Chapter 5 - A CALL TO MAINEThe wine cellar fell silent.
David struck the side of the security terminal.
The screen did not return.
“The central server has been disconnected,” he said.
William looked at Isabella.
“Reconnect it.”
“I cannot.”
“You just shut it down.”
“I protected confidential information from unauthorized access.”
Emma held Ethan closer.
“You mean evidence.”
Isabella turned toward her.
“You have no evidence.”
“We have Ethan.”
“A frightened child who entered a restricted area and misunderstood a medical situation.”
William stepped closer.
“You locked my son underground and told me he was hundreds of miles away.”
Isabella met his gaze.
“Can you prove that?”
Ethan looked at his father.
“You believe me, don’t you?”
William’s anger softened.
“Of course I believe you.”
“Then why is she still standing here?”
The question left William without an answer.
David reached into his pocket and removed an older phone.
“This device uses an independent network.”
He handed it to William.
“Call your sister.”
William dialed Claire Sterling’s number.
She answered after two rings.
“William?”
“Is Ethan with you?”
Claire was silent.
“What are you talking about?”
“Did Isabella send Ethan to Maine five days ago?”
“No.”
William closed his eyes.
Claire continued.
“She told me he had a school trip.”
William looked at Isabella.
The final trace of uncertainty disappeared from his face.
“Claire, I need you to contact the police.”
“I’m calling now.”
“Do not call the local precinct.”
David interrupted.
“Contact the state investigative bureau.”
William repeated the instruction.
Claire’s voice became tense.
“What happened?”
“I’ll explain when Ethan is safe.”
William ended the call.
Isabella crossed her arms.
“You have made a terrible mistake.”
“No.”
William placed the phone on the table.
“My mistake was trusting you.”
A sudden cheer rose from the ballroom.
The orchestra began playing a louder song.
David glanced toward the cellar ceiling.
“They are covering the noise.”
“What noise?” Emma asked.
“Vehicles.”
He moved toward a small window at ground level.
Black vans were entering the courtyard.
Isabella watched him calmly.
William noticed.
“Who are they?”
“Emergency medical personnel,” Isabella said.
“You called them before we found Ethan.”
“He requires treatment.”
Ethan shook his head.
“I’m not going with them.”
William knelt in front of his son.
“You are not going anywhere without me.”
David checked the cellar entrance.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“The old library.”
William looked surprised.
“The library has no outside access.”
“It has a landline that does not connect through the new system.”
David led them through the service corridors.
Isabella followed.
William turned.
“You are staying here.”
“Those medical personnel will need instructions.”
“You will not give anyone instructions about my son again.”
One of the private guards appeared at the end of the corridor.
He lowered his radio.
“Isabella, the transport team is ready.”
William stepped between him and Ethan.
“There will be no transport.”
The guard looked toward Isabella.
She gave a tiny nod.
The man reached for Ethan.
Emma slammed a housekeeping cart into his path.
Bottles and towels fell across the floor.
David pushed the guard against the wall and removed his radio.
“Go,” he told Emma.
They hurried into the library.
William locked the heavy wooden doors.
The room smelled of leather and old paper.
Portraits of the Sterling family covered the walls.
One portrait showed Caroline standing beside William and Ethan in the mansion garden.
Ethan looked away from it.
Emma found the landline behind the desk.
William lifted the receiver.
There was no dial tone.
David checked the cable.
“It has been cut.”
Isabella stood outside the doors.
She knocked once.
“William, open the door.”
No one answered.
“The people outside are authorized to take Ethan to a private treatment center.”
William’s hands tightened.
“Authorized by whom?”
“By you.”
A document slid beneath the door.
William picked it up.
It contained his signature.
The document granted Isabella temporary medical authority over Ethan.
William stared at the page.
“I never signed this.”
David examined it.
“The signature looks real.”
Emma looked toward the silver box.
“Maybe Caroline knew they were forging documents.”
Ethan pointed toward the portrait of his mother.
“She said the truth was hidden behind the garden.”
William looked at him.
“When did she say that?”
“The night before she went to the hospital.”
Emma studied the portrait.
Caroline stood beneath a stone arch covered in roses.
Behind her was the mansion’s garden.
Emma lifted the frame from the wall.
A small safe had been built behind it.
William entered the date of his wedding to Caroline.
The safe remained locked.
Ethan touched the keypad.
“Try my birthday.”
William entered the numbers.
The lock clicked.
Inside was a leather journal and a second black key card.
A photograph rested on top.
It showed Caroline standing beside Isabella and Doctor Adrian Vale.
May you like
On the back, Caroline had written a single sentence.
ISABELLA IS NOT WHO SHE CLAIMS TO BE.
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