Ray’s hand tightened around the fra as he felt the ache in his chest deepen. He rembered how he’d asked her why she hadn’t shown him the original painting. "Why do you only have this tiny picture? Where is the big one? Why don’t you keep it at ho?"
Her answer had puzzled him at the ti, but now, standing here in front of the real thing, her words echoed in his mind with a clarity that shook him to his core. "That picture was a gift for your father. And I can’t take back a gift, can I? Even if I miss it sotis."
Ray’s knees felt weak as a wave of emotions swept over him. Love, longing, and sothing more profound—an unbearable ache for sothing lost. This painting, hidden away in this secret room, wasn’t just art. It was a fragnt of their family’s story, a reminder of a love that had once been so pure, so vibrant, and now felt so distant.
He turned to look at his brothers, his voice barely above a whisper. "This... this was hers. She painted it for him. For Dad." His words cracked as he spoke, his emotions threatening to spill over.
The others exchanged glances, their own expressions shadowed by the weight of realization. They didn’t need to ask who "she" was.
Ray looked around the room, taking in its elegant and spacious design. It was beautiful, sure. The high ceilings, the intricate detailing on the walls—it had the air of sothing important, sothing well-kept. But sothing was off.
It was empty.
Not just empty in a casual way, but wrongly empty.
Es had described a room filled with supplies, stocked to the brim. But this? There was nothing. And even if there were supplies, this space wasn’t nearly large enough to hold everything she had ntioned. A sinking feeling crept into Ray’s chest.
Kai, standing beside him, seed equally bewildered. Then, in a low, almost stunned tone, he spoke.
"Play the video again."
Ray’s eyes widened as he suddenly rembered—he had paused the video earlier. The answer might still be there.
Ryan caught on imdiately. Without wasting a second, he placed the laptop on a nearby drawer, fingers flying over the touchpad as he unpaused the recording.
As the screen flickered back to life, Es’s voice filled the room.
"Yeah, that room is empty, right?"
The brothers bristled.
Of course, she knew. Es always had this way of dangling information just out of reach, playing with their patience like a cat with a mouse.
Ryan muttered under his breath, "This woman... she always does things like this."
Then, as if hearing their frustration, Es smiled knowingly through the screen.
"Okay, then. Take down the photo fra over there."
Ray’s eyes snapped toward the only photo fra in the entire room. A single fra in a room this large? That was odd. Too odd.
His pulse quickened as he stepped forward, reaching for it.
The mont he lifted it off the wall, his breath caught.
Behind the fra, embedded seamlessly into the wall, was a scanner.
It was sleek and tablet-sized, its surface pitch black—no buttons, no light, no indicators. Nothing to suggest how it worked.
Ray’s brows furrowed. What is this...?
Then Es’s voice continued, her tone shifting to sothing more serious.
"I don’t know what’s inside that room."
That caught their attention.
"Because I’ve never been inside it. I can’t go inside. And neither can anyone else, except for you."
Silence.
The weight of her words settled over them like a heavy fog.
"My parents had the sa thing built in our house too—the Valhale Mansion. The sa technology, the sa design. And behind our scanner? There were supplies—food, dicine, everything we would need in case of an ergency."
She hesitated for a second before adding,
"If my guess is right, it’s the sa for you. This door... It’s not just locked. It’s impossible to hack. Impossible to force open. The only ones who can access what’s inside... are you."
A tense silence filled the room.
Ray, Kai, Jay, and Ryan exchanged glances.
This wasn’t just a hidden door. This wasn’t just so security asure.
It was sothing ant for them.
Sothing their parents had left behind.
And now, there was only one thing left to do.
Open it.
Jay didn’t wait for another word. His patience had already worn thin—too much had happened today, and his mind was a ss of unanswered questions, unspoken frustrations, and an urgency he couldn’t contain. Sitting back and waiting for explanations? Not a chance.
He moved.
With swift, determined steps, he reached the scanner. Imdiately, sothing felt off. It wasn’t a fingerprint scanner—there were no buttons, no visible interface, just a sleek black screen, smooth and silent. His brows furrowed. What was he supposed to do?
Then, as if sensing his presence, a faint blue light flickered to life.
Before Jay could react, the light shot out, scanning across his face in a single, precise motion. A chill ran down his spine.
A second of silence stretched, heavy and expectant.
Then— "Identity confird."
The voice was chanical, cold, and final.
A low rumble vibrated through the walls. The sound of stone grinding against stone echoed in the large, empty hall. Jay’s breath caught as a thin, jagged crack appeared on the wall beside the scanner. It spread like lightning, widening with each passing second.
Then, the impossible happened.
The wall began to move.
Not crumbling, not breaking—but shifting, rising as though it had been waiting for this mont. Dust spilled from the edges, the air thickening with the scent of age and secrecy. The room itself seed to hold its breath.
Jay barely had ti to process it before—
"Jay, move!"
Ray was on him in an instant. He grabbed Jay’s arm, yanking him back and stepping in front of him, his stance protective, instinctive. At the sa ti, Kai did the sa with Ryan, pulling him behind him in one swift motion.
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