Chapter 3: The Woman Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Marcus stared at the photograph.
Lily was wearing the same pink dress.
The same little white shoes.
The picture had been taken from somewhere inside the mansion, looking through the glass doors toward the garden.
Someone had been watching his daughter.
For how long?
“Evelyn!”” he shouted.
The hand disappeared behind the door.
“Please, answer me!””
A faint voice came through the opening.
“Get Lily away from her.””
Marcus felt his chest tighten.
“What happened to you? Why are you down here?””
“There's no time.””
He grabbed the door handle again.
“I'm getting you out!””
A weak laugh came from the darkness.
“Marcus… you don't understand. She has the keys.””
“Who does?””
But the woman didn't answer.
Instead, a metallic scraping sound came from somewhere behind her.
Then a sudden bang.
Marcus stepped back.
“Evelyn!””
Silence.
He turned toward the passage.
The water was still rising.
He pushed himself through the narrow opening, forced the heavy metal cover aside, and swam upward.
When he surfaced, he immediately looked toward the terrace.
Vanessa was gone.
Lily was standing near the steps, clutching her little pink dress.
“Daddy!””
Marcus climbed out.
“Where's Vanessa?””
Lily pointed toward the mansion.
“She went inside.””
“When?””
“After you went down.””
Marcus grabbed a towel from a nearby chair and wrapped it around his shoulders.
“Did she say anything?””
Lily nodded.
“She told me Mommy was a bad lady.””
Marcus crouched.
“What else?””
“She said I should forget Mommy forever.””
He looked into his daughter's frightened eyes.
“Did she hurt you?””
Lily shook her head.
Then she reached into the pocket of her dress.
“I found something.””
She pulled out a small silver key.
Marcus stared at it.
“Where did you get that?””
“From Miss Vanessa's bag.””
“Why?””
Lily lowered her voice.
“Because I saw her open the door before.””
Marcus felt his heartbeat quicken.
“Which door, sweetheart?””
“The little door behind the flowers.””
He followed her gaze toward the far end of the garden.
There, partly hidden behind a row of tall hedges, was a narrow maintenance entrance.
Marcus had never paid much attention to it.
He took the key from Lily.
“Stay here. Don't go anywhere.””
“But Daddy—”
“I promise I'll come back.””
He entered the mansion through the glass doors.
The air-conditioning hit his wet skin, making him shiver.
He moved through the marble hallway, past family photographs and expensive paintings, until he reached the rear garden entrance.
The narrow door was unlocked.
Inside was a steep staircase leading downward.
A faint chemical smell drifted upward.
Marcus switched on his phone flashlight and descended.
At the bottom, he found another steel door.
This one had a keypad.
Beside it was a small control panel with several switches.
One label caught his attention.
*POOL CHAMBER ACCESS.*
He stared at it.
Then he heard footsteps above him.
Marcus turned off his flashlight.
The footsteps descended slowly.
A woman's voice floated down the stairs.
“You shouldn't have come back here.””
Vanessa.
Marcus stepped behind a concrete support.
She reached the bottom carrying a small leather handbag.
She didn't look frightened anymore.
She looked angry.
“Where are you?”” she called.
Marcus remained silent.
Vanessa approached the control panel and pressed a button.
A red indicator light appeared.
Then she took a phone from her bag.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“He's found the chamber.””
Marcus felt his jaw tighten.
A pause.
“No. He hasn't seen everything.””
Another pause.
“I'm telling you, we need to move her tonight.””
Marcus's hand closed around the edge of the concrete wall.
Move her?
Evelyn was alive.
And Vanessa had known.
Vanessa continued speaking.
“The girl saw something. I don't know how much she understands, but she saw enough.””
Marcus felt sick.
He had spent nearly two years believing his wife was dead.
He had comforted his daughter through nightmares.
He had signed legal documents.
He had accepted condolences.
And during all that time, Vanessa had been living in his house, sleeping beside him, smiling at his daughter, and hiding a woman beneath their swimming pool.
Then Vanessa said something that made his entire world collapse.
“The problem isn't Evelyn anymore. The problem is what she knows about the night she disappeared.””
Marcus's breathing became shallow.
He had always believed Evelyn's disappearance was an accident.
A terrible accident that had happened after an argument between them.
But now he wondered whether that argument had been part of something much darker.
Vanessa ended the call.
She opened her handbag and removed a small syringe.
Marcus's stomach turned.
She approached the steel door and entered a code.
The lock clicked.
Before she could open it, Marcus stepped out.
“Put that down.””
Vanessa spun around.
The syringe slipped from her fingers and hit the concrete floor.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Marcus stepped toward her.
“How long?””
Vanessa's face went white.
“Marcus…”
“How long have you known Evelyn was alive?””
She swallowed.
“You need to calm down.””
“HOW LONG?””
“Since the beginning.””
Marcus stared at her.
The answer seemed to drain all the strength from his body.
“Since the beginning?””
Vanessa raised both hands.
“I can explain.””
“You let me believe my wife was dead.””
“She was supposed to disappear!””
Marcus took a step backward.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa's eyes darted toward the steel door.
“Not here.””
“There's no place in this house where you can hide from me anymore.””
She shook her head.
“You don't know what Evelyn did.””
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“She was my wife. The mother of my child.””
“And she was going to destroy everything!””
“What did she do?””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
But before she could answer, a voice came from behind the steel door.
“Marcus…”
Both of them froze.
It was Evelyn.
But this time, her voice sounded stronger.
“Don't believe her.””
Marcus turned toward the door.
Vanessa lunged for the control panel.
He grabbed her wrist.
“Don't touch it!””
She struggled.
“Let go of me!””
Then the door opened from the inside.
A woman appeared.
Her hair was shorter than Marcus remembered. Her face was pale and thin, and one side of her forehead carried a long scar.
She held the doorframe to remain standing.
But her eyes were unmistakable.
Marcus whispered her name.
“Evelyn…”
She looked at him.
Tears filled her eyes.
Then she looked past him, directly at Vanessa.
“You should have left me dead.””
Vanessa stepped backward.
And Evelyn lifted her trembling hand, revealing something Marcus had never seen before.
A small black recording device.
“Marcus,” she said, “before you ask why she kept me here, you need to hear what she told me about you.””
She pressed the button.
A man's voice filled the chamber.
May you like
Marcus recognized it immediately.
It was his own.
