Chapter 8 - Midnight in the West Wing.
The ledger should have ended the mystery.
Instead, it made it worse.
The transfers listed Graham Holt as recipient through a web of companies, but several entries were approved with Edmund's authorization code.
Some were also initialed by Evelyn Vale.
Adrian refused to believe his mother had stolen from the family company.
Claire refused to believe Thomas had died for discovering a crime committed by only one man.
There were too many signatures.
Too many people had benefited from silence.
They photographed every surviving page and stored copies in four separate cloud accounts.
For the first time, evidence existed somewhere Vale House could not burn it.
At 1:17 a.m., Mara called again.
Her voice was barely audible.
"West wing."
Claire sat upright.
"Mara, where are you?"
"Old nursery."
A man's voice sounded in the background.
The call ended.
Adrian was already reaching for his keys.
The west wing of Vale House had been closed since Evelyn's death.
Edmund claimed the rooms contained mold and unstable wiring.
When Adrian and Claire arrived, the main gates were locked.
Adrian used an old manual code from his childhood.
They entered through the conservatory and climbed the servants' stairs.
The west wing was dark except for moonlight spilling through covered windows.
A chair scraped somewhere ahead.
Claire followed the sound to the old nursery.
Mara was tied to a radiator.
A strip of cloth covered her mouth.
Adrian cut her free.
"Who did this?"
Mara shook so badly she could barely stand.
"Graham."
Claire closed her eyes.
"Did he sabotage the railing?"
Mara nodded.
Then she shook her head.
"I don't know."
Adrian frowned.
"You said you saw the ring."
"I saw someone wearing it."
"Graham?"
Mara's face crumpled.
"The lights were behind him."
Footsteps sounded in the corridor.
Adrian switched off his flashlight.
The nursery door opened.
A figure entered carrying a handgun.
Adrian pushed Claire and Mara behind a heavy wardrobe as a shot cracked through the room.
Plaster burst from the wall.
Adrian grabbed a brass lamp and threw it toward the doorway.
The attacker fired again.
Claire crawled toward an old service bell mounted beside the fireplace.
She pulled the cord.
Nothing happened.
Then she noticed a narrow door hidden behind faded wallpaper.
"Here."
They squeezed into an old servants' passage just as the attacker entered the nursery.
The passage descended behind the walls toward the ground floor.
Mara whispered as they moved.
"Your mother used these passages."
Adrian stopped.
"My mother?"
"She used to meet Mr. Bennett without Edmund knowing."
Claire's breath caught.
"My father came here?"
"Many times."
They reached a small room behind the library fireplace.
Dust covered everything except one metal box.
Inside were cassette tapes labeled in Evelyn's handwriting.
The final tape was dated three days before Thomas Bennett died.
Adrian found an old recorder in the cabinet.
Evelyn's voice filled the hidden room.
"Thomas, if you're hearing this, Graham knows."
Then Thomas answered from the recording.
"It isn't just Graham."
A pause followed.
"Your father signed the first transfer."
Adrian looked at Claire.
The tape continued.
"Edmund started it."
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Then Evelyn said the sentence that changed everything.
"And I helped him."
