Secrets and the Love? "Ray x Oc"

11

P.O.V Ayame

Before Emma could begin, we entered. Don and Gilda joined us as well.

"Emma and I have been closely observing Mother's movements. Every evening, she disappears before eight," Emma revealed.

"She disappears?" I questioned.

"Exactly. She's nowhere to be found in the house. There's a secret room," Emma explained, producing a paper with a drawing on it.

She grabbed another pen and circled something on the paper.

"Right here, next to Mother's bedroom. Behind the wall adjacent to her bedroom, there's the toilet and washroom. But this might not just be a wall," she elaborated, marking the wall in red.

"Yes. We've noticed she goes into her study or the washroom before she vanishes," added Gilda.

It matched their observations.

"We measured the lengths of both the interior and exterior walls," Emma continued.

"Ah! That explains it," Norman interjected.

"Exactly."

"What happened next?" Don inquired.

"It didn't add up. About ten of my foot lengths were missing. On one side, there's a wall, and on the other, a bookshelf. But there must be some sort of hidden door on both sides," Emma explained.

"And behind it is the secret room?" I asked.

"Yes," confirmed Gilda.

"And what's the purpose?" Don pressed.

"Presumably...," Emma began, but Ray cut in.

"She reports to headquarters. Mother reports there daily. That room must serve that purpose," Ray asserted.

"Headquarters?" Don queried.

"The base supplying babies and siblings to this house," Norman clarified.

"Did you know about this, Ray?" I asked, meeting his gaze.

"That there's such a room here?" I pressed further.

"No, but I suspected...," he replied, his eyes locking with mine.

"We need to get in there! It could be our link to the outside. Maybe we'll discover where Conny and the others are!" Don exclaimed angrily. We all turned to him.

"But getting in won't be easy...," Gilda cautioned.

"Even if it's not, we don't have much of a choice!" Don persisted.

"Don! It's not worth the risk! What if we fail or trigger an alarm," I suspected.

"Ayame's right. It's too risky. It might only lead to HQ, and Mom might not even know the children's whereabouts. And if we mess up, we could expose ourselves or trigger an alarm. Plus, we're not familiar with other security measures. It's too dangerous," Ray reasoned.

"But...," Don started again, only to be cut off by me.

"Don, understand. The risks outweigh the benefits," I said firmly, with Ray nodding in agreement.

Don looked broken.

"You're right. We need to focus on protecting the sister now. A reckless move could ruin everything," Norman concurred.

"That's it. I can manage Mother, but if the sister catches us, it's over. Let's stick to the plan," Ray concluded.

Silence. No one spoke. What more could be said? Don needed to grasp the reality of the situation. I wasn't just siding with Ray; if Don would act recklessly, it could be a big problem.