CHAPTER 5: THE BASEMENT THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
The tiny yellow shoe lay in the middle of the bedroom.
Richard stared at it for less than a second before exploding into motion.
"LOCK DOWN THE ENTIRE ESTATE!"
The order echoed through every hallway.
Within moments, steel security shutters crashed down over every entrance. Bulletproof doors sealed automatically. Floodlights illuminated every inch of the mansion grounds.
No one could leave.
No one could enter.
Yet Luna...
Had vanished.
Richard grabbed the nearest bodyguard by the collar.
"How long were the lights out?"
"Three... maybe four seconds, sir."
"Four seconds?"
Richard's voice became dangerously calm.
"You expect me to believe someone entered the most secure house in the county, kidnapped a child, and disappeared in four seconds?"
The guard lowered his head.
"I... I don't know."
Detective Hayes arrived upstairs at a run.
"What happened?"
"They took her."
Hayes glanced at the bedroom.
No broken window.
No forced lock.
No footprints.
Nothing except the shoe.
He crouched beside it.
Something glittered underneath.
A silver coin.
Old.
Heavy.
One side displayed the image of a raven.
The other...
A single word.
COLLECTOR
Hayes slipped the coin into an evidence bag.
"This wasn't dropped by accident."
Richard nodded grimly.
"They wanted us to know who did it."
Just then, Ethan tugged gently on his father's sleeve.
"Dad..."
Richard turned.
"What is it?"
"The wall..."
Everyone followed the boy's gaze.
The black paint that had formed the words YOU WERE TOO LATE AGAIN was... moving.
Not dripping.
Moving.
Thin streams of dark liquid slowly crawled downward until the letters merged into a rough shape.
A map.
Hayes stepped closer.
"It looks like..."
Richard finished the sentence.
"A floor plan."
They hurried downstairs to the mansion's security room.
The blueprint stored in the computer matched the strange pattern almost perfectly.
Almost.
One section was different.
A rectangle hidden beneath the west wing.
Richard frowned.
"That room doesn't exist."
The chief of security looked equally confused.
"It isn't on the official plans."
"So what is it?"
The old butler, Mr. Collins, had been silent all night.
Now...
His face turned pale.
"There used to be..."
He swallowed hard.
"A wine cellar."
Richard looked at him sharply.
"Used to be?"
"It was sealed before your father died."
"Why?"
Collins hesitated.
"I was ordered never to speak of it."
Richard's patience snapped.
"This is not the time for secrets."
The old butler closed his eyes.
"Your father believed someone was living beneath the mansion."
Silence.
Hayes raised an eyebrow.
"Living?"
Collins nodded slowly.
"For months, servants reported hearing footsteps below the floor after midnight."
"They searched?"
"Many times."
"They found nothing."
"So your father sealed it."
"Yes."
Richard stared toward the west wing.
The sealed cellar.
The hidden map.
Luna's disappearance.
None of it felt like coincidence anymore.
"Get me tools."
Within minutes, workers smashed through a section of decorative stone beneath the staircase.
Dust filled the air.
Behind the wall...
An old iron door emerged.
Rust covered every inch.
Its massive lock hadn't been touched in years.
Hayes shined his flashlight across it.
Scratched into the metal were dozens of marks.
Vertical lines.
Hundreds of them.
"What are these?"
Collins whispered.
"Someone..."
"...was counting the days."
Richard gripped the handle.
It wouldn't move.
"Stand back."
One of the guards swung a heavy sledgehammer.
The ancient lock shattered.
The door creaked inward with a long, hollow groan.
A wave of cold air rolled out.
It smelled of damp stone...
And something else.
Something metallic.
Fresh.
Hayes aimed his flashlight into the darkness.
Stone steps disappeared underground.
The group descended cautiously.
Each footstep echoed.
Twenty steps.
Thirty.
Forty.
Then...
The tunnel opened into a massive chamber.
No wine barrels.
No storage shelves.
Instead...
There were walls covered with photographs.
Thousands of them.
Every picture showed the Sterling family.
Richard at business meetings.
Marina shopping.
Ethan at school.
Even tonight's birthday party.
Some photographs had clearly been taken only hours earlier.
Someone had been watching them for years.
Richard's breathing grew heavier.
"This isn't possible..."
Hayes slowly swept his flashlight across the room.
Then the beam stopped.
At the center of the chamber stood a wooden chair.
A small yellow dress was folded neatly on it.
Luna's dress.
But Luna herself...
Was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly...
A hidden speaker crackled to life somewhere in the darkness.
A calm male voice echoed through the chamber.
"Congratulations, Mr. Sterling."
"You finally found my first room."
The voice laughed softly.
"But if you're hearing this..."
"...you're already standing exactly where I wanted you."
Before anyone could react...
A heavy metallic bang echoed above them.
The iron door slammed shut.
The lights went out.
And somewhere in the darkness...
A little girl's voice whispered,
"Mr. Sterling..."
"...don't answer if someone calls your name."
May you like
Because...
"...it might not be me."
