Nobody spoke.
The whisper had come from behind the bookshelves, but the voice was so faint that Mara couldn't tell whether it belonged to a young woman or someone much older.
"Don't let him open it."
The words seemed to linger in the darkness.
Daniel Rook was the first to move.
"Everyone away from the wall."
He took a small flashlight from his jacket and directed its beam towards the bookshelves. The shelves were built into the wall, stretching almost to the ceiling. Hundreds of books stood in neat rows, their spines covered in dust.
"Is there another room behind this?" Mara asked.
Adrian Cross shook his head.
"Not that I know of."
"You're the executor of this estate," Leah said. "You should know the layout."
"I know the rooms that appear on the official plans."
"That isn't the same thing," Mara replied.
Adrian ignored her.
Daniel examined the edges of the bookshelf, running his fingers along the wooden frame. He pushed against one side, then the other.
Nothing moved.
Peter stood near the fireplace, staring at the wall.
"There's a passage," he said quietly.
Everyone turned towards him.
Adrian's expression changed.
"What did you say?"
Peter swallowed.
"I said there might be a passage."
"Why would you think that?"
Peter looked at the floor.
"Because I used to work here."
"That doesn't explain how you know."
"I was younger then. I explored places I wasn't supposed to."
Daniel stepped closer.
"Where does it lead?"
Peter hesitated.
"I don't remember."
Mara watched his face. He wasn't simply struggling to remember. He was deciding how much to reveal.
Before she could question him, the lights returned.
The sudden brightness made everyone blink.
Adrian walked towards the desk.
"We should leave this room. The electrical system is old, and I don't want anyone getting hurt."
"Convenient timing," Evelyn said.
He turned towards her.
"Excuse me?"
"Every time something happens, you have an explanation ready."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"I suggest you remember whose house you're standing in."
"Your house?" Leah asked. "I thought it belonged to the estate."
Adrian said nothing.
Daniel interrupted before the argument could continue.
"We need to establish what happened to the recording."
He examined the desk again. The recorder was definitely missing. The drawer containing the seven sealed files remained locked.
Mara noticed something beside the drawer.
A small black device was attached underneath the desk.
"What's that?"
Adrian moved quickly.
"Don't touch it."
Too quickly.
Mara stepped back.
"Why?"
"It's part of the security system."
"Then why is it hidden?"
Adrian removed a key from his pocket and unlocked the drawer beneath the desk. He pulled out a thin instruction booklet.
"Judge Harrow had cameras installed throughout the house. Some were connected to the security system, others recorded independently."
"Can we see the footage?" Leah asked.
"Not tonight."
"Why not?"
"The system is currently offline."
Mara looked at the device again.
The house had cameras, hidden passages and a missing recording. Yet Adrian claimed to know nothing about what was happening.
She was beginning to suspect that his ignorance was carefully rehearsed.
An hour later, the guests gathered in the drawing room.
Nobody wanted to return to their bedrooms, and nobody seemed comfortable staying together.
Mrs Finch brought tea, which remained untouched on the table.
Ruth sat beside the fireplace, holding Nora's photograph.
Mara approached her.
"Can I ask you something?"
Ruth nodded without looking up.
"Did Nora ever mention Blackthorn House?"
For a moment, Ruth's fingers stopped moving.
"Once."
"What did she say?"
"She said there was a place where people could hide things and pretend they had disappeared."
Mara sat beside her.
"Did she explain what she meant?"
"No. I thought she was talking about something she'd read."
"Did she know Judge Harrow?"
Ruth shook her head.
"Not personally."
Mara waited.
Ruth finally looked at her.
"Do you think my daughter was here?"
"I don't know."
"Then find out."
Her voice was quiet, but there was no uncertainty in it.
Mara promised nothing.
Across the room, Daniel and Simon were speaking in low voices.
"...the original report was submitted before I took over the investigation," Simon said.
Mara turned towards them.
"What report?"
Daniel looked irritated.
"We're discussing administrative matters."
"About Nora?"
Neither man answered.
Mara approached.
"Simon, you mentioned an original report. What was altered?"
Simon glanced at Daniel before replying.
"Some information in the medical records didn't match the timeline in the police file."
"What information?"
"I'd rather not discuss it without the documents."
Daniel interrupted.
"That is enough for tonight."
Mara looked at him.
"You don't get to decide when questions end."
"No," Daniel replied. "But I know what happens when people start making accusations without understanding the facts."
"Then explain the facts."
He held her gaze for a moment before walking away.
Mara watched him leave.
The first crack in his confidence had appeared.
At eleven forty-seven, a bell rang somewhere in the house.
It was not the grandfather clock.
The sound came from the upper floor, followed by a brief mechanical clicking.
Mrs Finch appeared at the drawing-room door.
"Everyone should remain downstairs," she said.
Adrian stood up.
"What was that?"
"The old service bell system."
"Which room?"
Mrs Finch hesitated.
"The east wing."
Peter went pale.
Mara noticed immediately.
"What is in the east wing?"
"Nothing," Adrian answered.
Peter looked at him.
"That's not true."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Peter, I would advise you to be careful."
"Why? Because I remember?"
The room fell silent.
Mara stepped between them.
"What do you remember?"
Peter opened his mouth, but before he could answer, a loud crash echoed from upstairs.
Daniel rushed towards the staircase.
The others followed.
At the end of the upper corridor stood a narrow wooden door. It was slightly open, and a thin line of light showed beneath it.
Adrian reached it first.
"Nobody enter."
He pushed the door open.
Inside was a small room containing an old desk, a chair and several cardboard boxes. Dust covered almost every surface.
But the desk was different.
A fresh envelope lay in the centre.
Mara moved closer.
Her name was written on it.
She picked it up.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
You have been listening to the wrong voice.
Below it was another sentence.
The judge did not record the truth. He recorded what he wanted you to believe.
Mara read the message twice.
"Who put this here?" Daniel asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Leah noticed something beneath the desk.
A small cassette recorder.
Unlike the missing device from the study, this one was old, with a strip of white tape across its front.
Written on the tape were two words.
NORA — ORIGINAL.
Mara stared at it.
"Does anyone know what this is?"
Adrian stepped forward.
"Give it to me."
Mara held it closer to herself.
"Why?"
"Because it belongs to the estate."
"Then you can explain what's on it first."
Adrian reached for the recorder.
Peter suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Don't."
For the first time, Adrian looked genuinely frightened.
Daniel pulled Peter away.
"Enough! Both of you."
Mara placed the recorder inside her coat pocket.
"We're listening to this tomorrow," she said.
Adrian looked at her coldly.
"You have no authority to make that decision."
"Neither do you."
She walked out of the room.
Behind her, the others remained silent.
Back in her bedroom, Mara locked the door and placed the cassette recorder on the desk.
She examined it carefully.
The device was old but intact. Someone had recently cleaned it, and the batteries were still working.
She pressed the play button.
A soft hiss filled the room.
Then a young female voice emerged.
"If anyone finds this, please understand that I didn't leave because I wanted to."
Mara stopped breathing.
The voice continued.
"They think I don't know what happened. They think I'm too young to understand. But I saw the documents. I know what they changed."
A pause followed.
Then the girl whispered something that made Mara's blood run cold.
"Tell Mum I'm sorry. And tell her not to trust the judge."
The recording ended.
Mara remained motionless.
She played it again.
This time, she noticed something beneath Nora's voice.
A faint sound in the background.
Three knocks.
Then a man's voice, too distant to understand.
Mara rewound the tape and listened once more.
Three knocks.
A man's voice.
And then a final sentence, spoken so quietly that she almost missed it.
"She's still here."
Mara pressed stop.
Outside, the wind battered the windows of Blackthorn House.
She looked at the photograph on her desk, the one showing Nora beside the stone wall.
For twenty years, everyone had spoken about Nora as though she were a memory.
But the recording suggested something else.
Someone had known she was alive.
And someone inside this house might still know where she was.
Mara reached for her phone.
A new message had appeared from the same unknown number that had warned her not to come.
You found the wrong tape.
A second message arrived immediately.
Now they know you have it.
Mara looked towards the locked bedroom door.
From somewhere in the corridor came the sound of slow footsteps.
They stopped outside her room.
Then someone gently turned the handle.