CHAPTER 4 – THE JOURNAL THAT SHOULD HAVE BURNED
CHAPTER 4 – THE JOURNAL THAT SHOULD HAVE BURNED
Sarah Bennett's notebook became the only map they had left.
Emily read every page while Daniel searched the secret passage beneath the library.
Most of the entries were harmless.
Then she noticed several pages had been glued together.
She separated them carefully with a letter opener.
An envelope fell into her lap.
Across the front, Sarah had written Emily's name.
The letter inside began with an apology.
My dearest Emily,
I changed your name because the people hunting you controlled hospitals, courts, and police records.
Someone inside Ashford Manor betrayed the girls.
I could save only one child.
The brass key sewn into the notebook opens a bank box under my maiden name.
Never trust anyone wearing the Ashford crest until you know who helped Blackwood.
Emily read the letter twice.
A small brass key had been stitched into the notebook's spine.
The final paragraph had been torn away.
Only four words remained.
His name is R-
Daniel returned from the passage carrying dust on his coat.
"Vanessa had help."
"The tunnel exits near the servants' garage."
Thomas entered behind him.
"We searched her room."
They found three passports under different names.
They found children's clothing from the late 1990s.
They found an old photograph of two little girls beside a woman whose face had been burned away.
On the back appeared another message.
Only one sister was meant to live.
Margaret recognized the room in the photograph.
"That was the west nursery."
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
"The nursery has been locked since the kidnapping."
Before they could go upstairs, an explosion shook the manor.
Windows rattled.
A car burned near the eastern gates.
No one was inside.
The fire was a warning.
A message arrived on Emily's phone from an unknown number.
STAY AWAY FROM THE BANK.
Daniel took the phone.
"That confirms the bank box matters."
Emily placed the brass key in her pocket.
"Then we go before they destroy it."
Margaret reached for her arm.
"Sarah died protecting you."
May you like
Emily looked at the flames beyond the window.
"Then I will not waste what she left me."
