Chapter 2 - THE SECOND VOICENobody spoke for several seconds.
The mansion seemed to hold its breath.
Arthur stared into the dark cavity.
Elena stared at the metal box.
The police officers stared at Victoria.
And Victoria stared at the wall.
“What did I just hear?” Arthur asked.
No one answered.
Then the whisper came again.
“Help…”
This time, it wasn't Leo.
It was weaker.
Older.
Almost inaudible.
Arthur stepped toward the opening.
“There's someone else in there.”
Victoria immediately blocked him.
“No.”
Arthur looked at her.
“What?”
“There is no one else.”
“How would you know?”
Victoria swallowed.
“I heard echoes.”
An officer stepped forward.
“Mrs. Vance, move aside.”
Victoria refused.
The officer gently moved her back.
Two officers entered the exposed cavity with flashlights.
They returned thirty seconds later.
“There isn't enough space to go much farther,” one said. “But the cavity continues behind the support beams.”
Arthur clenched his jaw.
“Open it.”
The officer hesitated.
“We'll need structural support first.”
“Open it.”
“Elena,” another officer said, “what exactly did you hear?”
“A child's voice.”
“Could it have been an echo of Leo?”
“No.”
“How sure are you?”
“Completely.”
Arthur looked at Elena.
“Did you hear anything else?”
Elena looked toward Victoria.
Then at the metal box.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“I heard someone say, ‘Don't let her find me.’”
Victoria closed her eyes.
Arthur noticed.
He walked toward her.
“Who?”
Victoria shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“Then why are you reacting like that?”
“I am frightened!”
“You should be.”
Victoria stepped backward.
Arthur followed.
“Where is the rest of the wall connected?”
She remained silent.
“Victoria.”
Nothing.
Elena pointed toward the box.
“Before anything else, we should open that.”
Victoria snapped her head toward her.
“No.”
Arthur turned.
“Why?”
“Because it's private.”
“This is my house.”
“It's my property too.”
“Not anymore.”
An officer picked up the box.
It was old.
Heavy.
There was no lock.
Arthur nodded.
“Open it.”
The lid creaked upward.
Inside were photographs.
Dozens of them.
Some were old enough that the paper had yellowed.
Elena leaned closer.
The first photograph showed Arthur standing beside a woman Elena had never seen before.
The second showed Arthur holding a newborn baby.
The third showed the same woman crying outside the mansion.
Arthur took the photograph.
His hands began shaking.
“Who is this?”
Victoria looked away.
Arthur stared at her.
“Who is she?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Another photograph fell from the box.
It showed the woman standing beside a young girl.
On the back was handwritten:
LUCY - AGE 5
Arthur's face changed.
Elena saw something she had never seen before.
Recognition.
“Arthur?”
He whispered, “Lucy.”
Victoria stepped backward.
Arthur turned toward her.
“You knew.”
“I didn't know anything.”
“You knew about Lucy.”
Victoria's breathing became uneven.
An officer asked, “Who is Lucy?”
Arthur didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at the old photograph again.
Then he noticed something in the corner.
A date.
Seventeen years earlier.
His expression hardened.
“That was before I met Victoria.”
Elena looked at the photograph.
“Then who was the woman?”
Arthur stared at the face.
“My first wife.”
Silence.
“You told everyone she died in an accident,” Elena said.
“She did.”
“Then who is Lucy?”
Arthur couldn't answer.
Victoria did.
“She was supposed to be dead too.”
Arthur slowly turned.
“What did you say?”
Victoria realized her mistake.
One officer stepped forward.
“Mrs. Vance, I need you to explain that statement.”
Victoria's eyes widened.
“I meant…”
A loud metallic bang came from inside the wall.
Everyone turned.
Then another.
BANG.
BANG.
Something was moving.
Arthur shouted.
“Break the wall open!”
The police began removing the wooden supports.
Dust filled the corridor.
Behind the support beam was a narrow tunnel leading toward the east wing.
Elena recognized it.
There shouldn't have been a tunnel there.
One officer crawled inside.
Seconds later, he shouted.
“We found something!”
Arthur rushed forward.
The officer emerged holding a tiny silver necklace.
A child's necklace.
Arthur stared at it.
He knew it.
His knees nearly gave out.
“This belonged to Lucy.”
Victoria turned pale.
And then a phone began ringing.
Everyone looked around.
The sound was coming from the metal box.
Elena opened a hidden compartment at the bottom.
Inside was an old cell phone.
It was still powered on.
The screen showed one incoming call.
No name.
Just a number.
Arthur answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then breathing.
Slow.
Controlled.
A man's voice finally spoke.
“You opened the wall.”
Arthur froze.
“Who is this?”
The voice answered:
“You should have left it buried.”
The call ended.
Elena looked at Arthur.
The phone rang again.
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This time, the caller ID displayed a name.
LUCY.
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