Chapter 3: The House of Lies
By midnight, the entire estate was locked down.
Karen’s team moved through Mason’s office, his study, even the basement he claimed was “just storage.” Every drawer opened. Every locked cabinet forced.
And then—
“Karen,” an officer called from downstairs. “You need to see this.”
We followed.
Behind a concealed panel in the basement wall, they found it.
Boxes.
Files.
Photos.
Medical records.
Dates.
Sophia froze beside me.
Her name was everywhere.
Not just her.
Others.
Different girls.
Different years.
Same pattern.
Mason exhaled slowly, like a man watching a chess game turn.
“This is being taken out of context,” he said.
Karen turned toward him.
“No,” she replied coldly. “This is exactly the context.”
Sophia’s knees buckled.
I caught her before she hit the ground.
“It’s over,” I told her.
May you like
But she shook her head weakly.
“No… now it begins.”
