Chapter 5 - The Man in the StudyClaire Benton returned at ten the next morning.
Harrison opened the door smiling.
Jocelyn watched from the staircase.
“Ms. Benton. Right on time.”
“I said the visit would be unannounced.”
“And yet here you are at ten.”
Claire did not return the smile.
“I need to see both children privately.”
“Of course.”
Jocelyn’s stomach tightened.
Harrison looked at her.
Only for a second.
But the warning was clear.
Tell the truth and risk Freya.
Claire interviewed Freya first.
Then Jocelyn.
They sat in the same bedroom where Harrison had locked Jocelyn the first night.
Claire looked at the servant-style dress.
“Still wearing these?”
Jocelyn nodded.
“Do you want to?”
“No.”
“Has Harrison bought regular clothes?”
“Yes.”
“Where are they?”
“Locked in his room.”
Claire’s expression tightened.
“Why?”
“He says privileges come after cooperation.”
“What does cooperation mean?”
Jocelyn stared at the floor.
Claire waited.
Finally Jocelyn whispered, “Remembering things.”
“The key?”
“Yes.”
“Anything else?”
Jocelyn thought about Natalie’s note hidden inside the dress.
Miriam knows where the second key is.
“No.”
Claire leaned closer.
“You told me last time that you felt unsafe.”
Jocelyn said nothing.
“Has something changed?”
Jocelyn thought of foster homes.
Freya crying.
Being separated.
“No.”
Claire watched her carefully.
“Jocelyn.”
“I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to protect anyone in this house.”
Jocelyn almost laughed.
Adults kept saying things like that.
They had no idea how many people an eleven-year-old could be forced to protect.
Her sister.
Her dead mother’s secret.
Maybe even herself.
Claire lowered her voice.
“Did Harrison tell you what would happen if you talked to me?”
Jocelyn looked up.
That was too accurate.
Claire saw the answer in her eyes.
“What did he say?”
“I don’t want Freya taken away.”
Claire’s face softened.
“Being honest with me does not automatically mean you and Freya will be separated.”
“He said foster care could split us.”
“It can happen.”
Jocelyn’s eyes filled.
“But we work very hard to keep siblings together.”
“That’s not a promise.”
“No.”
Claire refused to lie.
Jocelyn respected her more for that.
Claire continued.
“But Harrison using that fear to stop you from talking is something I need to know.”
Jocelyn whispered, “He said if I make you think he’s dangerous, Freya and I could lose each other.”
Claire sat back.
That statement changed the case.
“When did he say that?”
“Last night.”
“Did he threaten to hurt either of you?”
“No.”
“Does he lock you in?”
“Yes.”
“Every night?”
“Yes.”
Claire nodded.
“I’m going to make some calls.”
Jocelyn grabbed her wrist.
“Don’t leave us here.”
Claire froze.
“Please.”
That was the first time Jocelyn had touched her.
Claire covered Jocelyn’s hand gently.
“I’m going downstairs. I am not leaving the property yet.”
Jocelyn let go.
Harrison was waiting in the study.
Claire closed the door.
“You’re locking children in bedrooms.”
“For safety.”
“What safety threat exists inside your own house?”
“They run.”
“Have they?”
“Jocelyn attempted to leave her room.”
“Because you locked her inside.”
Harrison folded his arms.
“You clearly arrived with a conclusion.”
“I arrived with questions.”
“And I’ve answered them.”
“No. You’ve rationalized them.”
His expression cooled.
Claire continued.
“You’re withholding their clothes.”
“I’m teaching structure.”
“You’re separating sisters who have just experienced documented abuse.”
“Temporary.”
“You’re questioning them about their deceased mother’s property.”
Harrison’s eyes sharpened.
“Who told you that?”
“Both children.”
“That has nothing to do with custody.”
“Then stop.”
Harrison stared.
Claire took out her phone.
“I’m requesting an emergency multidisciplinary review.”
“Meaning?”
“Family court, child welfare, and law enforcement.”
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But Claire saw fear.
“What law enforcement?”
“Financial-crimes questions have been raised.”
Now Harrison stopped pretending.
“By Damon.”
Claire said nothing.
Harrison laughed.
“That man assaulted my daughters and you’re treating him as a credible source?”
“I’m treating evidence as evidence.”
“You have no idea what happened between Natalie and us.”
“Then tell me.”
Harrison walked toward the window.
“Damon embezzled from our company.”
“So you’ve said.”
“He manipulated Natalie.”
“And?”
“He convinced her I was stealing too.”
“Were you?”
Harrison turned.
“No.”
Claire held his gaze.
Too fast.
Too clean.
She had interviewed enough frightened people to know innocence usually came with detail.
Harrison’s came with performance.
“Then you won’t mind financial investigators reviewing the records.”
His jaw tightened.
Claire had her answer.
After Claire left, Harrison found Jocelyn in the hall.
“What did you tell her?”
Jocelyn backed away.
“The truth.”
He grabbed her wrist.
Not hard enough to bruise.
Hard enough to frighten.
“What truth?”
“That you lock us in.”
His fingers tightened.
“And the key?”
“No.”
“The star box?”
“No.”
“Miriam?”
Jocelyn’s heart nearly stopped.
Harrison saw it.
“Miriam.”
He released her.
“How do you know that name?”
Jocelyn said nothing.
Harrison stared at the servant-style dress.
Then at her hands.
He stepped forward.
“Empty your pockets.”
“There aren’t any.”
“Then take off the dress.”
Jocelyn went pale.
“No.”
“Over your clothes.”
“I don’t have clothes under it.”
Harrison stopped.
For a second, he seemed to realize what he was asking sounded wrong.
He turned away.
“Go change.”
“Into what?”
“Your regular clothes.”
Jocelyn stared.
“You said they were a privilege.”
“Now.”
She ran upstairs.
Once inside the bathroom, she tore open the hem.
Natalie’s note was still there.
Jocelyn folded it smaller and slipped it beneath the insole of her shoe.
When she came downstairs wearing jeans and a sweater for the first time in days, Harrison searched the dress.
He found nothing.
But Jocelyn saw what rested on his study desk.
An old photograph of Aunt Miriam.
An address handwritten beneath it.
Portland, Oregon.
Harrison had figured out Natalie’s clue too.
May you like
And for the first time, Jocelyn realized the race was no longer about a box hidden in the past.
It was about reaching Miriam before Harrison did.
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