PART 2 : THE EMPTY COFFIN
PART 2
Lady Margaret’s hands trembled as she took the crumpled family registry from Elena.
The entire opera house was silent.
Even the chandeliers seemed to stop glowing.
Celeste stepped back, her ruby-red gown brushing against the polished floor.
“That’s fake,” she whispered.
But Lady Margaret didn’t look at her.
Her eyes were locked on the document.
The family seal was real.
The signature was real.
And at the bottom of the page…
was Elena’s name.
Elena Rose Whitmore.
Lady Margaret’s missing granddaughter.
The child everyone believed had died fifteen years ago.
A guest gasped.
Someone dropped a crystal glass.
Elena wiped her tears and pulled out one more thing from her uniform pocket.
A tiny silver bracelet.
The same bracelet from the photo inside the locket.
Lady Margaret covered her mouth.
“I gave this to my granddaughter the night she disappeared…”
Celeste’s face lost all color.
Elena slowly turned toward her.
“You didn’t just steal my place,” Elena said, voice shaking. “You made them bury an empty coffin.”
The room exploded in whispers.
Lady Margaret turned to Celeste, rage burning in her eyes.
“Tell me the truth.”
Celeste tried to laugh.
But her voice cracked.
Then Elena pointed at the ruby necklace around Celeste’s throat.
“That necklace isn’t yours either.”
Lady Margaret froze.
Because hidden behind the largest ruby…
was a tiny golden key.
The same key that once belonged to the locked nursery upstairs.
Lady Margaret whispered:
“No one has opened that room in fifteen years.”
Elena looked up at the grand staircase.
“Then open it.”
Celeste suddenly screamed:
“No!”
And that was when everyone knew…
May you like
the real secret was still upstairs.
Continue PART 3 ↓↓↓
