Chapter 1: The Woman Beneath the Water
"Daddy! Mommy is under the pool!""
The words shattered the perfect evening.
I was on one knee beside the infinity pool of my mansion, holding an open red velvet ring box toward the woman I intended to marry. Crystal chandeliers illuminated the terrace. Champagne glasses sparkled beneath the golden lights. Two dozen guests stood around us, smiling, waiting for her answer.
Then my six-year-old daughter came running across the marble patio.
Her little pink shoes slipped against the wet stone. Her blonde curls bounced wildly around her tear-streaked face.
"Daddy!"" Ava screamed again, pointing at the water.
"Mommy is down there!""
The woman in the champagne-colored dress stopped smiling.
Her name was Vanessa Cole.
For eleven months, she had been my girlfriend. For the last three, she had been living in my house, wearing my wife's old perfume, sleeping in the bedroom that once belonged to the woman I had buried in my heart.
And tonight, I had planned to ask her to become my wife.
I slowly turned toward Ava.
"Sweetheart, what did you say?""
"Mommy!"" She pointed at the pool with trembling fingers.
"I saw her! She's alive! She's looking at me!""
A nervous laugh escaped one of the guests.
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
"Ava, honey, that's enough.""
But my daughter shook her head violently.
"No! You're lying!""
The smile vanished completely from Vanessa's face.
She crouched in front of Ava, gripping both her little shoulders.
"Listen to me," Vanessa said through clenched teeth.
"You know better than to make up stories like this.""
Ava flinched.
I stood up.
"Vanessa.""
She looked over her shoulder.
"What?""
"Take your hands off my daughter.""
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then Vanessa released Ava and straightened her dress.
"Marcus, she's upset. Children imagine things. We shouldn't encourage—"
"She said she saw her mother.""
"Your wife is dead.""
The words came out too quickly.
Too confidently.
I stared at Vanessa.
My wife, Elena, had supposedly died fourteen months earlier in a boating accident. Her body had never been recovered, but the authorities had eventually declared her presumed dead after an extensive search.
I had spent months paying investigators, hiring divers, and searching every stretch of coastline.
Eventually, everyone told me to accept what had happened.
Everyone except Ava.
She had never accepted it.
Every night, she asked whether Mommy was coming home.
Every birthday, she saved a piece of cake for her.
And now she was standing in front of me, crying and pointing at the pool.
"Where did you see her?"" I asked.
Ava grabbed my hand.
"By the bottom. I was looking through the glass.""
I frowned.
"What glass?""
She pointed toward the far end of the swimming pool, where the underwater lighting illuminated the pale blue tiles.
"That black door. I saw Mommy's face through it.""
Vanessa stepped between us.
"Marcus, please. Don't do this.""
I looked at her.
"Don't do what?""
"Don't let her turn tonight into another one of her episodes.""
Ava began sobbing harder.
"I'm not lying!""
Vanessa sighed dramatically, looking toward our guests.
"I'm sorry everyone. Ava has been having trouble adjusting. Sometimes she says things because she misses her mother.""
A woman near the outdoor dining table nodded sympathetically.
Someone else lowered their champagne glass.
But I wasn't listening to them.
I was watching Vanessa.
Her fingers were trembling.
Not from embarrassment.
From fear.
I had seen Vanessa angry. I had seen her jealous. I had even seen her furious when I refused to let her reorganize Elena's belongings.
But I had never seen her afraid.
"Marcus," she whispered, reaching for my arm.
"Let's take Ava inside.""
I didn't move.
"Why?""
"Because this is ridiculous.""
"Then you won't mind showing me what she's talking about.""
Her eyes darted toward the pool.
Just for a second.
But I caught it.
I looked at the water.
The pool was unusually still. Beneath the shimmering surface, the blue tiles seemed to disappear into darkness near the deep end.
I took one step toward it.
Vanessa grabbed my wrist.
"Don't.""
I looked down at her hand.
"Let go.""
"Marcus, listen to me.""
"Let go of my arm.""
She tightened her grip.
"You have no idea what's down there.""
The terrace went silent.
I stared at her.
"What did you just say?""
Vanessa swallowed.
"I mean, it's deep. You could hurt yourself.""
I pulled my arm free.
Then I looked at Ava.
"Sweetheart, are you absolutely sure?""
She nodded, tears running down her cheeks.
"I saw her hand. She was hitting the glass.""
My stomach twisted.
I turned toward the pool.
The champagne dress, the expensive ring, the guests, the carefully arranged flowers—all of it suddenly seemed absurd.
I threw off my royal-blue jacket.
Vanessa rushed forward.
"Marcus, don't!""
I kicked off my shoes.
"Someone call emergency services!"" I shouted.
A guest immediately pulled out his phone.
Vanessa grabbed my shoulder.
"Please. You don't understand!""
I shoved her hand away.
Then I jumped.
The water swallowed me.
Coldness slammed into my chest as I plunged beneath the surface.
The world became blue, silent, and distorted.
I opened my eyes.
The pool lights illuminated the tiles, the decorative steps, and the dark outline of the drain.
At first, I saw nothing unusual.
Then I noticed something at the deepest end.
A rectangular shape.
It wasn't a shadow.
It was metal.
A large, dark metal hatch had been fitted into the pool floor. Its edges were sealed with a thick black rubber lining, and a heavy handle sat in the center.
I kicked toward it.
My lungs began tightening.
I reached the hatch and ran my fingers along its edges.
It was old.
Much older than the swimming pool.
There were scratches around the handle, as if someone had repeatedly tried to open it from the other side.
I pulled.
Nothing.
I repositioned my hands and pulled harder.
The metal shifted slightly.
A small cloud of bubbles escaped from one edge.
My heart began pounding.
There was space underneath.
Something was down there.
I surfaced quickly, dragged in a breath, and immediately dove again.
This time, I grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled with everything I had.
The hatch moved.
Not much.
But enough.
A narrow gap opened along one side.
Cold water rushed through it, carrying something that floated past my face.
A small white ribbon.
I recognized it instantly.
It was the ribbon Elena had tied around her wrist on the day she disappeared.
My lungs burned.
I pulled again.
The hatch rose another inch.
Beneath it was absolute darkness.
I stared into the opening, unable to believe what I was seeing.
Then something moved below me.
A pale shape.
A hand.
I reached toward it.
And from somewhere beneath the pool, I heard three faint metallic knocks.
I nearly swallowed water.
Someone was alive down there.
I kicked toward the surface as quickly as I could.
When I emerged, Vanessa was standing at the edge of the pool, screaming.
"Marcus! Get out!""
I grabbed the side and pulled myself up.
"What is underneath this pool?""
She shook her head.
"Nothing!""
I stared at her.
"There's a hatch!""
"You shouldn't have opened it!""
The words slipped out before she could stop herself.
I froze.
Ava stood behind a guest, clutching a white tablecloth.
"Daddy," she whispered.
I turned toward her.
She was staring at the water.
"Mommy knocked three times.""
My blood ran cold.
Vanessa suddenly lunged toward the pool controls mounted on the stone wall.
I caught her wrist.
"Don't touch that.""
She looked at me.
Her eyes were wide.
"Marcus, you need to get away from this pool.""
"Why?""
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then a voice came from beneath the water.
A muffled, desperate voice.
"Marcus...""
I stopped breathing.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it in my dreams for fourteen months.
I had heard it in old voicemails I couldn't bring myself to delete.
May you like
It was Elena.
And she was calling my name.
