CHAPTER 9 – The Room That Was Never on the Map
CHAPTER 9 – The Room That Was Never on the Map
That afternoon, Mrs. Hayes called Lucas into a part of the estate he had never seen before.
A hallway behind a sliding wall.
No cameras.
No staff presence.
Just old architecture hidden behind modern design.
“This wing is restricted,” she said.
Lucas frowned. “Then why am I here?”
She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she unlocked a door.
Inside was a small office space.
Dustless. Maintained. Recently used.
But the records on the desk were older than the system Lucas had been investigating.
He picked one up.
And froze.
The same missing inventory codes.
But from years ago.
Before Trent.
Before Lucas.
Before even the current security system existed.
Lucas looked up.
“You’ve had this problem before,” he said.
Mrs. Hayes didn’t deny it.
“Yes.”
That single word shifted everything.
Lucas stepped back slightly. “Then why is Trent still here?”
A pause.
Long enough to feel intentional.
Then she said:
“Because every time I remove one person, another replaces them… and becomes worse.”
Lucas felt something tighten in his chest.
“So you’re saying it’s not him.”
“I’m saying,” she corrected, “that I don’t know where it starts.”
A distant sound echoed through the hallway.
A door closing somewhere far away.
Neither of them moved.
May you like
Then Mrs. Hayes added, softer:
“And I don’t know who is helping it stay hidden.”
