.
“I listened to you for my entire life.”
A long silence followed.
Then Daniel said something unexpected.
“I didn’t put Claire in that casket.”
Victoria froze.
“What?”
Daniel looked serious.
“For once, I am telling the truth.”
Victoria stared at him.
“Then who did?”
Daniel looked toward the basement door.
And his answer changed everything.
“Someone who wanted me blamed.”
Victoria’s face turned pale.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“I expect you to ask yourself one question.”
“What question?”
“Who benefits if I go to prison?”
Victoria said nothing.
Because the question was terrifying.
Daniel continued.
“The person who did this wanted Claire alive long enough to accuse me.”
Victoria’s eyes narrowed.
“And why would someone want that?”
Daniel looked at the notebook.
“Because they know what happened twelve years ago.”
The mansion became silent.
Then a sound came from downstairs.
A door opening.
Someone was inside.
Victoria looked toward the basement.
Daniel whispered.
“They’re here.”
“Who?”
Daniel’s face lost all emotion.
“The person who started everything.”
At that exact moment, the basement lights turned on.
And from below came a familiar voice.
“Daniel.”
Everyone froze.
Because the voice belonged to someone who should never have been alive.
Margaret Harrow.
But she was standing right behind Victoria.
And the voice from the basement was not hers.
Someone else was waiting below.
May you like
Someone who knew every secret inside the Harrow family.
And they had finally come back to finish what they started.
