Chapter 3 - THE CHAPEL THAT DIDN'T EXIST By sunrise, Julian was back at Vance Manor.
Police had sealed the estate, but Detective Reed allowed him inside after Julian insisted that Lilly's mother might still be alive.
Clara came with them.
The maid looked different in daylight.
Without the shadows and blood, she looked exhausted rather than dangerous.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Julian didn't answer.
She lowered her eyes.
"I should have told you years ago."
"You should have."
"I was afraid."
"So was my wife."
Clara began crying.
"I know."
They entered the old west wing.
Julian remembered the blueprints.
His father's study.
The library.
The servants' corridor.
Nothing else.
But Clara stopped beside an enormous portrait of Julian's grandfather.
"Move that."
Julian looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because your father used to disappear behind it."
Two officers helped move the painting.
Behind it was a narrow stone doorway.
Julian stared.
"Where does that lead?"
Clara whispered:
"The chapel."
The passage descended beneath the house.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
Finally, they reached a circular chamber.
At its center stood an enormous stone cross.
But there were no religious symbols on the walls.
Instead, there were names.
Dozens of them.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Dates.
Julian stepped closer.
Then he saw one name that made his blood turn to ice.
EMILY VANCE — MISSING — OCTOBER 14.
His wife's disappearance date.
But beneath it was something else.
A second line.
TRANSFERRED — ALIVE.
Julian nearly collapsed.
"She's alive."
Reed examined the wall.
"Or someone wanted you to believe she was."
Julian turned.
"No."
He knew.
He could feel it.
Emily had survived.
Somewhere.
Clara touched another inscription.
"My God."
Julian looked.
Her own family name was there.
MORENO FAMILY — PROTECTED.
Clara's face went white.
"Your father promised to protect my family."
"From whom?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know."
A hidden door opened behind them.
Everyone turned.
A man stood in the darkness.
Old.
Thin.
Wearing a black coat.
Julian reached for the weapon Reed had given him.
The stranger raised both hands.
"Don't shoot."
"Who are you?"
The man stared at Julian.
Then he spoke four words.
"Your mother sent me."
Julian froze.
"My mother is dead."
The stranger shook his head.
"No."
He pulled a photograph from his coat.
Julian stared at it.
The photograph showed a woman standing beside a younger Emily.
Behind them was a remote mountain facility.
And written across the bottom:
PROJECT ECLIPSE — VANCE FAMILY ARCHIVE.
Julian's voice became barely audible.
"Where is my mother?"
May you like
The stranger looked toward Lilly.
"She's waiting for her granddaughter."
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