Chapter 5: The Door That Was Never Opened
After Richard’s phone call, I sat in my kitchen for almost an hour without moving.
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
May was still at the table, coloring a picture of our family.
A blue sky.
A yellow sun.
A little house with flowers outside.
A child’s perfect version of safety.
I stared at that drawing and wondered how my daughter could have described a place she had never been.
The purple door.
The crying girl.
The red mark.
The bracelet.
None of it made sense.
But Richard’s voice kept replaying in my head.
“She was remembering a place.””
When Daniel came home, he knew immediately something was wrong.
He placed his keys on the counter.
“What happened?””
I looked at him.
“Richard called.””
His face changed.
“What did he say?””
I hesitated.
Then I told him everything.
About Lily.
About Vanessa.
About the old guest wing.
About the room with the purple door.
Daniel listened without interrupting.
When I finished, he sat down slowly.
“That can’t be real.””
“Why?””
“Because if something like that happened, someone would know.””
I looked at him.
“Someone does know.””
He looked away.
“Richard.””
“Yes.””
Daniel ran his hand through his hair.
“I’ve worked there for six years. I’ve heard rumors about Lily.””
“What kind of rumors?””
He looked uncomfortable.
“People said she ran away.””
“And you believed that?””
“I didn’t know what to believe.””
I walked toward the sink.
“Daniel, our daughter described a room she’s never seen.””
“I know.””
“No, I don’t think you do.””
I turned around.
“She wasn’t guessing.””
He stayed silent.
Because he knew.
That was the part neither of us wanted to admit.
May wasn’t telling a random story.
She was describing something.
The next morning, Richard asked us to meet him privately.
Not at the mansion.
Not at his office.
At a quiet coffee shop outside the city.
When we arrived, he was already sitting in the corner.
Without the party around him, Richard looked different.
Older.
Tired.
The confident businessman from the night before was gone.
He stood when we approached.
“Thank you for coming.””
Daniel shook his hand.
“What’s going on, Richard?””
Richard looked at me.
“I need to ask your daughter some questions.””
I immediately became protective.
“She’s four.””
“I know.””
“She isn’t a witness.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
Richard looked down.
“Because she may be the first person in three years who remembers Lily.””
That sentence broke through my anger.
I sat down.
May sat beside me with a small stuffed rabbit in her arms.
Richard smiled gently.
“Hi, May.””
She looked at him.
“Hi.””
“Do you remember me?””
“You’re the man with the big house.””
A sad smile appeared on his face.
“Yes.””
He leaned forward.
“Can I ask you something?””
May nodded.
“Do you remember the little girl?””
She immediately became serious.
“Yes.””
Richard’s hands tightened around his coffee cup.
“What was her name?””
May frowned.
“I don’t know.””
“Did she tell you?””
“She was too sad.””
Richard looked down.
“What did she say?””
May looked at me.
Then she whispered:
“She said she wanted her grandma.””
Richard closed his eyes.
I saw tears forming before he quickly looked away.
Daniel noticed.
“Richard?””
He took a breath.
“Lily’s grandmother passed away before she came to live with us.””
Nobody spoke.
May continued.
“She said Vanessa was mean.””
Richard looked at her.
“What did Vanessa do?””
May squeezed her rabbit.
“She grabbed her arm.””
My body went tense.
“May.””
She looked at me.
“I saw the mark.””
Richard’s face went pale.
“Where?””
May pointed.
“Here.””
She touched her own wrist.
Richard looked down at the table.
For a few seconds, he didn’t speak.
Then he reached into his coat pocket and placed something on the table.
A photograph.
An old photograph.
I picked it up.
A little girl smiled at the camera.
Seven years old.
Brown hair.
Bright eyes.
A missing front tooth.
“This is Lily,” Richard said.
May stared at the picture.
Then she whispered:
“That’s her.””
My heart stopped.
Daniel leaned forward.
“May, are you sure?””
She nodded.
“She had the purple sweater.””
Richard looked shocked.
The photograph showed Lily wearing a purple sweater.
Something only someone who had seen that exact picture could know.
But May had never seen it.
Richard looked at me.
“She couldn’t know that.””
I didn’t answer.
Because I had no answer.
Then May pointed at the photo.
“She told me about the box.””
Richard froze.
“What box?””
“The box under the floor.””
The air disappeared from the room.
Richard stared at her.
“What did you say?””
May looked confused.
“The box.””
“What box?””
“The one she hid.””
Richard slowly stood up.
“Where?””
May looked toward the ceiling.
Then toward the window.
Like she was trying to remember.
“Near the purple door.””
Richard’s face changed.
Because he knew exactly where that was.
He grabbed his phone.
Daniel stood.
“What are you doing?””
Richard looked at him.
“I’m going back to the house.””
“Why?””
Richard’s voice was barely a whisper.
“Because if Lily hid something there…”
He looked at the photograph.
“…we may finally know what happened to her.””
But before we could leave, Richard’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed immediately.
“What is it?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
He just turned the phone toward us.
It was Vanessa.
May you like
And the message contained only four words.
“Don’t open that room.””
