"Miss Yates? Miss Yates!"
Servants and bodyguards were frantically searching for Iris. Thick white clouds from the fire extinguishers billowed through the room, contrasting sharply with the dark smoke from the flames. Visibility was incredibly low, making it impossible for them to find her.
Meanwhile, a figure hiding in the corner pressed closely against the wall and moved swiftly toward the door. Once she finally slipped out of the room, she gasped desperately for air.
She had almost suffocated in there!
Iris wiped her face, intentionally ruffled her hair to look even more disheveled, and sprinted down the stairs. Right now, the staff was entirely preoccupied with fighting the fire and searching for her. This chaos provided the perfect cover for her plan.
Without hesitation, Iris bolted toward the gardens. She had to find out what was hidden in those woods—why they had forbidden her from going there, and what they were so desperate to keep from her!
"Hey! Didn’t you hear about the fire? Why aren’t you helping put it out?"
Someone passing by had spotted her and yelled out. Unable to see her face clearly in the dark, the man assumed she was one of the estate’s maids.
Iris quickly pitched her voice higher and replied, "Miss Yates is missing! I’m out here looking for her!"
The man gasped in shock. "Then I’ll help you search."
Iris’s heart gave a heavy THUMP. She couldn’t let him tag along, or her entire plan would be exposed.
"You check over there!" Iris pointed in the opposite direction. "We’ll cover more ground if we split up."
"Good idea." The man didn’t hesitate; he immediately turned and ran off.
Iris let out a quiet sigh of relief and darted deeper into the garden without wasting another second. There were lamps here, but they cast a dim light. Since everyone was busy putting out the fire and searching for her inside the manor, the grounds were completely deserted.
Muffled shouts of panic drifted over from the main house as Iris plunged into the woods. She hadn’t been able to find anything strange in these trees the last time she was here. This time, she needed to look much closer.
Glancing at the pavilion, she circled around to the back of it and immediately spotted a narrow path. She followed it deeper into the trees until she discovered a door hidden in the dense thicket. It was an entrance leading down into a basement.
There really was something hidden here!
Iris’s eyes widened. Her heart was hammering violently in her chest from anxiety. Stepping up to the entrance, she reached out and pushed the door open. Beyond it lay a gloomy flight of stairs descending into the darkness.
Swallowing hard, Iris cautiously made her way down. After walking for about two minutes, she arrived at another door. This one, however, was secured with an electronic keypad.
She stared at the lock in dismay. How was she supposed to get in? She had no idea what the passcode was!
Grabbing the iron bars on the door, she peered hard into the darkness beyond. After a moment of hesitation, she suddenly yelled out, "Is anyone there?!"
She repeated the question in several different languages. Her voice echoed down the long, empty corridor, but met only with silence.
Was no one there? Had she been wrong all along?
But if there wasn’t anyone here, why had William Quinn forbidden her from coming near this place?
Confusion clouded Iris’s face. She waited for another two minutes, but when there was still no response, she finally turned away in disappointment.
"Iris?"
She had only taken a few steps when a very faint, almost imperceptible murmur reached her ears. Iris froze in her tracks, her face going slack with shock.
The next second, she whipped around and shouted into the darkness once more.
"Who’s there? Who’s calling me?!"
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