Chapter 4: The Hidden Room
Chapter 4: The Hidden Room
The detective rushed upstairs.
Alejandro followed.
I couldn't move.
Every beat of my heart felt painfully loud.
Minutes passed.
Then footsteps returned.
Alejandro came down first.
His face was ghostly pale.
Behind him, the detective carried a large plastic storage box.
He placed it carefully on the dining table.
Inside...
Hundreds of photographs.
Baby clothes.
Medical files.
Copies of my ultrasounds.
Hospital paperwork.
Nursery designs.
Birth certificate applications.
Every stage of my pregnancy had been documented.
Without my permission.
Without my knowledge.
Then I noticed one final object.
A framed photograph.
Not of Margaret.
Not of Alejandro.
Me.
My face had been scratched out.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The deep gouges had nearly destroyed the picture.
Alejandro slowly looked at his mother.
"How long..."
His voice barely existed.
"...have you been planning this?"
Margaret never answered.
She didn't have to.
The evidence already had.
The detective carefully sealed the storage box.
His expression told me everything.
This was no longer simply a family dispute.
It had become a criminal investigation.
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And it was only getting worse.
End of Chapter 4
