Chapter 1: The Door Beneath the Water
“Daddy, why does Mommy keep telling me never to look underneath the pool?””
Marcus Reed stopped breathing.
His six-year-old daughter, Ava, sat on the pale stone edge of their turquoise swimming pool, her little legs dangling above the water. She wore a pale-yellow dress with tiny white flowers, and her blonde curls rested against her shoulders.
Marcus knelt behind her, one hand resting gently on her back.
“What did you say, sweetheart?””
Ava pointed toward the far end of the pool.
“Mommy says there's nothing down there. But sometimes I hear someone knocking.””
Marcus followed her finger.
At first, he saw nothing unusual.
Just crystal-clear water, expensive marble tiles, and the reflection of the modern mansion standing behind them.
Then he noticed something.
A dark rectangular shape beneath the water.
Marcus leaned forward.
The shape was attached to the pool's concrete structure, partially concealed behind a decorative stone ledge. It looked like a metal hatch, almost invisible unless someone knew exactly where to look.
And there was something else.
A heavy circular padlock.
Marcus stared at it.
“What is that?”” he whispered.
Ava shrugged.
“I don't know. Mommy gets mad when I ask.””
Marcus slowly stood.
“Sweetheart, stay right here. Don't move, okay?””
“Are you going swimming?””
“Just for a minute.””
He removed his watch, placed it on the nearby table, and stepped into the pool.
The water was colder than he expected.
He took a deep breath and submerged himself.
Underwater, the mansion became a distorted blur. Sunlight shimmered across the pool floor as Marcus swam toward the dark metal structure.
Up close, the hatch was much larger than it had appeared from the surface.
It was made of thick industrial steel, not something normally installed in a residential swimming pool.
Its edges were surrounded by a rubber seal.
The circular padlock looked old, but its metal body was remarkably clean.
Marcus ran his fingers over it.
There were scratches around the locking mechanism.
Fresh scratches.
Someone had recently tried to open it.
He examined the hinges, then pressed his palm against the metal.
Something moved.
A faint vibration traveled through his hand.
Marcus froze.
He pressed again.
There it was.
A dull metallic sound came from behind the hatch.
Three knocks.
Then silence.
His heart began hammering.
He kicked toward the surface, gasping as his head broke through the water.
“Marcus!””
Vanessa's voice came from behind him.
His wife stood beside the pool in an elegant emerald-green dress. Her dark hair was pinned neatly behind her head, and she held a glass of pink liquid.
She had been watching from the terrace.
But the moment she saw Marcus near the far end of the pool, the glass slipped slightly in her hand.
“What are you doing?”” she demanded.
Marcus wiped water from his face.
“What's that door?””
Vanessa looked toward the underwater hatch.
For one brief second, her expression collapsed.
Her mouth opened.
Her fingers flew to her lips.
Then she hurried toward him.
“Get out of the pool.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Excuse me?””
“Marcus, please. Get out. You'll hurt yourself.””
“It's a door, Vanessa. Why is there a locked metal door inside our swimming pool?””
She glanced toward Ava.
“Not in front of her.””
Marcus climbed out.
Water streamed from his clothes onto the expensive stone tiles.
He reached for a towel, but his attention shifted to the outdoor dining table.
A brown leather handbag sat beside a pink drink.
Three medicine bottles stood next to it.
One was white with a blue label.
Another was amber-colored.
The third was a small prescription bottle with its label partially peeled away.
Marcus looked at the bottles.
Then at his wife.
“Whose medication is this?””
Vanessa stepped between him and the table.
“Mine.””
“Since when do you take medication?””
“Since when do I need to explain every little thing I do to you?””
Marcus picked up the amber bottle.
The label showed a prescription filled six days earlier.
He turned it around.
“Vanessa, this isn't your name.””
She snatched it from his hand.
“Put that down.””
“What is this?””
“It's private.””
“Private? In our backyard?””
Her eyes darted toward Ava again.
The little girl had stopped swinging her feet.
She was watching them with both hands gripping the edge of the pool.
Marcus lowered his voice.
“Sweetheart, why don't you go inside and get your coloring book?””
Ava didn't move.
“Daddy?””
“It's okay, baby.””
“Are you mad at Mommy?””
The question struck him harder than anything else.
He crouched beside her.
“No, sweetheart. I just need to talk to her.””
Ava looked at Vanessa.
Then she whispered something that made Marcus's stomach tighten.
“Mommy said if you found the door, I should tell you I was dreaming.””
Marcus slowly turned.
“What?””
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
“She's confused.””
Ava shook her head.
“I'm not confused.””
“Vanessa,” Marcus said quietly.
“What did you tell our daughter?””
His wife released his arm.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
The only sound was the soft circulation of water through the pool's filtration system.
Then Vanessa reached for the brown handbag.
“Marcus, listen to me. There's an explanation.””
“Then explain.””
“I was going to tell you.””
“When?””
She swallowed.
“Soon.””
Marcus looked at the hatch again.
“Who installed that thing?””
Vanessa rubbed her forehead.
“It's part of the old maintenance system.””
“Maintenance system?””
“Yes.””
“Why does it have a padlock?””
“Because it's dangerous.””
“Then why have I never seen it before?””
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“Because you were never supposed to.””
Marcus stared at her.
The sentence hung between them.
Vanessa immediately realized what she had said.
She covered her mouth.
“That's not what I meant.””
Marcus stepped backward.
“Who put it there?””
“I don't know.””
“Who has the key?””
“I don't know, Marcus!””
He looked at the medicine bottles.
Then at the pink drink.
Then at his daughter.
Something was terribly wrong.
And suddenly, the house he had built for his family felt like a place he didn't recognize.
Marcus pulled his phone from his pocket.
Vanessa noticed.
“Who are you calling?””
He didn't answer.
He searched for a number and pressed call.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Vanessa moved closer.
“Marcus, don't.””
Three rings.
Then someone answered.
Marcus lifted the phone to his ear.
“It's me,” he said.
“I need you to tell me the truth about the room beneath my swimming pool.””
Vanessa's face went completely white.
He listened.
His expression changed.
First suspicion.
Then confusion.
Then something close to horror.
“What?”” he whispered.
Vanessa raised one trembling hand toward his phone.
“Marcus, please. Don't listen to—”
He turned away from her.
The voice on the other end spoke again.
And this time, Marcus almost dropped the phone.
Because the person answering hadn't asked what room he was talking about.
May you like
They had asked one question.
“Is Ava still alive?””
