Chapter 5: The Locked Room
Nia stepped away from the door.
Arthur immediately moved in front of her.
“Stay behind me.””
The hallway suddenly felt too narrow.
The sewing room door remained closed.
Vanessa stood several steps below them, gripping the banister.
“Arthur,” she whispered.
He didn't answer.
He reached for the knob.
Nia caught his wrist.
“Wait.””
He looked at her.
“What?””
“That sound.””
“I heard it.””
Nia stared at the door.
“Who else has a key?””
Arthur's face tightened.
“No one.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't have one.””
Nia looked at her.
“You're lying.””
“I swear.””
Arthur slowly turned the knob.
The door opened two inches.
Darkness waited beyond it.
The room smelled faintly of cedar and old fabric.
Arthur pushed the door wider.
The curtains were closed.
Moonlight leaked through one small gap.
The sewing machine sat beneath a white cloth.
A mannequin stood beside the window.
Everything looked untouched.
Nia whispered, “Mom's room.””
Arthur stepped inside.
“Nobody's here.””
Nia followed.
The floor creaked beneath her sneakers.
She looked around.
The old wooden desk remained against the far wall.
A basket of unfinished fabric sat beside it.
Her mother's framed photographs were still arranged exactly as Nia remembered.
Then she noticed the desk drawer.
It was open.
Nia stopped.
“Dad.””
Arthur turned.
“That was closed.””
He approached.
Inside were scattered papers.
One photograph.
And a small brass key.
Nia's heart pounded.
She picked up the key.
A tiny metal tag was attached to it.
*417.*
“Safe deposit box,” Arthur said.
Nia looked at him.
“How do you know?””
“Your mother used that bank.””
Vanessa appeared in the doorway.
“No.””
Nia turned.
Vanessa's face had lost all color.
“You recognize it.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Give me the key.””
Nia closed her fist around it.
“Why?””
“Because you don't know what you're doing.””
“My mother told me to find it.””
“She told you that in a letter she wrote seven years ago.””
“Yes.””
“And you think everything in that letter is true?””
Nia stared at her.
“I think she knew you were going to lie.””
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“You have no idea what she was like at the end.””
Arthur stepped between them.
“Enough.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“You really want her to know?””
Arthur's expression hardened.
“Know what?””
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“You still haven't told her.””
“Told me what?”” Nia demanded.
Vanessa's shoulders dropped.
“Ask your father where he was the night your mother died.””
Silence.
Nia slowly turned toward Arthur.
“Dad?””
Arthur didn't move.
“Where were you?””
“Nia…”
“Where?””
He looked down.
“At the hospital.””
“That isn't what she asked.””
Vanessa folded her arms.
“You were not at the hospital when she was taken there.””
Arthur's face tightened.
“I was called afterward.””
“Why?””
“I was out of town.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You were in the city.””
Arthur glared at her.
“Careful.””
Nia's heart hammered.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
Arthur looked at her.
“Because you were twelve.””
“I was twelve. Not stupid.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
He had no answer.
Nia stepped backward.
Then she noticed something on the desk.
A photograph lying face down.
She picked it up.
It showed her mother standing beside a man.
Not Arthur.
The man was younger, wearing a gray coat.
Nia stared.
“Who is that?””
Arthur's face changed.
Vanessa whispered, “Oh God.””
Nia looked closer.
On the back of the photograph was a date.
*Three days before your mother's death.*
Underneath it, in her mother's handwriting:
*He finally came back.*
Nia looked at Arthur.
“Who came back?””
Arthur didn't answer.
Vanessa did.
“Your mother's first husband.””
Nia's breath caught.
“My mother was married before Dad?””
Arthur closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
“Why didn't I know?””
“Because he disappeared.””
Nia looked at the photograph again.
The man didn't look like a stranger.
Something about his face seemed familiar.
Very familiar.
She turned the photograph over again.
There was an address written beneath the date.
Nia read it aloud.
“204 Willow Creek Road.””
Arthur immediately reached for the photograph.
Nia pulled it away.
“Why?””
“Because we're leaving.””
“No.””
“Nia.””
“You're afraid of this address.””
Arthur's silence confirmed it.
Vanessa slowly sank onto the chair.
“You don't understand,” she whispered.
Nia turned toward her.
“Then explain.””
Vanessa looked at the photograph.
“He wasn't your mother's first husband.””
Nia frowned.
“What?””
Vanessa swallowed.
“He was your father.””
Arthur's voice cut through the room.
“Vanessa, stop.””
Nia stared at him.
Her fingers went numb.
“You just told me my father isn't…”
She couldn't finish.
Arthur stepped toward her.
“Nia, listen to me.””
She backed away.
“You're not my biological father?””
Arthur's eyes filled with tears.
“I raised you.””
“That wasn't my question.””
He looked at the floor.
“No.””
Nia couldn't breathe.
Then something slid from beneath the desk.
A second envelope.
It had been hidden behind the drawer.
Nia crouched and picked it up.
This one wasn't addressed to her.
It had one name written across the front.
*Arthur.*
And beneath it, in smaller handwriting:
*Open only if Nia asks who her real father is.*
Nia looked up.
Arthur stared at the envelope.
Neither of them spoke.
Then, from downstairs, Vanessa's phone began to ring.
She checked the screen.
May you like
Her face collapsed.
“It's him.””
