Chapter 13: Grandpa's Garden
"We're already too late."
The Chairman's words lingered in the air as the group climbed back through the hidden passage.
Above them, Rose House groaned under the weight of the fire consuming its upper floors.
The ancient stone tunnel trembled.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Somewhere in the distance, another support beam collapsed with a deafening crash.
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
"We have less than five minutes before this whole section comes down."
Detective Harris nodded.
"We move now."
No one argued.
Claire led them through a narrow corridor that curved beneath the estate.
Unlike the routes Adrian had shown them, this tunnel had never appeared on any map.
Arthur Bennett had kept it hidden.
Only family members knew it existed.
Or at least...
That had been the plan.
As they hurried forward, Ethan stayed close to Lily.
She looked exhausted.
The long night had taken its toll.
Yet she never loosened her grip on Rachel's folded map.
She held it carefully, as if she were afraid it might disappear.
Ethan noticed.
"Do you want me to carry it?"
Lily shook her head.
"No."
"Mom said I should keep it until I remembered."
"And do you?"
She looked ahead into the darkness.
"Pieces."
"What kind of pieces?"
She frowned.
"I remember roses."
"I remember a swing."
"I remember Grandpa laughing."
Ethan slowed.
"Grandpa?"
Lily nodded.
"He wasn't really my grandpa."
"But Mom told me I could call him Grandpa Arthur."
Claire overheard the conversation.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Arthur used to take her to the old estate every Sunday."
Ethan looked at Claire.
"He never told me."
"He wanted to."
Claire smiled sadly.
"But every time he planned to..."
"...something else happened."
The tunnel ended behind an abandoned stone fountain hidden deep within the woods surrounding Rose House.
Daniel pushed aside a rusted iron grate.
Cool night air rushed inside.
One by one, they climbed out.
The fire above the rehabilitation center illuminated the sky in deep orange.
Firefighters battled the flames from every direction.
Sirens echoed across the valley.
From where they stood, Rose House looked less like a hospital...
...and more like a dying fortress.
Harris immediately contacted the officers waiting beyond the property.
"This is Harris."
"We're out."
"Begin securing the scene."
He listened for several seconds.
His expression darkened.
"What?"
Daniel looked at him.
"What happened?"
Harris lowered the radio slowly.
"Someone broke into Bennett Biotech headquarters."
Ethan froze.
"When?"
"About twenty minutes ago."
"They didn't steal computers."
"They didn't touch research."
"What did they take?"
"The entire executive archive."
Naomi whispered,
"They're cleaning up."
An hour later, three vehicles rolled through the wrought-iron gates of the original Bennett estate.
Unlike Ethan's modern mansion, this property had belonged to the Bennett family for generations.
Arthur had refused to sell it.
Even after moving to the city.
The estate had remained untouched for years.
Moonlight washed across the sprawling gardens.
Old oak trees lined the winding paths.
A stone gazebo overlooked a quiet pond.
Everything seemed peaceful.
Almost too peaceful.
Lily stepped out of the SUV before anyone stopped her.
She looked around slowly.
"I've been here."
Ethan hurried after her.
"Do you remember where?"
She closed her eyes.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
The night breeze carried the scent of blooming roses.
Then Lily opened her eyes.
"This way."
She started walking toward the eastern side of the garden.
Claire followed closely.
"I haven't been here in twelve years."
"Neither have I," Ethan admitted.
The garden had changed little.
Rows of white and red roses stretched across the hillside.
Most had grown wild.
Only one section appeared carefully maintained.
Freshly trimmed.
Recently watered.
Daniel immediately noticed.
"Someone has been here."
Naomi knelt beside the soil.
"The footprints are fresh."
Harris scanned the surrounding woods.
"We're not alone."
Lily stopped in front of an old stone bench.
A weathered bronze plaque had been mounted beneath it decades earlier.
In Loving Memory of Eleanor Bennett
Arthur's wife.
Ethan's mother.
Lily stared at the bench.
Then looked toward a large oak tree standing several yards away.
"No..."
She whispered.
"Not here."
She continued walking.
Thirty feet farther, she stopped again.
This time beside an old wooden swing hanging from a massive maple tree.
The ropes had been replaced recently.
Someone had repaired it.
Lily smiled faintly.
"Grandpa pushed me here."
Ethan looked at Claire.
She nodded.
"He built that swing himself."
Lily touched one of the ropes.
Then looked toward the rose garden beyond it.
"The roses..."
"They're wrong."
Everyone exchanged confused glances.
Naomi stepped closer.
"What do you mean?"
"There were twelve."
She counted silently.
"...Now there are eleven."
Daniel immediately walked into the flowerbed.
He counted each rose bush.
"She's right."
"One is missing."
Harris frowned.
"Flowers don't just disappear."
Daniel examined the ground carefully.
The soil around one empty space looked darker than the rest.
As though it had been disturbed recently.
He knelt.
"Fresh earth."
Ethan looked at him.
"You think something was buried here?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Instead, he took a folding shovel from the emergency kit stored in the SUV.
Without another word...
He began digging.
Only six inches beneath the surface, the shovel struck something solid.
Metal.
Daniel carefully cleared away the dirt.
A small stainless-steel box appeared beneath the roses.
Naomi's pulse quickened.
"This has to be it."
The box showed no lock.
Only a fingerprint scanner.
Ethan placed his thumb against it.
Nothing happened.
The screen flashed red.
ACCESS DENIED
Daniel tried.
Nothing.
Claire.
Nothing.
Naomi.
Nothing.
Lily quietly stepped forward.
"My turn?"
Everyone looked at her.
Ethan hesitated.
"You don't have to."
"I want to."
She gently placed her small thumb on the scanner.
The device beeped once.
Green light flooded the panel.
WELCOME HOME, LILY.
The lid slowly unlocked.
Silence filled the garden.
Inside the box lay three objects.
Rachel's wedding ring.
A small stuffed rabbit with one missing button eye.
And...
A black encrypted hard drive.
Naomi carefully lifted it.
Her breathing became shallow.
"I know this model."
"What is it?" Ethan asked.
"It isn't connected to Bennett Biotech."
"It belongs to the Department of Justice."
Everyone froze.
Harris looked at her.
"How do you know that?"
"Because..."
Naomi swallowed.
"...I testified before a federal grand jury twelve years ago."
Ethan stared at her.
"You never told me."
"They sealed the investigation."
"They told me the evidence had disappeared."
She looked down at the hard drive.
"It didn't."
"Rachel found it first."
Lily picked up the old stuffed rabbit.
She hugged it tightly.
A tiny smile appeared for the first time since Ethan had found her in the driveway.
Then she suddenly looked confused.
"Something else."
Ethan crouched beside her.
"What do you remember?"
She looked toward the gazebo across the pond.
"Grandpa said..."
"...if anyone ever found the rabbit..."
"...they should never let the music stop."
Claire's eyes widened.
"The music..."
Ethan looked at her.
"What music?"
Claire slowly turned toward the old gazebo.
At its center stood a weathered baby grand piano, protected beneath a canvas cover.
Arthur had loved playing there every Sunday afternoon.
Claire whispered,
"He hid more than one secret."
Before anyone could move, a single piano note echoed across the quiet garden.
Everyone froze.
The cover was still over the instrument.
No one was sitting there.
Yet another note followed.
Then another.
A familiar melody drifted across the estate.
Claire covered her mouth.
"No..."
Ethan stared at the gazebo.
"What's wrong?"
Tears rolled down Claire's cheeks.
"Arthur wrote that song."
"He never taught it to anyone."
The melody continued.
Someone was playing the piano.
Hidden behind the canvas.
Waiting for them.
May you like
And whoever it was...
Already knew they had found Rachel's hard drive.
