Chapter 2: The Secret Beneath the Mansion
I surfaced gasping for air.
“ELINA!””
My voice echoed across the garden.
Lily was crying beside the pool, held tightly by our housekeeper, Mrs. Bennett. Victoria stood several feet away, her face drained of color.
I grabbed the edge of the pool and pulled myself out.
“Call the police!”” I shouted.
Victoria rushed toward me.
“Marcus, wait!””
I shoved past her.
“Get away from me!””
She stumbled backward.
I pointed at the metal hatch beneath the water.
“There is a room underneath this pool. Someone is down there!””
Victoria shook her head.
“You're mistaken.””
“I SAW A HAND!””
“Marcus, please, just calm down!””
“Stop telling me to calm down!””
Mrs. Bennett hurried toward us with a towel.
“Mr. Hale, what's happening?””
“Call emergency services. Now.””
Victoria reached for my shoulder.
“Don't involve the police.””
I turned slowly.
“Why?””
She looked toward the pool again.
“Because this is a private matter.””
“A woman might be trapped under my house, Victoria!””
Her face crumpled.
“It's not what you think.””
I stared at her.
“Then tell me what it is.””
She said nothing.
I took the towel from Mrs. Bennett and wiped the water from my eyes.
“Where is the maintenance key?””
Mrs. Bennett blinked.
“For the pool equipment?””
“For whatever is beneath that pool.””
Her expression changed.
It was subtle, but I saw it.
She knew something.
“Mrs. Bennett?””
The elderly woman looked at Victoria.
Then she looked at me.
“I thought you knew, sir.””
My blood ran cold.
“Knew what?””
She swallowed.
“About the old service chamber.””
Victoria immediately stepped forward.
“That's enough, Margaret.””
Mrs. Bennett flinched.
I turned toward Victoria.
“Don't interrupt her.””
The housekeeper twisted her hands together.
“Before the mansion was renovated, there was an underground water-storage room beneath the eastern terrace. The previous owner used it for the old filtration system.””
“Why wasn't I told?””
“It was sealed during construction.””
“Sealed by whom?””
Mrs. Bennett looked at Victoria.
“Mrs. Hayes arranged the work.””
Victoria's eyes flashed.
“You're confused. I only approved the landscaping.””
I took a step toward her.
“You approved construction on my property?””
She pressed her lips together.
I had purchased the mansion three years earlier, shortly after Elina and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.
Victoria had started working with my family's foundation around that time. She knew the architects, the contractors, and the people responsible for maintaining the estate.
She had also been the one who recommended the renovation.
I suddenly remembered something.
Fourteen months ago, two days after Elina disappeared, Victoria had insisted that the pool needed urgent repairs.
She told me the old filtration system was dangerous.
I had been too devastated to question her.
“Who did the work?”” I asked.
Victoria looked away.
“Marcus, you're frightening Lily.””
I glanced toward my daughter.
She was still crying in Mrs. Bennett's arms.
I knelt beside her.
“Sweetheart, I need you to tell me exactly what you saw.””
Lily wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“I was looking for my pink rabbit.””
“When?””
“This afternoon.””
I frowned.
“Where?””
“Near the pool house. My rabbit rolled behind the little wall.””
Victoria interrupted.
“She shouldn't have been playing there.””
I ignored her.
“Go on, sweetheart.””
Lily took a shaky breath.
“I heard Mommy singing.””
My chest tightened.
“What song?””
“The one she used to sing when she brushed my hair.””
Elina had always sung an old lullaby to Lily. I remembered it clearly because she had made up half the words.
Lily continued.
“I thought it was coming from the water. So I looked through the little window.””
“What window?””
She pointed toward the stone wall.
“There's a tiny window behind the flowers. I saw Mommy sitting in a room. She looked sleepy.””
I stared at the wall.
There was no window visible from where we stood.
“Did she speak to you?””
Lily nodded.
“She said, 'My little sunshine.''”
My knees nearly gave way.
That was Elina's nickname for her.
Lily continued, her voice barely audible.
“She told me not to tell Miss Victoria because Miss Victoria would get angry.””
Victoria suddenly grabbed Lily's arm.
“That's enough!””
My daughter screamed.
I caught Victoria's wrist and pulled her away.
“Don't you ever touch my child like that again.””
“Marcus, you're making a terrible mistake!””
“Then explain the window.””
She stared at me.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then a loud metallic bang came from beneath the pool.
We all turned.
Three knocks.
One.
Two.
Three.
Lily began sobbing.
“That's Mommy!””
I ran back to the pool.
This time, I didn't jump in blindly. I grabbed the long maintenance pole leaning against the equipment shed and used it to push the metal hatch.
It moved.
The cover was partially open now.
I looked toward Mrs. Bennett.
“Get me the maintenance key!””
She hurried inside.
Victoria followed me.
“Marcus, don't open it!””
I turned.
“Why?””
Her voice broke.
“Because you don't know what she's capable of!””
I stared at her.
“Who?””
Victoria covered her mouth.
And in that instant, I understood something.
She wasn't afraid of what I might find.
She was afraid of who might come out.
Mrs. Bennett returned with a heavy ring of keys.
I took them and plunged back into the water.
The metal hatch had a small lock mechanism attached to its side. I tried the first key.
Nothing.
The second key wouldn't turn.
The third clicked.
A sharp mechanical sound echoed through the water.
I pulled the handle.
The hatch opened another foot.
This time, the darkness beyond it revealed a narrow maintenance chamber.
There was a small metal staircase leading downward.
And at the bottom, I saw a door.
A white door with a rectangular glass panel.
Someone had scratched words into the paint.
MARCUS, PLEASE.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I grabbed the ladder and descended.
The water reached my chest, then my waist, as I entered the chamber.
The air was damp and smelled of rust, mold, and something chemical.
I reached the door.
A small metal slot had been installed near the handle.
There was a keyhole.
I tried the remaining keys.
None worked.
Then I noticed a piece of paper taped to the glass.
My hands trembled as I pulled it free.
It was a photograph.
Elina and me on our wedding day.
On the back, written in her handwriting, were six words.
If you found this, I'm still alive.
I stumbled backward.
A faint voice came from behind the door.
“Marcus?””
I froze.
It was a woman's voice.
Weak.
Hoarse.
But unmistakably familiar.
I pressed my face against the glass.
“Elina?””
A shadow moved.
Then two pale hands appeared on the other side.
“Marcus,” the voice whispered.
“Please get me out.””
I grabbed the handle and pulled.
The door didn't move.
“I'm here! I'm getting you out!””
Her fingers slipped down the glass.
“Listen to me. You have to leave.””
“What?””
“Take Lily and leave this house.””
“Why? Who did this to you?””
She began crying.
Then she said something that made my entire body go numb.
“Marcus, Victoria isn't the only person who knows I'm here.””
A heavy door slammed somewhere behind me.
I turned.
Footsteps echoed through the flooded chamber.
Someone was coming down the stairs.
May you like
And the first thing I heard was Victoria's voice.
“Marcus, step away from that door.””
