Chapter 7: What Marissa Saw Below the Hospital
Marissa didn't deny the message.
That frightened me more than any confession could have.
She stood beside my mother's bed, perfectly still, staring at the words on my phone.
*Ask your wife what she saw in the basement at 2:13 a.m.*
“Marissa,” I said.
She slowly lifted her eyes.
“What did you see?””
She looked at my mother.
Then at Leonard.
Then back at me.
“Not here.””
I laughed bitterly.
“You've said that all night.””
“Because if I tell you here, somebody else will hear.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“Then start explaining.””
Marissa stepped closer.
“When I went downstairs at 2:13, I wasn't there to hurt your mother.””
“You went downstairs?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“To find your father's evidence.””
“The red folder?””
“Yes.””
“And Thomas Vale?””
“I didn't see him.””
“Then why did security capture his face?””
“I don't know.””
I studied her.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I expect you to understand that I was scared.””
“You tried to suffocate my mother.””
“No.””
The answer came instantly.
“I stopped her from screaming.””
I stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because someone was listening.””
My mother's face changed.
She whispered, “The watcher.””
Marissa nodded.
“Yes.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
Leonard stepped toward us.
“Everyone needs to move.””
“Where?”” I asked.
“Somewhere without cameras.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
He lowered his voice.
“Because the person who sent those messages knows what we're doing before we do it.””
That was enough.
We left Room 218 through a side corridor and entered an old consultation room.
Leonard locked the door behind us.
He pulled the blinds.
“Now,” he said, “tell me exactly what happened downstairs.””
Marissa sat at the table.
For several seconds, she stared at her hands.
Then she began.
“I went into the old east wing shortly after two.””
“How?””
“Maintenance access.””
“Using what?””
“A key.””
“Whose?””
She looked at Leonard.
He said nothing.
Marissa reached into her purse and pulled out a brass key.
I recognized the design immediately.
It looked like the one my mother had given me.
But this one had no number.
“What did you unlock?””
“The service door.””
“And then?””
“There was a stairwell.””
She swallowed.
“It went underground.””
“How far?””
“Two levels.””
I stared at her.
“Under Mercy Hill?””
“Yes.””
“What did you find?””
“A hallway.””
“What was in it?””
“Old storage rooms.””
“Then what?””
She hesitated.
“A light.””
“From where?””
“Behind one of the doors.””
My pulse quickened.
“Did you open it?””
“Yes.””
“What was inside?””
Marissa looked at me.
“Your father's office.””
I stopped breathing.
“My father's office?””
“Yes.””
“Twenty years later?””
“It had been sealed.””
“How do you know it was his?””
“Your photograph was on the desk.””
I felt dizzy.
“What photograph?””
“Your ninth birthday.””
I remembered it immediately.
My father had taken that picture in our backyard.
I was holding a cheap plastic baseball bat.
Mom was standing behind me.
Dad was crouched beside me, smiling.
It was one of only a few photographs I had left.
“Where is it?””
“Gone.””
My voice cracked.
“You stole it?””
“No.””
“Then where is it?””
“Someone had already been there.””
Leonard stepped forward.
“What did you see?””
Marissa looked at him.
“Blood.””
The room went silent.
“Fresh?”” I asked.
She nodded.
“On the floor.””
“How much?””
“Enough to know someone had been injured.””
“Was anyone there?””
“No.””
“Then where did the blood come from?””
“I don't know.””
I leaned across the table.
“Marissa, stop.””
She flinched.
“Tell me the truth.””
“I am.””
“Then tell me why you came back upstairs.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I heard your mother scream.””
My chest tightened.
“You heard her from the basement?””
“Yes.””
“You ran upstairs?””
“Yes.””
“And that's when I saw you?””
She nodded.
“I entered Room 218 and Eleanor was awake.””
My mother looked at her.
“You were already there.””
“Yes.””
“What were you doing?””
“Trying to get you to tell me where the folder was.””
My mother looked away.
“I wouldn't tell you.””
“I know.””
“You threatened me.””
“I didn't mean to.””
“You put that pillow over my face.””
“I pressed it down because you started screaming.””
My voice rose.
“You could have killed her.””
Marissa broke eye contact.
“I know.””
The admission hung in the room.
Then she whispered:
“I thought someone was coming.””
“Who?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you see anybody?””
She shook her head.
“Not at first.””
“Not at first?””
Marissa looked at Leonard.
“I saw someone in the hallway mirror.””
Leonard frowned.
“What someone?””
“A man.””
“Describe him.””
“Gray hair. Dark coat.””
My heart stopped.
“Thomas?””
“I don't know.””
“Did you see his face?””
“Only for a second.””
“What happened?””
“He looked directly at me.””
“And?””
“He smiled.””
My mother started crying.
I went to her.
“Mom?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
“What?””
“He shouldn't be alive.””
Leonard moved toward her.
“Mrs. Hail, did you know Thomas Vale?””
My mother nodded.
“I knew him.””
“Did he ever threaten you?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“After my husband died.””
“What did he say?””
Mom wiped her tears.
“He told me that if I ever opened the red folder, Daniel would die.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“Why?””
“Because your father's evidence didn't just expose Thomas.””
“Who else?””
My mother's gaze moved to Marissa.
“Everyone.””
Marissa whispered, “That's what I found downstairs.””
“What?””
“A second folder.””
My head snapped toward her.
“There's more than one?””
“Yes.””
“Where?””
“In your father's office.””
“Did you open it?””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because someone was inside.””
I stared.
“You just said nobody was there.””
“Not in the office.””
“Then where?””
“In the room behind it.””
Leonard's expression sharpened.
“There was another room?””
Marissa nodded.
“A hidden one.””
My heart hammered.
“What was inside?””
“A chair.””
“That’s it?””
“No.””
“What else?””
“Chains.””
My mother gasped.
I felt sick.
“Chains?””
Marissa nodded.
“On the floor.””
She closed her eyes.
“There was blood on them too.””
Leonard looked at me.
“This needs to be reported.””
“No.””
He turned.
“What?””
“Not until we know who we're dealing with.””
“Daniel—”
“I don't trust the police.””
My mother suddenly spoke.
“You shouldn't.””
We all looked at her.
“Mom?””
She took a shaky breath.
“Your father tried to tell the police.””
“What happened?””
“They came to the hospital.””
“When?””
“The night he died.””
“Who?””
“Two officers.””
“Were they honest?””
“No.””
“How do you know?””
“Because one of them was the man who came back the next week and told me to forget everything.””
“Did you know his name?””
“Yes.””
My mother looked toward the locked door.
“Detective Brooks.””
I felt a wave of confusion.
“Samuel?””
She nodded.
“He was there.””
“No.””
“He helped your father.””
“But he told me my father gave him a key.””
“He did.””
“Then why would he threaten you?””
“Because your father trusted him once.””
She looked exhausted.
“Daniel, trust is the easiest thing in the world to fake.””
I thought about Marissa.
About Thomas.
About my father.
About myself.
Then Leonard's phone buzzed.
He checked it.
His face drained of color.
“What?””
He turned the screen toward me.
A security alert.
*SUBLEVEL ACCESS — DOOR 3 OPEN.*
Timestamp:
*3:41 A.M.*
“What does that mean?”” I asked.
Leonard swallowed.
“Door 3 leads directly into the old office.””
“Thomas?””
“We don't know.””
“Then let's go.””
Leonard grabbed his radio.
“No.””
I stared at him.
“No?””
“It's not safe.””
“My father's office is down there.””
“And whoever opened that door knows you’re looking for it.””
My mother reached for me.
“Daniel.””
I turned.
She was holding the brass key.
Not the one she had given me earlier.
A second key.
This one had a number engraved on it.
*03.*
She pressed it into my palm.
“Your father told me never to use this unless Thomas came back.””
My fingers closed around it.
“What does it open?””
“Door 3.””
Everyone went silent.
A second later, there was a sound outside the consultation room.
Three knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Leonard immediately reached for his radio.
“Who is it?””
No answer.
He looked through the glass panel.
The hallway was empty.
Then his radio crackled.
A voice came through.
Low.
Distorted.
“Daniel Hail.””
I froze.
The voice continued.
“You've spent your whole life believing your father died because he was betrayed.””
I stared at Leonard.
Then at Marissa.
The voice whispered:
“He died because he betrayed me.””
My blood ran cold.
“Who is this?”” I demanded.
A soft laugh came through the radio.
Then:
“Ask Marissa what she found in the hidden room.””
The signal cut.
Marissa stood up.
Her face was pale.
I looked at her.
“What did you find?””
She shook her head.
“Daniel…”
“What did you find?””
She looked at my mother.
Then finally at me.
“A woman.””
“What woman?””
“I don't know her name.””
“Is she alive?””
Marissa's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Where?””
Marissa pointed toward the floor.
May you like
“She's underneath us.””
Then the lights went out.
