Chapter 2: The Secret Beneath My Mansion
"Everybody leave!""
My voice echoed across the terrace.
The guests stood frozen.
One man lowered his champagne glass. Another woman covered her mouth.
Vanessa immediately recovered enough to speak.
"Marcus, you're frightening everyone. Please, just calm down.""
I turned toward her.
"Call the police.""
She blinked.
"What?""
"You heard me. Call the police and tell them there's someone trapped beneath my swimming pool.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"There's no reason to involve the authorities.""
I stared at her.
"No reason?""
"Think about what you're saying. You're making a scene based on something a six-year-old imagined.""
I held up the silver ring.
"Then explain this.""
Her lips parted.
For a moment, she looked as though she might answer.
Instead, she looked toward the control panel.
I followed her gaze.
A red warning light had appeared beneath the switches.
I had never noticed it before.
"What is that?"" I asked.
Vanessa stepped in front of it.
"Nothing important.""
I moved her aside.
The panel contained four switches, a digital display, and a small screen showing a series of numbers.
One switch was labeled:
*LOWER CHAMBER — PRESSURE CONTROL*
Another read:
*EMERGENCY LOCK*
I stared at the words.
"Why does my swimming pool have an emergency lock?""
Vanessa grabbed my arm.
"Marcus, don't touch anything.""
I turned sharply.
"Why?""
"Because you don't understand the system.""
"What system?""
She looked at the guests.
"Everyone needs to go inside. Now.""
One of my closest friends, Daniel Brooks, stepped forward.
Daniel had been my business partner for almost eight years. He was also the person who helped me manage the legal affairs after Elena disappeared.
"Marcus," he said carefully, "maybe we should get everyone away from here first.""
I nodded.
"Daniel, call emergency services.""
He pulled out his phone.
Vanessa immediately turned toward him.
"Don't.""
Daniel stopped.
I looked between them.
"What is happening?""
Neither answered.
Then Ava tugged my wet sleeve.
"Daddy, I know where the door is.""
I crouched.
"What door, sweetheart?""
"The little door Mommy showed me.""
My stomach tightened.
"When did she show you?""
"Before she went away.""
I stared at her.
"Ava, Mommy hasn't been here for fourteen months.""
She shook her head.
"She was here last night.""
The terrace became silent again.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Oh, for God's sake.""
I ignored her.
"Tell me what happened last night.""
Ava pointed toward the east wing of the mansion.
"Mommy called me from the wall.""
I followed her finger.
The east wing contained the old indoor garden, Elena's favorite room. It had been closed since her disappearance because I couldn't bear to change anything she had touched.
"What wall?""
"The one behind my bed.""
I stood up.
"Daniel, stay here. Keep everyone away from the pool.""
Then I picked up Ava.
Vanessa rushed after me.
"Marcus, wait!""
I didn't turn.
"Stay away from my daughter.""
"You're making a terrible mistake!""
I kept walking.
Behind me, I heard Daniel say something.
Then a crash.
I turned just in time to see him grab Vanessa's arm as she tried to reach the pool controls again.
"Let me go!"" she screamed.
Daniel looked at me.
"Marcus, take Ava inside. I'll handle this.""
I carried my daughter into the mansion.
The moment we entered her bedroom, I noticed something strange.
Ava's bed had been moved.
Not much.
Perhaps six inches.
But I knew exactly where it had stood before.
"Who moved your bed?"" I asked.
Ava pointed at the wall.
"Mommy.""
I approached the pale pink wallpaper.
At first, I saw nothing unusual.
Then I noticed a thin rectangular outline near the floor.
I crouched and ran my fingers along it.
A hidden latch clicked.
A small section of the wall moved outward.
Behind it was a narrow compartment containing an old electronic panel.
Ava leaned over my shoulder.
"Mommy said I shouldn't tell Vanessa.""
My mouth went dry.
"What else did Mommy say?""
"She said you would come looking when you heard three knocks.""
I looked at her.
"Three knocks?""
Ava nodded.
"She said three knocks meant she was still there.""
I opened the compartment.
Inside was a small speaker, a microphone, and a black button.
Beside them sat a folded piece of paper.
My name was written on it.
Not in Vanessa's handwriting.
In Elena's.
I unfolded it.
Marcus, if you're reading this, she has finally made her move.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
Do not trust Vanessa. Do not trust Daniel. The woman you think you know has been inside our house long before I disappeared.
I read the sentence twice.
Then I continued.
The room beneath the pool is not a storage room. It was built before you bought this property. There is another entrance behind the old wine cellar.
I stopped.
The old wine cellar.
I had visited it hundreds of times.
I had never noticed another entrance.
Ava touched my arm.
"Daddy?""
I looked down.
"Yes?""
"Mommy said you should listen to the little box.""
I turned toward the speaker.
A faint clicking sound came from it.
Then static.
Then a woman's voice.
"Marcus?""
I dropped the paper.
"Elena?""
The voice crackled again.
"Marcus, if you can hear me, don't open the lower chamber until you find the key.""
I grabbed the microphone.
"Elena! Where are you? Are you alive?""
A pause.
Then three words.
"Look beneath Ava.""
I stared at my daughter.
"What does she mean?""
Ava pointed toward her bed.
"Mommy put it there.""
I moved the mattress aside.
Beneath it was a small wooden box.
I opened it.
Inside lay a brass key, a photograph, and a tiny silver bracelet.
The photograph showed Elena holding a newborn baby.
Ava.
But there was something else.
Behind Elena stood another woman.
The woman wore a white medical uniform.
I recognized her immediately.
It was Vanessa.
Only the photograph was dated six years earlier.
Three years before I had supposedly met Vanessa.
I stared at the image.
My hands began shaking.
"That's impossible.""
Ava looked at the picture.
"That's the lady who made Mommy cry.""
I crouched.
"What do you mean?""
"She came to see Mommy when I was little. Mommy told her to leave.""
I looked at the photograph again.
Vanessa was standing beside Elena's hospital bed, holding a folder.
On the back, Elena had written a single sentence.
She knows what happened to our first baby.
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Our first baby?
I had never been told about another child.
Elena had suffered a miscarriage before Ava was born. That was what she had told me.
We had mourned together.
We had buried the tiny ultrasound photograph in a wooden box.
Or so I believed.
Ava tugged my sleeve.
"Daddy, there's something else.""
She pointed to the bottom of the compartment.
A small red light was blinking.
I pressed the black button.
The speaker crackled.
Elena's voice returned, more urgent this time.
"Marcus, listen carefully. Vanessa isn't working alone. Daniel knows about the room. He knows about the child.""
I froze.
Before I could respond, the bedroom door opened.
Daniel stood there.
His face was pale.
"Marcus, we need to talk.""
I slowly stood.
"How much do you know about this room?""
He looked at the photograph in my hand.
Then he looked at Ava.
May you like
And finally, he said something I never expected to hear.
"Your wife isn't the only person buried in this family's past.""
