Chapter 3 - The Secret Behind the Books
Clara held her breath and backed away from the locked bathroom door.
She shoved the bloody watch deep into her apron pocket and grabbed her heavy wooden mop.
The shadow behind the frosted glass shifted, and the sound of running water suddenly began.
Clara did not wait to see who was washing the evidence off their hands.
She sprinted out of the medical suite and ran directly to her daughter's room.
Mia was sitting on the floor, coloring a picture of a large yellow flower.
"Mia, we have to pack our things right now," Clara whispered frantically.
"But I have to say goodbye to the sleeping man," Mia protested with a pout.
Clara grabbed her daughter's hand and pulled her toward the door.
"The sleeping man is very dangerous, Mia."
"No he isn't," Mia argued, planting her feet firmly on the carpet.
"He told me he likes my song."
Clara stopped pulling and stared at her three-year-old daughter in absolute shock.
"He told you?" Clara asked, her voice trembling uncontrollably.
Mia nodded her head and pointed her crayon toward the ceiling.
"He squeezed my finger two times when I asked him if he liked it."
Clara realized that Lorenzo Moretti was not brain-dead like the rest of the staff believed.
He was entirely trapped inside his own failing body, listening to a murderous conspiracy unfold around him.
Clara knew that if she fled the estate now, the comatose man would definitely be murdered by nightfall.
She made a terrifying decision to go back to the medical suite to find the truth.
She sneaked back into the room while the shower was still running in the bathroom.
She remembered Mia's story about the secret door behind the big books.
Clara pushed against the heavy wooden bookshelf with all of her strength.
The shelf swung open, revealing a dark, narrow passageway hidden inside the walls.
Clara stepped inside the dark space and found a small desk covered in medical files.
She picked up the top file and read the horrifying instructions on how to induce a permanent chemical coma.
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Suddenly, the bookshelf violently slammed shut behind her, plunging the hidden room into total darkness.
She heard the distinct, terrifying sound of a heavy padlock sliding into place on the other side.
