Leonard began examining the labels.
"These boxes appear to cover the period between 1945 and 1955," he said. "That is precisely when the diamond's ownership history becomes unclear."
Daniel Foster took photographs of the room before anyone moved the documents.
Margaret walked slowly along the shelves, studying the labels.
Then she noticed something unusual.
A small cabinet stood against the western wall, its lower edge covered by a thin layer of dust. The floorboards beneath it were uneven, and one appeared slightly newer than the others.
She took the gold ring from her handbag.
Inside the band were the numbers her father had engraved decades earlier. She had memorized them as a child, although she had never understood their purpose.
She remembered the letter from Samuel Whitmore's estate, which mentioned that Daniel had hidden records somewhere connected to the Harrington property.
Could the numbers identify a location?
"May I see the original floor plan?" she asked.
Victoria looked surprised.
"We have several in the architectural files."
"Please."
Leonard searched a nearby drawer and found a folded plan of the basement. Margaret examined it carefully.
The western wall had once contained a narrow storage recess that no longer appeared on the current layout.
She pointed toward the cabinet.
"That section may have been altered."
Victoria moved closer.
"You think something is hidden there?"
"I think we should find out."
With permission from the estate manager, they carefully moved the cabinet. Beneath it, they discovered a floorboard with a small metal fitting hidden under a layer of dust.
Leonard used a tool to lift the board.
A shallow cavity lay beneath it.
Inside was a sealed metal box.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Margaret knelt beside it, her heart beating so hard that she could hear it in her ears.
A faded paper label had been attached to the lid.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
Daniel Ellis. Original records. Do not destroy.
Margaret pressed a hand against her mouth.
Her father had been there.
Somehow, his evidence had survived.
Daniel Foster photographed the box before opening it. Inside were several notebooks, photographs, handwritten ledgers, and a bundle of letters wrapped in oilcloth.
Leonard carefully lifted the first ledger.
"This appears to be an original workshop record."
Margaret looked at the pages.
The entries described the Star of Aurelia in extraordinary detail, including its measurements, distinctive inclusions, and the exact date Daniel had completed his restoration work.
There was also a copy of the document that Arthur Harrington had used to claim ownership.
Beside it, Daniel had written a short note.
This signature is not mine.
Margaret closed her eyes.
For seventy years, she had wondered whether her father had left enough evidence to prove his innocence.