Chapter 2: The Secret Room Under My Mansion
For three seconds, nobody moved.
The guests stood frozen around the pool.
Vanessa's hand remained trapped in mine.
And from beneath the water came another faint sound.
"Marcus...""
I released Vanessa.
"Call the fire department!"" I shouted.
"Tell them someone is trapped underneath the pool!""
One of my employees, Daniel, immediately ran toward the house.
Vanessa stepped in front of me.
"You're making a terrible mistake.""
I stared at her.
"My wife is underneath that water.""
"That's impossible.""
"I just heard her!""
"You heard what you wanted to hear!""
I pointed toward the pool.
"Then explain the hatch.""
Vanessa's face tightened.
"Marcus, please. Think about Ava.""
I looked at my daughter.
She was standing beside an elderly guest, crying silently.
"Exactly," I said.
"I'm thinking about my daughter. I'm thinking about the fact that she's been telling us her mother is alive, and nobody believed her.""
Vanessa lowered her voice.
"Your wife died.""
"Then why are you terrified of opening a door?""
She said nothing.
I turned toward the water again.
The hatch was partially open, but I couldn't see anything through the dark opening from where I stood.
I needed equipment.
A ladder.
A flashlight.
Something that would allow me to reach whoever was underneath without getting trapped myself.
"Daniel!"" I shouted.
My house manager appeared at the terrace doors.
"Sir?""
"Bring the maintenance keys, diving equipment, and every powerful flashlight in the utility room.""
Daniel glanced at Vanessa.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
I noticed.
"Daniel, now!""
He hurried away.
Vanessa stepped closer.
"Marcus, can we talk privately?""
"No.""
"Please. Not in front of these people.""
I laughed once, without humor.
"You were perfectly comfortable proposing in front of them five minutes ago.""
Her lips trembled.
"That isn't fair.""
"Neither is hiding a woman under my swimming pool.""
Ava suddenly ran toward me.
"Daddy!""
I crouched and wrapped my arms around her.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?""
She pressed her face against my wet shirt.
"Mommy told me not to tell Vanessa.""
My entire body went still.
I gently pulled back.
"What?""
Ava wiped her nose with the back of her hand.
"Mommy said Vanessa was watching.""
Vanessa immediately stepped forward.
"That's enough, Ava!""
My daughter jumped.
I rose so quickly that Vanessa took a step backward.
"Don't you ever speak to her like that again.""
"Marcus, she's confused!""
"Let her finish.""
I crouched again.
"Sweetheart, when did Mommy tell you that?""
Ava looked toward the pool.
"Last night.""
My stomach tightened.
"Last night?""
She nodded.
"I heard her singing.""
I looked at the house.
"Where?""
"In the bathroom.""
I stared at her.
The bathroom was on the ground floor, directly beside the pool equipment corridor.
"Did you see Mommy?""
Ava nodded.
"Just her hand. She put it under the little door.""
"What little door?""
"The one Daddy says is not for playing.""
I knew the door she meant.
A narrow service entrance near the pool filtration room. It had been locked since Elena's disappearance.
I had assumed it contained old maintenance equipment.
Vanessa had insisted that the lock remain changed.
I had never questioned her.
Now I couldn't remember why.
Daniel returned carrying a large equipment case.
"Sir, I found the diving gear. But the service entrance is locked.""
I looked at Vanessa.
"Give me the key.""
She shook her head.
"I don't have it.""
"Who does?""
She remained silent.
Daniel opened the equipment case.
Inside were two underwater flashlights, a breathing apparatus, and a pair of heavy-duty gloves.
I pulled out the flashlight.
"Daniel, come with me.""
Vanessa stepped between us.
"No!""
Her voice was so sharp that several guests recoiled.
I looked at her.
"Move.""
"You don't know what you're dealing with!""
"Then tell me.""
She shook her head.
I took another step.
She grabbed my shirt.
"Marcus, if you go down there, everything will be destroyed.""
The words landed like a slap.
"Everything?""
Her eyes widened.
She realized what she'd said.
I pulled away.
"Get her away from the pool," I told Daniel.
He hesitated.
"Sir?""
"Now.""
Daniel gently moved Vanessa toward the terrace doors.
She began shouting.
"Don't you dare! You don't understand what she did!""
I stopped.
"What who did?""
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
Then she looked directly at Ava.
And for the first time that evening, my girlfriend looked at my daughter with something far worse than irritation.
She looked at her with hatred.
I turned to Daniel.
"Take Ava somewhere safe. Do not let Vanessa near her.""
Ava grabbed my hand.
"Daddy, please bring Mommy home.""
I kissed her forehead.
"I promise I'll try.""
Then I put on the diving equipment.
The breathing apparatus hissed as I checked the connection.
I entered the pool again.
The water was darker now.
I descended toward the open hatch.
The gap had widened slightly, and the current coming through it was stronger than before.
I positioned the flashlight between my teeth and gripped the metal handle.
With one final pull, the hatch lifted.
A narrow opening appeared beneath it.
I squeezed through.
The space below was not part of the pool.
It was a chamber.
A hidden underground room with concrete walls and a low ceiling. A rusty metal ladder led down to a narrow walkway.
The water level reached my chest.
I surfaced inside the chamber and pulled the breathing apparatus away from my mouth.
The air smelled of mildew, rust, and something chemical.
A single yellow bulb flickered overhead.
I turned the flashlight toward the walls.
There was a narrow cot.
A metal table.
A plastic bucket.
And dozens of scratches carved into the concrete.
Some were arranged in groups of five.
Others formed words.
HELP.
PLEASE.
ELENA.
My knees nearly gave way.
"Elena?"" I shouted.
My voice echoed through the chamber.
I moved forward.
A chain hung from a pipe in the corner.
Beside it lay a small plate with dried food stuck to its surface.
Someone had been living here.
Someone had been imprisoned.
I shone the flashlight toward the far wall.
There was another door.
A steel door with a small observation window.
I approached it.
The window was covered from the inside with a piece of fabric.
I pulled it away.
At first, I saw only darkness.
Then a face appeared.
A woman's face.
Her hair was tangled. Her cheeks were hollow. Her lips were cracked.
But her eyes—
I knew those eyes.
"Elena?""
Her hand flew to the glass.
She began crying.
I grabbed the handle.
It wouldn't move.
"Elena! It's me!""
She shook her head frantically.
Then she pointed behind me.
I turned.
A small monitor was mounted above the metal table.
It was still switched on.
The screen displayed the pool terrace.
I could see the guests.
I could see Daniel.
And I could see Vanessa.
She was standing beside the pool controls, watching the monitor.
Then she slowly lifted her head.
She was looking directly at the camera.
She smiled.
Not the smile she'd worn when I proposed.
Something colder.
Something practiced.
I turned back toward Elena.
She pressed her hand against the glass and mouthed two words.
I couldn't hear them.
I leaned closer.
"What's wrong?""
Her lips moved again.
This time, I understood.
GET OUT.
I looked at the steel door.
Then I heard a heavy metallic click behind me.
The water around my waist began moving.
I turned toward the chamber entrance.
The hatch above was closing.
Someone was pulling it shut.
I rushed toward the ladder.
But before I could reach it, a loud mechanical grinding sound filled the chamber.
A second steel barrier began descending over the opening.
I grabbed the ladder.
"NO!""
The barrier slammed into place.
The chamber went dark.
My flashlight flickered.
Then a speaker crackled above the steel door.
Vanessa's voice filled the room.
"I'm sorry, Marcus.""
I stood frozen.
"What have you done?""
There was a pause.
Then she answered.
"Something I should have done fourteen months ago.""
A loud bang came from the other side of Elena's door.
Elena screamed.
And Vanessa spoke again.
"But now that you've found her, I suppose there's no reason to keep pretending.""
The speaker clicked off.
I turned toward Elena.
She was pointing frantically at the floor.
I lowered my flashlight.
There was a small metal plate beside the cot.
Beneath it, someone had scratched a message into the concrete.
I moved closer.
The words were barely visible.
But I read them.
THE WOMAN OUTSIDE IS NOT VANESSA.
My stomach dropped.
I looked back at Elena.
She was shaking her head, tears streaming down her face.
Then she mouthed another name.
"Rebecca.""
I didn't know any Rebecca.
Not in my family.
Not among my employees.
Not in my wife's circle of friends.
I pressed my hands against the steel door.
"Elena! Who is Rebecca?""
She pointed toward the monitor.
The screen had switched on again.
It showed the mansion's entrance.
A black SUV was pulling into the driveway.
A woman stepped out.
She wore a champagne-colored dress.
She had Vanessa's face.
But the woman standing beside the pool was already wearing the same dress.
I stared at the screen.
Two identical women.
One above me.
One arriving at my front door.
Then Elena covered her mouth.
Because the woman on the monitor looked directly into the camera and whispered something.
May you like
Something I could read through her lips.
"Where is my daughter?""
