THE HOUSE OF GLASS AND WHISPERS: WHY DID CLARA LOCK THE DOOR THAT NIGHT?

Julian stared at Marcus in stunned silence, the harsh hum of the server racks filling the heavy air between them.

"You built this house?" Julian asked, his voice laced with bitter irony as he looked around the sterile underground laboratory. "You built a prison disguised as a family estate?"

"I built a research wing for genetic longevity," Marcus corrected evenly, meeting Julian’s intense gaze without flinching. "I had no idea Beatrice intended to use it to suppress hereditary conditions through synthetic paralytics. When I found out what she was doing to the trial subjects—including Emily—she had me framed for corporate espionage and driven out of the country."

Clara stepped up beside Marcus, placing a hand on his arm to steady him.

"Marcus saved my life the night my car went off the gorge," Clara explained, turning to look at Julian with pleading eyes. "He pulled me out before the car hit the water. He’s been helping me gather the evidence needed to bring Beatrice down legally, but she forced our hand tonight by targeting Sophie."

Julian looked down at his daughter, who was quietly sitting on the wooden pallet, clutching her stuffed bear with wide, watchful eyes. The realization that his own daughter had been chosen as a test subject by the woman he had trusted tore through his chest with blinding agony.

"We don't have time for legal channels anymore," Julian said, his voice dropping to a cold, dangerous register. "If Beatrice knows we're down here, she’s already locking down the main exits and initiating the facility's purge protocol."

Marcus nodded grimly, turning back to the main computer terminal. "He’s right. Look at the primary console."

On the glowing screen, a red warning banner flashed relentlessly across the display: FACILITY PURGE PROTOCOL INITIATED. OXYGEN EXTRACTION IN 10 MINUTES.

"What does that mean?" Julian demanded, stepping closer to the desk.

"It means Beatrice is going to vent all the oxygen out of the sub-basement to erase every shred of evidence," Clara said, her voice tight with panic. "If we don't override the system from the master terminal upstairs in her study within ten minutes, we will suffocate down here."

Julian looked from the screen to the dark, winding steel staircase leading upward into the belly of the mansion.

"Then we go back up," Julian said, picking up a heavy iron wrench lying near a workbench.