CHAPTER 3 The Stranger Hidden Inside the Family Portrait
CHAPTER 3 The Stranger Hidden Inside the Family Portrait
Theodore Vale stood frozen in the middle of Rosalie’s bedroom.
The old photograph trembled between his fingers.
The voice behind him had disappeared.
But the warning remained.
Someone had been inside the room.
Someone had watched him discover the secret.
Theodore slowly turned toward the closed door.
His heart was pounding.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
Only silence.
The kind of silence that felt intentional.
He walked toward the door carefully.
Every step across the wooden floor sounded louder than it should have.
When he reached the handle, he stopped.
A strange feeling came over him.
Whoever had been there wanted him to know they were watching.
They wanted him afraid.
Theodore opened the door quickly.
The hallway was empty.
But on the floor outside Rosalie’s room was something that had not been there before.
A single black rose.
Theodore stared at it.
Then he picked it up.
A small piece of paper was attached to the stem.
His fingers tightened as he read the message.
YOU ARE ASKING QUESTIONS YOUR SISTER ALREADY REGRETTED.
Downstairs, Sebastian Vale was standing in the library.
The same library where his father had spent most of his final years.
Thousands of books covered the walls.
Old family records filled locked cabinets.
And hidden among those records were secrets that had never reached the outside world.
Sebastian opened one cabinet.
Inside was a collection of documents.
Birth records.
Financial reports.
Personal letters.
Everything connected to the Vale family.
Except one file.
He noticed immediately.
A space where something had been removed.
Someone had taken it recently.
Sebastian ran his fingers along the empty space.
He knew exactly what was missing.
His father’s private journal.
The one document that could explain everything.
A knock came from the door.
Sebastian turned.
“Come in.”
Dr. Adrian Mercer entered.
He looked exhausted.
More frightened than guilty.
Sebastian studied him.
“You know something.”
Mercer looked away.
“I should have told you earlier.”
“That usually means someone waited too long.”
Mercer swallowed.
“Rosalie was not supposed to die.”
Sebastian’s expression changed slightly.
“What does that mean?”
Mercer stepped closer.
“The night she collapsed, I received instructions.”
“From who?”
Mercer hesitated.
Sebastian’s voice became colder.
“Doctor.”
Mercer looked down.
“I was told she had a rare cardiac condition.”
Sebastian stared at him.
“She doesn’t.”
“No.”
Mercer’s voice shook.
“She was given something.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
Mercer looked ashamed.
“But it affected her heart rate and breathing.”
Sebastian clenched his fists.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“And you still declared her dead?”
Mercer closed his eyes.
“I was afraid.”
Sebastian stepped closer.
“Who threatened you?”
Mercer did not answer.
That silence told Sebastian everything.
Meanwhile, Theodore searched through Rosalie’s belongings.
He refused to stop.
Every drawer.
Every notebook.
Every hidden corner.
He knew his sister.
Rosalie was careful.
She always left clues.
Especially when she was afraid.
Finally, inside an old jewelry box, he found another envelope.
This one was sealed.
His name was written on the front.
FOR THEODORE ONLY.
His hands shook as he opened it.
Inside was a letter.
The handwriting was unmistakably Rosalie’s.
Theo,
If you are reading this, something happened to me.
I wanted to tell you the truth, but I didn’t know who I could trust.
There is a secret about our family.
Something Father discovered before he died.
Something Sebastian has been hiding for years.
Theodore stopped reading.
His eyes moved back to the sentence.
Sebastian.
His brother.
The man who had raised him.
The man who had stood beside him at the funeral.
The man who claimed he wanted justice.
Theodore continued.
But Sebastian is not the only one hiding something.
Eleanor knows more than she admits.
Theodore lowered the letter.
Suddenly, everything felt different.
The family he thought he knew was becoming a stranger.
That evening, Sebastian returned home.
Theodore was waiting for him.
Standing in the middle of the library.
Holding Rosalie’s letter.
Sebastian immediately noticed.
His face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
Theodore laughed bitterly.
“That’s your first question?”
Sebastian said nothing.
“You knew.”
“I knew what?”
“That Rosalie was searching for something.”
Sebastian looked away.
Theodore stepped closer.
“You knew she was in danger.”
Sebastian’s expression hardened.
“No.”
“Then why are you scared?”
That question hit harder than an accusation.
Sebastian looked at the letter.
Then at Theodore.
“Because I know what happens when people uncover the truth about this family.”
Theodore’s voice became quiet.
“What truth?”
Sebastian hesitated.
For a moment, Theodore thought he would finally answer.
Then the lights suddenly went out.
The entire mansion fell into darkness.
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Theodore immediately looked toward the ceiling.
Rosalie’s bedroom.
Sebastian ran first.
Theodore followed.
When they reached the room, the door was open.
The window was shattered.
Cold rain blew inside.
And on the floor was a broken picture frame.
The old photograph of their father.
Someone had torn it apart.
Sebastian picked up the damaged photo.
His face turned pale.
Because something was missing.
The woman standing beside their father had been cut out.
Theodore looked at him.
“Who was she?”
Sebastian didn’t answer.
Because he knew.
And for the first time…
Theodore saw fear in his brother’s eyes.
“She was your mother.”
Theodore stopped breathing.
“My mother died when I was a baby.”
Sebastian looked at the ruined photograph.
“That’s what we were told.”
Theodore stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
Sebastian slowly turned.
“I’m saying…”
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“Everything you know about your family may be a lie.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
