PAGE 7
Two days later, Mara stood outside the second property.
It was nothing like the mansion.
There were no enormous columns.
No iron gates.
No luxury cars.
It was a quiet piece of land on the edge of town.
An old brick building stood at the center.
Mara looked around.
“This doesn’t look like much.”
Arthur smiled faintly.
“That’s probably the point.”
They entered.
Dust covered the floors.
Old furniture sat beneath sheets.
The building appeared abandoned.
But Richard had maintained it.
Bills had been paid.
Taxes were current.
Security systems had been updated.
Arthur led Mara down a narrow hallway.
At the end was a small office.
Inside was a wooden desk.
On the desk sat an envelope.
Mara’s name was written across it.
Her hands began trembling.
She opened it.
My love,
If you’ve reached this place, then you already know the mansion was only the beginning.
Mara swallowed.
She continued reading.
I built this quietly because I didn’t trust my parents.
They believed wealth was about appearances.
I learned that real wealth is having something nobody can take from you.
Mara looked around the dusty room.
Richard had been building this in secret.
For them.
For the children.
The letter continued.
Everything here is protected.
The land.
The business.
The accounts.
The future.
Then came one final paragraph.
There is one thing I couldn’t put in the folder.
Something too important.
Mara looked at Arthur.
“What does that mean?”
Arthur shook his head.
“Keep reading.”
She did.
The key is not in the mansion.
And it isn’t with me.
Mara stopped.
Her heart began beating faster.
Arthur looked at her.
“Read the last line.”
Mara did.
If they ever discover this place, they will search for the obvious key.
But they don’t know where is the second key.
Mara looked up.
“Richard knew someone might find this.”
Arthur nodded.
“Apparently.”
They searched the office.
Nothing.
The drawers were empty.
The shelves contained old paperwork.
The walls were bare.
Mara began thinking.
Richard had always loved puzzles.
When they were young, he used to hide little notes around the house for the children.
She looked at the desk.
Then at the old photograph hanging on the wall.
It showed Richard and Mara on their wedding day.
Mara walked toward it.
She lifted the frame.
Behind it was a small metal compartment.
Inside was a key.
Arthur stared.
“That must be it.”
Mara shook her head.
“No.”
“Why?”
She remembered Richard’s words.
The key is not in the mansion.
And it isn’t with me.
She turned the key over.
There was a tiny number engraved on it.
2.
Mara’s breath caught.
“This isn’t the key to the safe.”
Arthur stared at the number.
“Then what is it?”
Mara looked around the room.
“I think it’s the second key.”
