Chapter 3 - Inside Room 317
The beam of light cut through the darkness, illuminating a small, windowless room lined with filing cabinets, old leather-bound ledgers, and a single wooden desk in the center. Dust motes danced lazily in the glow. This was a private sanctuary frozen in time, completely disconnected from the modern luxury of the rest of the mansion.
Mark walked slowly into the room, his fingers trailing over the edge of the desk. "My father used to lock himself away in his study for hours... I always wondered where he went when the main office was empty."
Victoria stumbled into the doorway, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her eyes wide with defeat. "You shouldn't have opened it. You were supposed to just let it go."
Elena walked toward the metal filing cabinets against the back wall. Most of them were locked, but one drawer stood slightly ajar. She pulled it open, shining her light inside. It wasn't filled with business contracts or real estate deeds; it was packed with medical records, personal correspondence, and bank transfer slips dating back decades.
She pulled out a yellowed folder and handed it to Mark. "You need to see this."
May you like
Mark opened the folder, his eyes scanning the first page. As he read, the color drained entirely from his face, his hands beginning to shake. It was a complete dossier detailing Victoria's true identity—complete with legal name changes, police records from a different state under an alias, and financial audits proving a systematic draining of family accounts spanning twenty-five years.
"You... you weren't even who you said you were when my father met you," Mark whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of grief and pure betrayal.
