Chapter 5 - By sunrise, the house was surrounded.Detectives came.
Forensics came.
Search teams came.
Nobody found Vanessa.
Nobody found Claire.
Nobody found the person who had entered Lily's bedroom.
But they found something else.
A hidden electrical system running beneath the house.
The steel room wasn't the only secret.
There were cameras in the walls.
Tiny microphones inside the vents.
Motion sensors beneath the floorboards.
Someone had been watching us for months.
Maybe years.
The lead detective, Sarah Cole, placed a photograph on the table.
“Mr. Mercer, this image was recovered from one of the cameras.”
I looked.
It showed Claire sitting on the edge of the hidden bed.
Her face was bruised.
She looked directly into the camera.
Then someone had written across the image:
DAY 146.
Another photograph.
DAY 202.
Another.
DAY 318.
Another.
DAY 411.
Another.
My chest tightened.
They weren't random.
They tracked Claire's captivity.
Sarah placed the final photograph down.
DAY 546.
Yesterday.
Claire was standing.
She looked thinner.
Older.
But alive.
My eyes burned.
“She was alive yesterday.”
“Yes.”
“And now she's gone.”
“Yes.”
“Then find her.”
“We're trying.”
I slammed my fist onto the table.
“My wife was trapped underneath my house for eighteen months.”
Sarah didn't react.
“We know.”
“Someone knew.”
“Yes.”
“Someone had access.”
“Yes.”
“And Vanessa lived here.”
“Yes.”
“So why are you still asking me questions?”
Sarah leaned forward.
“Because Vanessa isn't the only person with access.”
She slid a file toward me.
Inside was an old property document.
My grandfather's name appeared at the top.
Beneath it was a list of authorized occupants.
I scanned it.
My father.
My grandfather.
Michael.
My name.
Then one unfamiliar name.
Adrian Mercer.
I stared.
“Who is Adrian?”
Sarah watched me carefully.
“That's what we're trying to determine.”
“My family doesn't have an Adrian.”
“There was an Adrian listed as a trustee of your grandfather's estate.”
I shook my head.
“That must be a mistake.”
Sarah pulled out another document.
Same name.
Another year.
Another signature.
Then another.
Adrian Mercer had been involved in the property for decades.
But there was something worse.
The signature on the oldest document matched my father's.
My father had been dead for twelve years.
I whispered:
“What was my grandfather doing?”
Sarah didn't answer.
She opened another file.
“This was recovered from an encrypted drive hidden behind your boiler.”
The screen showed a video.
Black and white.
Old.
Grainy.
A man stood in the storage room.
My grandfather.
He walked toward the wardrobe.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
“I never trusted the house,” he said.
My skin prickled.
“If you're watching this, someone has already reopened the rooms.”
He paused.
“Daniel, if that's you, listen carefully.”
I stopped breathing.
He continued.
“Your father didn't build the hidden rooms.”
He leaned closer.
“He inherited them.”
The video ended.
I stared at the screen.
Sarah said nothing.
“What were those rooms used for?”
“We don't know.”
“Then find out.”
She nodded.
A forensic technician entered the room.
“Detective?”
Sarah turned.
“We found blood under the hidden bed.”
My stomach dropped.
“How much?”
“Enough to be significant.”
“Claire's?”
“We're testing it.”
The technician hesitated.
“There was something else.”
He handed Sarah a plastic evidence bag.
Inside was a child's bracelet.
Pink beads.
A tiny silver star.
I recognized it.
Lily's.
I looked toward my daughter.
She wasn't in the room.
She was upstairs with an officer.
My heart started racing.
“When did she lose that?”
“Three days ago.”
Sarah stared at me.
“Mr. Mercer…”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
No one spoke.
Then a man's voice whispered:
“Your daughter is not safe.”
I stood up.
“Who are you?”
“Ask Claire what happened in Room One.”
The call ended.
I turned to Sarah.
“Room One.”
She immediately ordered the team to search the basement.
Five minutes later, someone shouted from below.
“Detective!”
We ran downstairs.
Behind the wine rack was a hidden door.
It opened inward.
Inside was a narrow staircase descending into darkness.
At the bottom was a metal sign.
May you like
One word had been stamped into it.
ROOM ONE.
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