Chapter 3 - The Watchmaker's Secret
Seraphina waited until the midnight security shift change. Her mother took a sleeping pill every night at exactly 11:00 PM, a rigid schedule that now played to Seraphina's advantage. Creeping down the sweeping marble staircase, she bypassed the laser grids with practiced ease—a rebellious teenager's trick she usually reserved for sneaking out to parties.
Tonight, her destination was Eleanor’s private study.
The room smelled of expensive leather and secrets. Seraphina moved to the antique mahogany desk and began pulling at the drawers. Locked. She reached beneath the rim of the desk, finding the hidden magnetic release she had discovered when she was ten. A small panel popped open, revealing a wall safe.
She knew the code: her own birthday. 041209.
With a soft beep, the safe swung open. Inside lay stacks of untraceable bonds, foreign passports, and right in the center, the tarnished silver pocket watch. Seraphina grabbed it, her hands shaking as she opened it. The photo of the twins stared back at her.
She ran her thumb over the inner casing. There was something etched into the metal, barely visible beneath the tarnish. She hurried to the desk lamp, clicking it on.
To my beloved El, for our girls, S & L - Arthur.
May you like
Arthur. Seraphina’s father had supposedly died in a tragic boating accident before she was born. His name was Richard, not Arthur. A sickening wave of realization washed over her. Her entire life, her name, her father—it was all a meticulously constructed lie.
She clutched the watch, the cold metal grounding her spinning mind. She had to find Lyra.
