Chapter 2: The Voice on the Phone
Marcus couldn't hear the water anymore.
He couldn't hear the birds in the garden or the distant hum of the air-conditioning units.
All he could hear was the question.
Is Ava still alive?
He stared at his daughter.
She was sitting exactly where he had left her, her little fingers wrapped around the edge of the pool.
Her yellow dress was beginning to flutter in the afternoon breeze.
“Who is this?”” Marcus demanded.
Vanessa took another step forward.
“Give me the phone.””
He raised his free hand.
“Stay back.””
“Marcus, you don't understand.””
“Who is on this phone?””
The voice answered.
“It's Daniel. Daniel Cross.””
Marcus felt his stomach drop.
Daniel Cross had been the architect who designed their mansion.
He had also been Marcus's closest friend for almost fifteen years.
Until three years ago.
Daniel had disappeared after a serious disagreement over the construction of the house. He had sent Marcus one final email, saying he was leaving the country and didn't want to be contacted again.
Marcus had never heard from him since.
“Daniel?”” he whispered.
“Listen carefully,” Daniel said.
“You need to get Ava away from that pool.””
“Why?””
“Because the hatch isn't a maintenance entrance.””
Marcus looked at the water.
“What is it?””
There was a pause.
Then Daniel spoke.
“It's an access door to the old underground service room.””
Marcus looked toward Vanessa.
She was crying now.
Not quietly.
Her shoulders were trembling, and her hands were pressed against her mouth.
“Why is it locked?”” Marcus asked.
“Because somebody paid to have it sealed.””
“Who?””
“Marcus, I don't have time to explain everything over the phone. You need to get Ava out of that house.””
“Who locked it?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Your wife.””
Marcus closed his eyes.
For a moment, he couldn't process the words.
Then he opened them.
“That's impossible.””
“I'm sorry.””
“Vanessa wouldn't do that.””
“Then ask her why she still has the key.””
Marcus turned toward his wife.
Vanessa instinctively moved her hand toward the brown handbag.
He noticed.
“Don't touch that bag.””
She froze.
“Marcus…”
“Open it.””
“No.””
“Open it!””
Ava flinched.
Marcus immediately lowered his voice.
“Baby, go inside. Right now.””
Ava stood.
Vanessa moved toward her.
“Sweetheart, come to Mommy.””
But Ava stepped behind Marcus instead.
That small movement told him more than any confession could have.
His daughter was afraid of her mother.
And he had no idea why.
“Marcus,” Daniel said through the phone, “are you listening?””
“Yes.””
“Find the brass key. It's probably inside the handbag. Don't try to open the hatch yourself.””
“Why not?””
“Because the room has an independent ventilation system. If someone has tampered with it, opening that door could be dangerous.””
Marcus stared at the metal hatch.
“What exactly is inside that room?””
Daniel breathed heavily.
“I don't know everything. But I know someone was living down there.””
Marcus felt his fingers go cold.
“Living?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Before Daniel could answer, Vanessa lunged toward the phone.
Marcus stepped aside.
“Don't you dare!””
She stumbled against the table.
The pink drink spilled across the white marble.
One medicine bottle rolled onto the ground.
Ava screamed.
“Mommy, stop!””
Vanessa froze.
For a moment, the three of them stood completely still.
Then Marcus looked at his wife.
“Were you keeping someone beneath our house?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.””
“Daniel says someone was living there.””
“Daniel is lying.””
“Then why are you terrified?””
“Because you don't know what you're getting involved in!””
Marcus laughed once.
It wasn't a happy sound.
“I'm involved in it, Vanessa. It's beneath my swimming pool. My daughter is sitting three feet away from it. And you're carrying medication that doesn't belong to you.””
He held up his phone.
“I'm calling the police.””
Vanessa's expression changed immediately.
“No!””
She grabbed his wrist.
“Please, Marcus. You cannot do that.””
“Let go.””
“You'll destroy everything.””
“What everything?””
“Our family!””
He pulled his arm away.
“You destroyed our family the second you made our daughter afraid to tell me the truth.””
Vanessa looked toward Ava.
Her face crumpled.
“Baby, Mommy didn't mean to scare you.””
Ava started crying.
“Why did you make me drink the pink medicine?””
Marcus went still.
Vanessa's eyes widened.
“What?””
Ava wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“The one you give me before bedtime. You said it helps me forget the knocking.””
Marcus slowly turned toward the table.
The pink drink.
The prescription bottles.
The partially peeled label.
He picked up the bottle again.
This time, he read the label carefully.
It wasn't a standard children's vitamin.
It was a prescription sedative.
His voice became dangerously quiet.
“How long have you been giving this to her?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“You're misunderstanding.””
“How long?””
“It was prescribed.””
“For whom?””
She didn't answer.
Marcus looked at Ava.
“Sweetheart, when did Mommy start giving you that drink?””
Ava held up six fingers.
“Six days?””
She nodded.
“Every night?””
Another nod.
“Why?””
Ava looked at the ground.
“Because I kept waking up.””
Marcus crouched.
“What were you waking up to?””
“The knocking.””
He felt a painful pressure in his chest.
“Where did you hear it?””
Ava pointed toward the pool.
“Under there.””
Vanessa suddenly covered her ears.
“Stop asking her!””
Marcus stood.
“Why?””
“Because she's been having nightmares!””
“Then why did you give her medication?””
“She wouldn't sleep!””
“She's six years old, Vanessa!””
“I was trying to protect her!””
“From what?””
Vanessa stared at him.
Her lips trembled.
Then she whispered something he could barely hear.
“From the person underneath us.””
The garden seemed to tilt.
Marcus looked toward the pool.
A faint metallic sound came from beneath the water.
One knock.
Then another.
He turned back to his wife.
“Who is down there?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Daniel says you locked the hatch.””
“I didn't have a choice.””
“Who is down there?””
She began sobbing.
“Please, Marcus. You have to understand. When we moved into this house, I thought it was empty. I thought Daniel had sealed everything properly.””
“Daniel?””
Vanessa nodded.
“He told me the room was abandoned.””
Marcus looked at the phone.
Daniel was still on the line.
“Daniel,” Marcus said, “what did you leave beneath my house?””
The reply came immediately.
“Nothing I could control.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means the person down there wasn't supposed to survive.””
Marcus stared at the phone.
Vanessa made a small choking sound.
Daniel continued.
“And Marcus, there's something else.””
“What?””
“The room isn't connected to the pool's maintenance system anymore.””
Marcus looked at the water.
“Then what is it connected to?””
Daniel's voice dropped.
“The old nursery wing.””
Marcus went cold.
The old nursery wing was on the ground floor, directly beneath the master bedroom.
It had been closed off before they moved in.
Vanessa had told him the previous owners had used it for storage.
He had never questioned her.
Now he remembered something.
Ava had once asked why there was a little white door behind the built-in bookshelves.
Vanessa had told her it was a cupboard.
Marcus had laughed and forgotten about it.
But Daniel's next words erased that memory.
“Marcus, listen to me. Three years ago, I designed that room because your wife asked me to.””
Marcus looked at Vanessa.
“Why would she ask you to build a room beneath our pool?””
Daniel paused.
Then he said something that made Marcus's knees weaken.
“Because she knew her sister was still alive.””
Vanessa dropped the handbag.
Its contents spilled across the tiles.
A lipstick.
A wallet.
A set of keys.
And a small brass key attached to a faded hospital bracelet.
Marcus picked up the bracelet.
The name printed on it was almost impossible to read.
But the date was clear.
Three years earlier.
He looked at Vanessa.
“Your sister died three years ago.””
Vanessa's face crumpled.
“No,” she whispered.
“She died in a car accident. You showed me the death certificate.””
“I know what I showed you.””
Marcus stared at her.
“Then why does her hospital bracelet have today's date written on the back?””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
May you like
Nothing came out.
And beneath the pool, something struck the metal hatch hard enough to make the water ripple.
