Chapter 2 - The Door Below the Stairs

The party ended in minutes.

Some guests fled. Others stayed because leaving now felt too much like helping the Mercers hide what they had seen.

Denise Harper called 911.

Grant pointed at her.

"You have no right."

"I watched your three-year-old scrub a floor while she begged you to help."

Police arrived with paramedics.

Grant became calm again.

"This is a family misunderstanding."

Officer Raymond Cole looked at Lily.

"What's downstairs?"

Grant's jaw tightened.

"Storage."

Lily gripped Stallone's hand.

"No."

The officer crouched.

"What's down there, sweetheart?"

Lily stared at her father and began shaking.

Grant stepped forward.

"Lily, tell him you were playing."

Stallone's voice dropped.

"Back up."

Officer Cole followed Lily's pointing finger toward a service hallway.

A locked door sat beneath the staircase.

"Key?"

Vivian answered quickly. "Lost it months ago."

Lily whispered, "Red key."

Everyone looked at Vivian.

Three keys hung from a gold chain at her waist.

One was painted red.

The lock opened.

A narrow staircase dropped into darkness.

Cold air rose from below.

Grant said, "Old utility room."

The officer went down with a flashlight.

Stallone stayed beside Lily.

A few seconds later came another officer's voice.

"Ray. You need to see this."

Grant's expression changed.

Officer Cole returned carrying a small pink blanket.

Written across it in black marker:

LILY'S THINKING TIME BLANKET.

"How often is your daughter put down there?"

Grant said nothing.

Vivian snapped, "Never."

Lily whispered, "Yes."

Vivian's head turned.

"Lily."

The child flinched so hard that even Grant's lawyer, who had just arrived, noticed.

Then the second officer came upstairs holding a small portable camera.

"We found this aimed at the blanket."

Grant stared at it.

Vivian did too.

The memory card was still inside.

Officer Cole bagged it.

Vivian said, "That camera isn't mine."

Nobody had accused her of owning it.

Detective Maya Brooks arrived fifteen minutes later, heard the statement, and wrote it down.

Then she looked at Grant.

"You want to tell me whose camera it is?"

Grant's answer came too late.

"I've never seen it."

Brooks nodded.

"Good."

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"Why good?"

"Because now I know exactly which lie to test first."