Chapter 8: The Face Behind the Camera
Calvin's hand hovered over the keyboard.
“Where did you see the second recording?””
Serena stared at the screen.
“Three weeks ago. I came into the study while you were speaking to someone on the telephone. You left the room, and I saw the archive open.””
“You said the drawer was open,” Calvin replied.
“It was. But the archive was open too.””
“Why didn't you mention that before?””
“Because I was afraid.””
Damon rubbed a hand over his face.
“I'm tired of hearing that word.””
Serena flinched.
He looked at her, and the anger in his expression softened only slightly.
“I understand being afraid. I understand wanting to protect yourself. But you looked me in the eyes and told me my father had attacked you.
You watched me hit him. You let me believe I had to choose between you and him.””
“I never wanted you to hit him.””
“But you knew I might.””
She lowered her gaze.
“Yes.””
The admission silenced him.
Calvin turned back to the monitor.
“Where is the second recording?””
Serena stepped closer.
“It was in a hidden folder. I couldn't open it because it asked for a password.””
“What was the folder called?””
“Eleanor's Last Night.””
Calvin searched the directory.
Nothing appeared.
He tried another search.
Still nothing.
Then he opened the system log.
A list of recent activity appeared, including an entry from three weeks earlier.
*FILE MOVED — ELEANOR_LAST_NIGHT_02.MP4.*
The destination was listed as an external device.
Calvin slowly turned toward Serena.
“Did you copy it?””
“No.””
“Did anyone else have access to the archive?””
She shook her head.
“Not that I know of.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“Someone took it.””
Calvin looked at him.
“You seem remarkably certain.””
“Because I know how these systems work. Whoever accessed the archive knew the recovery phrase, the encryption sequence, and the location of the hidden file.””
Damon's eyes narrowed.
“Who knew all three?””
Calvin said nothing.
Evelyn looked toward the hallway.
“Someone who has been inside this house for years.””
A heavy silence followed.
Then the estate's head of security appeared at the doorway.
His name was Victor Shaw. He had worked for the Blackwoods for eleven years and had been responsible for the security systems since before Damon took over the company.
His face was pale.
“Mr. Blackwood,” Victor said, “we have a problem.””
Calvin stood.
“What happened?””
“The eastern gate was opened using your authorization code. The exterior cameras were disabled manually, and someone accessed the private archive from the network room.””
Damon stared at him.
“Who?””
Victor hesitated.
“The access log shows your credentials, sir.””
Calvin shook his head.
“I haven't been near the network room today.””
“I understand, sir. But the system registered your code.””
Marcus folded his arms.
“Convenient.””
Victor's gaze shifted toward him.
“Who is that?””
“Someone who should have been dead,” Calvin replied.
Victor looked as though he wanted to ask more questions, but Calvin raised a hand.
“Did you check the network room?””
“Yes. The door was locked, but the override panel had been damaged. Someone removed the backup drive.””
“Did you see anyone leaving?””
“No, sir.””
Calvin turned toward Damon.
“Call the police.””
This time, Damon didn't hesitate.
He took out his phone and dialed.
While he spoke to the dispatcher, Victor moved into the room and placed a small object on the desk.
It was a security access card.
Calvin stared at it.
“Where did you find that?””
“Beside the network room door.””
The card bore Serena's photograph.
Damon stopped speaking.
He slowly lowered the phone.
Serena stared at the card.
“I've never seen that before.””
Victor frowned.
“It's registered to you.””
“I didn't request an access card.””
Calvin picked it up.
The photograph was unmistakably Serena's, but the card's issue date was six months earlier.
The same month she had received the anonymous package.
Damon looked at her.
“Did you know you had access to the private archive?””
“No.””
“Did you ever enter the network room?””
“No.””
Victor cleared his throat.
“There's something else.””
He took a tablet from his jacket and opened a list of archived security recordings.
“Someone accessed the study camera footage before today's incident. The footage was viewed three times over the last two weeks.””
Calvin frowned.
“By whom?””
“The system doesn't show a name. It shows the access card number.””
Victor turned the screen toward them.
The card number matched Serena's.
Damon closed his eyes.
Serena stepped forward.
“That's impossible. Someone is using my identity.””
“Who?”” Damon asked.
“I don't know!””
Marcus watched her carefully.
“Perhaps the same person who forged your husband's signature.””
Damon turned toward him.
“You know something.””
“I know someone has been moving pieces around this family for months. Someone wants the ledger, the recordings, and the money. Someone who understands that if the Blackwoods turn against one another, nobody will notice what disappears.””
Calvin looked at the open drawer.
“The final page.””
Evelyn nodded.
“That's what Eleanor was protecting.””
She reached for the leather folder and opened it to the last section.
The page was blank.
Damon frowned.
“What happened to it?””
Calvin leaned closer.
“The original ledger had a final page. I saw it once, years ago, before the archive was encrypted.””
“What did it contain?””
“A list of names.””
“Whose names?””
“Everyone who received money from Arthur's accounts. Every person who helped him hide the transfers. Every person who knew what happened to Eleanor.””
Marcus's face darkened.
“And every person who benefited after she died.””
Damon looked at the empty page.
“Where is it now?””
Calvin shook his head.
“I don't know.””
Serena suddenly gripped the edge of the desk.
“I do.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She stared at the silver locket lying beside the folder.
“My mother's letter mentioned a page that couldn't be destroyed. She said it had been hidden somewhere no one would think to look.””
Evelyn went rigid.
“What exactly did the letter say?””
Serena closed her eyes, trying to remember.
“Something about a mirror. And a name that would only appear when the light was right.””
Calvin stared at her.
“The mirror in Eleanor's bedroom.””
Damon looked toward the stairs.
“My mother's bedroom has been locked for twenty-three years.””
“Yes,” Calvin said.
“And the room has never been altered.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“No. Eleanor wouldn't have hidden the page there. Arthur searched that room after her death.””
“Then where?”” Damon demanded.
Serena opened her eyes.
“The mirror wasn't in the bedroom. It was in the boathouse.””
Calvin went pale.
Damon stared at her.
“How would you know that?””
Serena's voice trembled.
“Because I found a photograph of the boathouse in my mother's diary. She had drawn a small mark on the mirror.””
Evelyn grabbed her daughter's wrist.
“Show me.””
Serena pulled a folded photograph from her handbag.
It showed an old wooden building beside a lake, its windows boarded up. Inside, a large mirror hung above a fireplace.
A small crescent had been drawn in one corner.
Calvin stared at it.
“That mirror was removed years ago.””
“Where was it taken?”” Damon asked.
“To the old carriage house. We stored the furniture there after the accident.””
Marcus suddenly turned toward the hallway.
Victor noticed.
“Where are you going?””
Marcus stopped.
“Nowhere.””
Damon moved in front of him.
“You're not leaving.””
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“You have no authority to detain me.””
“No,” Damon replied.
“But I have every reason to make sure you don't disappear before we find out why you came here.””
Marcus looked at Evelyn.
“Tell him.””
She shook her head.
“Tell him what?”” Damon demanded.
Marcus's voice became low.
“Your mother wasn't planning to expose Arthur alone. She was going to hand the evidence to a federal investigator. The meeting was scheduled for the morning after she died.””
“Who was the investigator?””
“Someone who was already inside the family business.””
Calvin looked horrified.
“No.””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
Damon turned toward his father.
“Who?””
Calvin's face had gone gray.
“The investigator was my brother.””
Damon stared.
“Uncle Robert?””
“My younger brother had been investigating Arthur's accounts for years. He was the only person I trusted enough to help Eleanor.””
“Where is he now?””
Calvin's voice dropped.
“He died six months ago.””
Serena looked toward the security card.
The room seemed to tilt.
Six months ago, the anonymous package had arrived.
Six months ago, the forged transfers had begun.
Six months ago, someone had started accessing the private archive.
And six months ago, Robert Blackwood had died.
Damon's phone buzzed.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
He opened it.
There was a photograph of the old carriage house.
Beneath it were seven words.
*Come alone if you want the final page.*
A second message followed.
*Your father knows why Robert really died.*
Damon looked up.
Calvin had seen the screen.
His face collapsed.
“Don't go there,” he whispered.
Damon's eyes narrowed.
“Why?””
Calvin reached for his son's arm.
“Because the last person who went looking for that page never came back.””
From the corridor came a sudden crash.
Victor rushed toward the doorway.
A second later, he shouted.
“Mr. Blackwood! The security room—”
A gunshot split the air.
Victor fell out of sight.
Serena screamed.
Damon lunged toward the hallway, but Calvin grabbed him and dragged him behind the desk.
Marcus dropped to the floor.
Evelyn pulled Serena down beside her.
Another shot struck the doorframe, sending splinters flying across the study.
Then came the sound of running footsteps.
A door slammed somewhere below.
May you like
And when Damon finally lifted his head, the leather folder was gone.
So was Marcus Vale.
