Chapter 7 - Return to the Lake House-7
By 7:30 AM, the morning sun broke through the grey cloud cover, casting an eerie golden light over the Charlotte suburbs.
I parked my sedan two streets away from my former home, tucked inside a quiet cul-de-sac. I wore a dark raincoat, pulled my hat low, and approached the property through the dense tree line bordering the lake.
The house sat quiet and stately against the grey water. The Hendersons’ black SUV was parked in the driveway.
I slipped through the back garden, using the spare key Thomas had hidden fifteen years ago inside the false rock near the lake dock—a secret he had never shared with Daniel or Vanessa.
I unlocked the side door leading directly into the basement workshop.
The cellar was cool, dark, and smelled of damp earth and sawdust. I clicked on a small pocket flashlight, scanning the concrete floor.
Near the back wall, where Thomas had built his heavy wooden workbench, the floor showed signs of recent tampering. Someone had scraped away the old rug and exposed a thick steel plate embedded directly into the foundation.
This was the entrance to the vault.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps echoing on the floorboards directly above my head—in the main kitchen.
"Check the perimeter again," a male voice ordered. It was Michael Henderson—or whatever his real name was. "Claire said the old woman might try something foolish. If she shows up here instead of the mill, secure her immediately."
"What about the son and his wife?" a woman's voice—Ruth—replied from the hallway. "They're making too much noise in the upstairs office."
My heart leaped. They hadn't taken Daniel and Vanessa to the timber mill! Claire had lied to me on the phone to draw me out into the mountains while her thugs searched the house!
Daniel and Vanessa were right upstairs, trapped in the very house they had tried to claim as their own.
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I stepped softly across the cellar concrete toward the concealed laundry chute—a wide, wooden shaft Thomas had built that connected the basement directly to the upper floor hallway near the primary bedroom.
I climbed onto the sturdy wooden shelving unit, gripped the internal frame of the chute, and began pulling myself up into the darkness.
