{"id":887,"date":"2026-06-27T10:15:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T10:15:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/?p=887"},"modified":"2026-06-27T10:15:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T10:15:47","slug":"part-2-the-daughter-hidden-above-the-ballroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/?p=887","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0PART 2: \u201cThe Daughter Hidden Above the Ballroom\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"510\" height=\"697\" src=\"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-888\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2.png 510w, https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-2-220x300.png 220w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan reached the bottom stair before Grace did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stepped directly into her path, planting himself in front of the staircase with the same cold authority he had used moments earlier to dismiss her from the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou are not going up there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace looked at him in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For thirty-four years, she had lowered her eyes whenever a Whitmore raised their voice. She had served meals while the people who shared her blood discussed how difficult it was to keep \u201cloyal staff.\u201d She had polished family portraits that included everyone\u2014except her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But now, somewhere above them, a frightened woman stood behind a locked door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace did not look down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMove.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan blinked, briefly unsettled that she had spoken to him without submission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe is ill,\u201d he said sharply. \u201cMy mother protected her from public humiliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace lifted the brass key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo. Your mother protected this family from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia stood abruptly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWho is upstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attorney removed his glasses, his hand trembling as he wiped them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was instructed to open a sealed file only if Mrs. Grace Carter remained in the room for the recording.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan turned on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI knew enough to be ashamed of my silence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace stared upward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The door had closed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then came a sound\u2014small, broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A muffled sob.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It pulled her back through time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirty-one years earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace had been twenty-six when she gave birth to a baby girl in a county hospital. At the time, she was already working in the Whitmore mansion, unaware that Evelyn\u2014the woman she served\u2014was also the mother who had abandoned her at birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She named her daughter Naomi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She held her for one night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By morning, the baby was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A doctor told her the child had stopped breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Evelyn paid for the burial and offered her work at the estate\u2014kindness wrapped around control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace stayed. Because she had nowhere else. Because grief traps the poor inside the places that hurt them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because she never knew the truth: her daughter had not died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She had been taken into this house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia\u2019s voice broke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGrace\u2026 what are you saying?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace turned slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThirty-one years ago, your mother told me my newborn baby died.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat has nothing to do with this family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace looked at the brass key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cLast week, while your mother was dying, she called me to her bedside.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her voice softened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe called me her daughter for the first time in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia began to cry silently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe said she committed the same sin twice. First, she let her parents take me. Then she took my baby so she could raise one piece of me while never admitting what I was to her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan shook his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attorney placed a sealed envelope on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe confessed everything. In writing. And on video.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDestroy it,\u201d Jonathan snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat did you just say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace saw it\u2014fear, not confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou knew,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Silence answered for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia stepped back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou knew there was a woman upstairs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan clenched his jaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMother said she was unstable. She said Naomi suffered delusions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the name, Grace swayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The name she had whispered over an empty blanket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From upstairs came another creak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The door opened wider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A woman appeared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not a shadow anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thin. Pale. A nightgown beneath an oversized cardigan. Hair darkened with premature gray. A small blue-thread bracelet around her neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace recognized it instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She had made it the night before giving birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her knees nearly gave way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy baby\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The woman stared down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her voice was fragile, unused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAre you Grace?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her lips trembled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe said you didn\u2019t want me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace covered her mouth as a sob broke through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo. No, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe said you took money and left. That I was lucky she saved me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace shook her head violently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought you were dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia turned in horror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy was she locked in that room?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe was not locked. She was cared for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi lifted her wrist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A thin chain hung there\u2014attached to the second half of the brass key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was allowed into the garden,\u201d she whispered. \u201cUntil I found the letters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat letters?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi kept her eyes on Jonathan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGrandmother wrote to Grace for years. She never sent them. She admitted everything. That Grace was her daughter\u2026 and I was Grace\u2019s child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her voice cracked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I told Jonathan I would find my mother, he took my phone. Told staff I was unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia stared at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou imprisoned her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan\u2019s composure shattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe would have destroyed everything! The will was being rewritten\u2014then this woman appears claiming half the estate through a housekeeper!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace\u2019s voice hardened through tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy daughter was not hidden because she was unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She stepped forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe was hidden because you were afraid she had a name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan grabbed her arm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Security moved, but Olivia\u2019s voice cut through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTake your hand off her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan turned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia was standing now, shaking with rage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI believe her face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi stood above them\u2014fragile, but undeniable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace\u2019s eyes. Her expression. Her exhaustion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The attorney lifted his phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI contacted authorities before the recording. She is being held against her will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan turned sharply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou betrayed this family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI betrayed Grace first,\u201d the attorney said quietly. \u201cWhen I helped draft an adoption document I knew was coerced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace closed her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even her life had been pieced together by witnesses she never knew she had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi reached for the railing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace moved first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Step by step, she climbed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each stair carried a year of grief she had mistaken for death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the top, Naomi hesitated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace stopped a few feet away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She didn\u2019t rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Didn\u2019t grab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI made that bracelet for you,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi touched it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe said it came from a dead woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi began to cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you find me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace pressed her hand to her chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause she gave me a coffin and told me you were inside it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A broken sob escaped Naomi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then she crossed the distance herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When she fell into Grace\u2019s arms, the mansion fell silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thirty-one years collapsed into that embrace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy baby,\u201d Grace sobbed. \u201cI never left you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Below them, Olivia cried openly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan turned toward the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But two officers entered first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is my house,\u201d he said sharply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace looked down from the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo,\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was the place your family used to hide women whose existence threatened your comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan pointed at her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe wants the inheritance!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi lifted her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe never asked about money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her hand tightened around Grace\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe asked if I was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That silence ended everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia stepped forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIs it true?\u201d she asked. \u201cAre you my sister?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAnd she is my niece?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi flinched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace squeezed her hand gently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia removed her pearl bracelet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t want anything from the will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDon\u2019t be ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She looked at him with disgust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur mother buried one daughter in service and another in a locked room. There is nothing worth claiming before they are free.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace exhaled shakily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi whispered, \u201cCan we leave?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace brushed her cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve never gone out the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That broke what remained of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even the attorney turned away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace guided her daughter down the stairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the bottom, she paused beside the funeral flowers she had arranged for years\u2014flowers for deaths that had hidden a living truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi looked at the key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDo you need it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace studied it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then placed it on Evelyn Whitmore\u2019s sealed folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have what it was meant to open.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Outside, rain softened into mist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A car waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jonathan was led away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia stood behind them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t know how to fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou can\u2019t,\u201d Grace said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut you can decide what happens next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi held her hand tightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Olivia nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe estate will fund your freedom. Not as charity. As restitution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace looked at her daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the first time, Naomi seemed to believe the world would not take her back upstairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace smiled through tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI have a small apartment,\u201d she said. \u201cNothing grand. The radiator argues all winter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi whispered, \u201cCan I stay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Grace touched her cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor as long as you want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They walked out together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A servant had arrived with a key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A mother left holding a daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And behind them, the mansion remained\u2014its upstairs door finally open to air it had never known in thirty-one years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>Jonathan reached the bottom stair before Grace did. He stepped directly into her path, planting himself in front of the staircase with the same cold <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/?p=887\" title=\"\u00a0PART 2: \u201cThe Daughter Hidden Above the Ballroom\u201d\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=887"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":889,"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions\/889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modelwiki3.socialblockchainnetwork.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}