Chapter 13 - Under the Stairs
They returned with Marcus, two independent security contractors, and body cameras recording from the moment they stepped onto the property.
Daniel refused to rely on Detective Morris.
The police department sent a different detective, Jonah Price.
Price was careful, quiet, and visibly angry when he saw the secret passages.
"Nobody documented this in the first search?"
Daniel looked at him. "Ask Morris."
They opened the storage room beneath the stairs.
Rose had said she slept in an old room downstairs.
At first they found shelves, boxes, cleaning supplies.
Then one contractor tapped the back wall.
Hollow.
They removed the shelving.
Behind it was a steel door with no handle.
Claire whispered, "I lived here three years and never knew."
Daniel said nothing.
The contractor cut the lock plate.
The door opened inward.
Cold air rolled out.
The room beyond was small, windowless, and recently used.
A narrow cot.
Bottled water.
Canned food.
A battery lantern.
Children's drawings taped to the wall.
Lily and Rose holding hands.
A woman with dark hair standing behind them.
Rebecca.
On a folding table sat a monitor connected to six camera feeds.
Lily's bedroom.
The hallway.
The kitchen.
The driveway.
The basement.
And one feed Daniel did not recognize.
It showed a concrete room.
A chair.
A woman tied to it.
Claire screamed.
"Rebecca!"
The image was live.
Rebecca lifted her head at the sound, as if she could somehow hear them.
A timestamp blinked in the corner.
Price leaned close.
"Can we trace the feed?"
The contractor started typing.
Then the screen changed.
Margaret Vale appeared on all six feeds at once.
She looked directly into the camera.
"Daniel," she said, "you have one hour to bring me what Rebecca left in that bank box."
Behind her, Rebecca's chair tipped sideways.
May you like
The screen went black.
Page
