PART 2: WHAT VERONICA HID INSIDE THE MANSION

Alexander searched the hallway Sofia had pointed toward.

Behind an old wooden panel, he found a narrow door he had never noticed before.

The lock had been recently changed.

He turned toward Veronica.

“Open it.”

She shook her head.

“Alexander, please.”

“Open it.”

She didn’t move.

So Alexander called security.

Minutes later, the door was forced open.

Inside was a small hidden room.

And stacked against the wall were boxes.

Dozens of them.

Alexander recognized the handwriting immediately.

His late wife’s handwriting.

He opened the first box.

Inside were pH๏τographs.

Letters.

Jewelry.

Medical records.

Everything he had believed was lost after his wife’s death.

Sofia stood beside him.

“That was Mommy’s room.”

Alexander’s hands began shaking.

Then he found a sealed envelope addressed to him.

He opened it.

The letter was dated three months before his wife’s death.

Alexander, if you’re reading this, Veronica has already convinced you to trust her.

He stopped breathing.

The letter explained that Veronica had been secretly manipulating the family for months.

She had convinced Alexander that his wife had been unstable before her death.

But the medical records told a different story.

His wife had discovered that Veronica was stealing money from the family’s accounts.

She had planned to expose her.

Then she died unexpectedly.

Alexander looked at Veronica.

“You knew about this.”

Veronica began crying.

“I didn’t hurt her.”

“Then why did you hide everything?”

“Because I was afraid!”

“Afraid of what?”

She finally broke.

“She knew what I had done.”

Alexander’s face hardened.

“What did you do?”

Veronica looked toward Sofia.

Then whispered:

“I didn’t know she had left evidence.”

Alexander opened another box.

Inside was a small digital recorder.

He pressed play.

His wife’s voice filled the room.

“If anything happens to me, protect Sofia.”

Alexander’s eyes filled with tears.

Then came another voice.

Veronica.

“Once Alexander marries me, the child won’t matter anymore.”

Alexander slowly turned toward his fiancée.

Sofia grabbed his hand.

“Daddy…”

He pulled his daughter close.

“You’re never going to be alone again.”

Police arrived shortly afterward.

Veronica was taken away.

But before she disappeared through the front door, she turned toward Alexander.

“You still don’t know the whole truth.”

Alexander froze.

“What do you mean?”

Veronica smiled through her tears.

“Your wife didn’t die because of me.”

Alexander’s expression changed.

“Then who killed her?”

Veronica said nothing.

She only looked toward the hidden room.

And Alexander suddenly realized that the letter had stopped halfway through a sentence.

Someone had torn out the final page.

The truth wasn’t over.

It had only just begun.