The Room Behind the Gold Panel
Chapter 08 - The Room Behind the Gold Panel
Workers removed the gold wall panel under court supervision.
Behind it stood Isabelle’s bedroom exactly as she left it.
Dust covered the furniture.
Sketches remained pinned beside the window.
A map of Vance properties covered one wall, marked with neighborhoods displaced by Edward’s shell companies.
Inside the desk were original deeds, resident petitions, and a red ledger documenting illegal transfers.
A cassette recorder held Isabelle’s voice.
“Father, if you hear this, I tried to tell you before the boat. Edward says the family cannot survive scandal. Vivian says poor families will move eventually, so the method does not matter. I am afraid they have confused survival with the right to control every version of the truth.”
Sebastian sat in his daughter’s chair.
He had spent twenty-seven years believing she died before speaking to him.
She had spoken.
Someone hid the room.
Elena stood at the doorway holding Noah.
Sebastian looked at her.
“I should have searched longer.”
“My mother wished you had.”
May you like
The answer was honest.
It did not offer immediate forgiveness.
