Chapter 6 - The Tunnel Beneath the HouseOur family property had a history I barely remembered.
My father loved old houses.
He bought the estate twenty years ago from a developer who went bankrupt.
There was an underground service tunnel beneath the original mansion.
My father sealed it after we moved in.
Or at least, that's what he told me.
Daniel found the entrance behind a stone wall in the basement.
The lock was new.
Too new.
We broke it open.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
Noah stayed upstairs with a police officer.
I didn't want him anywhere near the tunnel.
Daniel carried a flashlight.
We went down.
The air smelled like damp stone.
After fifty yards, we found old electrical cables.
Then footprints.
Fresh.
Someone had been using the tunnel recently.
We followed them.
The tunnel opened into a concrete room.
There was a desk.
A chair.
A laptop.
A wall covered with photographs.
My father's photograph.
Lily's photograph.
My photograph.
Noah's photograph.
And Vanessa's.
My stomach turned.
Daniel whispered, “Someone has been watching your family.”
There were documents everywhere.
Bank records.
Medical records.
Copies of passports.
Even photographs of Noah at school.
Then Daniel saw something.
“Ethan.”
I turned.
He pointed to the wall.
A calendar.
Two years earlier.
Lily's death date was marked with a black circle.
The day before it was marked:
TRANSFER COMPLETE.
The day after:
REMOVE WITNESS.
A sound echoed behind us.
Footsteps.
We spun around.
A figure ran down the tunnel.
“HEY!”
We chased him.
He disappeared around the corner.
Daniel pulled his gun.
“Stop!”
A door slammed.
We reached it.
Locked.
I kicked it open.
Empty room.
Except for a phone lying on the floor.
It was ringing.
I answered.
“Hello?”
Static.
Then a whisper.
“Your wife knew the truth.”
“Who are you?”
“She left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
“You're reading them now.”
The call ended.
Daniel picked up the phone.
“There's no SIM card.”
I looked at the screen.
One message remained.
YOU HAVE THREE DAYS.
Then it deleted itself.
We returned to the hidden room.
I searched the desk again.
A false drawer opened beneath the keyboard.
Inside was a cassette.
Old-fashioned.
A handwritten label:
FOR ETHAN. ONLY IF VANESSA IS STILL ALIVE.
My pulse accelerated.
We found an old cassette player in a cabinet.
I pressed play.
Lily's voice filled the room.
“Ethan.”
I closed my eyes.
“I need you to promise me something.”
Static hissed.
“Do not believe everything Noah tells you.”
I opened my eyes.
“What?”
Lily continued.
“Children remember what they feel, not always what happened.”
Daniel looked at me.
Then Lily said:
“But if Noah tells you he saw Vanessa…”
The recording paused.
I held my breath.
“…believe him.”
Daniel stiffened.
Lily continued.
“She was there.”
The tape ended.
I stared at the machine.
Then another recording began automatically.
Lily's voice became quieter.
“She didn't kill me alone.”
A man's voice whispered in the background.
I couldn't identify him.
Lily said:
“His name is Gabriel.”
Daniel's face changed.
“Who is Gabriel?”
Lily answered on the tape.
“Gabriel Trent.”
I stared at Daniel.
He was silent.
“Who is he?”
Daniel didn't answer.
“Daniel.”
He finally spoke.
“My father's lawyer.”
I remembered the name.
Gabriel Trent had handled everything after my father's death.
The estate.
The company.
The insurance.
Lily's funeral arrangements.
Everything.
I suddenly understood why Lily's documents had bothered me.
Gabriel had access to almost every important file in our lives.
Then the tunnel lights came on.
One by one.
Someone was turning them on from the far end.
A shadow appeared.
Daniel raised his gun.
The figure stepped into the light.
It was Vanessa.
Her face was streaked with tears.
And she was holding a gun.
“Drop yours,” she said.
Daniel didn't move.
Vanessa pointed the gun directly at me.
“I need to tell you the truth.”
I took one step forward.
“You have about five seconds.”
She swallowed.
“Lily was going to expose Gabriel.”
I stared at her.
“And you?”
Vanessa's eyes filled.
May you like
“I was helping him.”
A gunshot exploded through the tunnel.
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