PART 2 — The Secret Hidden Inside the Vent
I stared at the decorative air vent between Lucas and Leo’s bedrooms.
Mrs. Harper stood frozen behind me.
Vincent noticed it immediately.
“What is it?” he asked.
She swallowed.
“I… I don’t know.”
That answer came too quickly.
I turned toward her.
“You looked frightened.”
“I’m just surprised.”
“No,” I said quietly. “You’re scared.”
Her face lost what little color it had left.
Vincent stepped closer.
“Mrs. Harper, what aren’t you telling me?”
She looked at him.
Then at the vent.
Then back at me.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Finally, she whispered,
“The ventilation system has been serviced three times this year.”
Vincent frowned.
“Three times?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t I know?”
“Because the company sends the invoices directly to your office.”
His expression changed.
“Which company?”
She hesitated.
“Moretti Environmental Systems.”
I looked at Vincent.
“Your company?”
He nodded slowly.
“I own the company.”
That made the situation even stranger.
I crouched beside the vent.
There were tiny scratches around the metal frame.
Fresh ones.
Someone had opened it recently.
“Do you have the maintenance records?” I asked.
Vincent immediately pulled out his phone.
“Everything is computerized.”
He called his assistant.
“Send me every ventilation service record for this house from the last two years. Now.”
While he waited, I studied the vent.
The sweet floral smell was still there.
It reminded me of artificial flowers mixed with something sharp.
I didn't touch anything.
Instead, I asked,
“Do the boys feel worse in their bedrooms?”
Vincent stared at me.
“I don't know.”
“Ask them.”
We walked into Lucas's room.
The boy was lying on his bed with a book open in front of him.
His face looked pale.
Leo was in the neighboring room, sitting by the window.
Both boys looked far too tired for seven-year-olds.
I smiled gently.
“Hi, guys.”
Lucas looked up.
“Are you the new nanny?”
“Yes.”
“Are you staying?”
“I think so.”
He smiled faintly.
“Good.”
I sat beside him.
“Can I ask you something?”
He nodded.
“Where do you feel sickest?”
He thought about it.
“Here.”
“In your room?”
He nodded.
Leo suddenly spoke from the doorway.
“Mine too.”
Vincent looked at them.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Leo shrugged.
“We thought you knew.”
That sentence hit him harder than any medical report.
I looked at the boys.
“Do you feel better when you're somewhere else?”
Lucas answered immediately.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“The greenhouse.”
Leo nodded.
“Or outside.”
I looked at Vincent.
“When was the last time they spent an entire day outside the house?”
He opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
He didn't know.
Neither did Mrs. Harper.
That was enough.
I stood.
“Tonight, the boys are sleeping somewhere else.”
Vincent frowned.
“Where?”
“The guest wing.”
“There’s no reason—”
“There is.”
I pointed toward the vent.
“We don't know what's coming through that system.”
Dr. Blake appeared in the hallway.
“I heard voices.”
He walked toward us.
His eyes immediately went to the vent.
Then to me.
“You've been investigating the ventilation system?”
“Yes.”
His expression tightened.
“That is not your responsibility.”
“No,” I replied. “But their health is.”
He stepped closer.
“You are making dangerous assumptions.”
“I haven't made any assumptions.”
I looked directly into his eyes.
“I've noticed a smell.”
“A smell proves nothing.”
“Agreed.”
I smiled slightly.
“That’s why I want it tested.”
Vincent looked at the doctor.
“Do you object?”
Dr. Blake hesitated.
“No.”
“Good,” Vincent said. “Then we'll have it tested tonight.”
The doctor nodded.
But something about his reaction bothered me.
He wasn't surprised.
He wasn't curious.
He looked nervous.
Very nervous.
That night, the boys slept in the guest wing.
For the first time in months, they slept through the entire night.
No headaches.
No dizziness.
No waking up.
At six in the morning, Lucas came running into the kitchen.
Running.
Something he hadn't done in months.
“Claire!”
I turned.
He was smiling.
“I feel good!”
Leo appeared behind him.
“I slept all night.”
Vincent walked in moments later.
He stopped when he saw them.
His eyes filled with disbelief.
Lucas grabbed his father's hand.
“Can we eat pancakes?”
Vincent laughed.
A real laugh.
The sound seemed to shock everyone in the room.
Then his eyes met mine.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
I shook my head.
“I moved them.”
His smile disappeared.
“You think the house is making them sick.”
“I think we have evidence that we need to investigate.”
Before he could answer, his phone rang.
It was his assistant.
Vincent put the call on speaker.
“Sir, I found the maintenance records.”
“Read them.”
There was a pause.
“The ventilation system was serviced three times.”
“I know.”
“The first service was standard.”
“And the other two?”
Another pause.
“They were emergency interventions.”
Vincent's face hardened.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Then find out.”
“Sir… there's something else.”
“What?”
“The work orders were authorized using your private security code.”
The kitchen became silent.
Vincent slowly lowered his phone.
“My security code?”
“Yes.”
“Who had access?”
“Only you, Mr. Moretti.”
Everyone looked at each other.
Then the assistant continued.
“Actually… there is one exception.”
Vincent's voice became cold.
“Who?”
“Dr. Harrison Blake.”
The phone slipped slightly in Vincent's hand.
I felt a chill run through me.
But before anyone could speak, another notification appeared on Vincent's phone.
A security alert.
Motion detected.
At 3:17 a.m.
Inside the ventilation control room.
Vincent opened the security footage.
The screen showed a man entering the room.
Face hidden.
Dark coat.
Gloves.
He walked directly to the control panel.
Then he looked straight into the camera.
And raised one finger to his lips.
As if telling someone to stay quiet.
The footage ended.
Vincent stared at the screen.
“Who has access to that room?”
Mrs. Harper whispered,
“Three people.”
“Who?”
She looked terrified.
“Me.”
“Mr. Collins, the head of security.”
“And Dr. Blake.”
I looked at the frozen image on the screen.
Then I noticed something.
The man wasn't wearing a medical coat.
He wasn't wearing a maintenance uniform.
But on his left wrist…
There was a distinctive silver bracelet.
I had seen it before.
That afternoon.
On the wrist of someone inside this mansion.
Someone who had smiled at me when I arrived.
Someone who had welcomed me like family.
And suddenly, I realized something even more frightening.
The person poisoning the twins might not be trying to kill them.
They might be trying to make them sick for a reason.
And if I was right…
Lucas and Leo weren't the real targets.
Their father was.
TO BE CONTINUED…
