Chapter 10 - Inside the Walls
Clara entered the passage before anyone could stop her.
"Clara."
Dominic grabbed her arm.
"You stay behind me."
She pulled free.
"He won't come to you if he's scared."
The truth hurt.
Dominic let her go first.
The corridor was narrow and dusty.
Old electrical wires ran along the wall.
Clara called softly.
"Noah."
No answer.
They found a small staircase descending behind the library.
Then a second tunnel turned toward the north wing.
Halfway down, Clara saw a crayon mark.
Blue.
Then another.
Noah had been here before.
At the bottom was a tiny room hidden between two walls.
A mattress lay on the floor.
Empty juice boxes were stacked in one corner.
Children's books sat beside a flashlight.
Clara's stomach turned.
Someone had been keeping Noah there.
Dominic found a small audio player.
He pressed the button.
A woman's recorded voice filled the room.
"Noah, listen to Mrs. Hargrove."
Dominic froze.
It was Elena.
Then the recording jumped.
"Mommy needs you to be quiet."
Another cut.
"If you tell Daddy, something bad will happen."
Clara covered her mouth.
The sentences had been edited.
Pieces of Elena's voice rearranged into threats and commands.
For two years, a four-year-old child had been hearing his dead mother's voice used against him.
Dominic sat down hard on the mattress.
For several seconds, he could not speak.
Then Clara noticed something beneath the pillow.
A small leather notebook.
The first pages contained dates.
Sedative doses.
Behavior notes.
Trigger responses.
PEARL VISUAL - STRONG.
BELL - STRONG.
LILAC - MODERATE.
FEMALE VOICE RECORDING - VERY STRONG.
Dominic read the entries.
His hands started shaking.
"This isn't treatment."
"No," Clara whispered.
"It's conditioning."
A sound came from deeper inside the passage.
A whimper.
Clara followed it.
Noah was curled inside a storage recess.
Alone.
She knelt.
"I'm here."
He looked past her at Dominic.
His father remained several feet away.
Noah reached for Clara.
She let him come.
Then he whispered into her shoulder.
"Pearl lady says Daddy die."
Dominic closed his eyes.
The sentence destroyed the last excuse he had left.
Noah had not been silent because he had forgotten how to speak.
May you like
He had been taught that speaking would kill his father.
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