Chapter 4 - The Truth Inside The Locked Room
I froze when I heard Isabella's voice through the phone.
"Daniel... he's already inside your house."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
"What do you mean?"
No answer.
Only silence.
Then I heard something in the background.
A door opening.
A man's voice.
And Isabella whispering:
"Please don't let him find you."
The call ended.
I immediately called back.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
My heart was racing.
Not because I didn't know what was happening.
Because I finally understood.
The danger wasn't somewhere far away.
It was where I had always felt safest.
My home.
My family.
My memories.
All of it.
I ran back downstairs.
Marcus was waiting near the entrance.
When he saw my face, he knew something happened.
"What is it?"
I grabbed my jacket.
"We need to go."
"Where?"
"Home."
His expression changed.
"No."
I stopped.
"What?"
Marcus shook his head.
"You cannot go back there."
I stared at him.
"My wife is there."
He lowered his voice.
"Daniel, your father has been preparing for this moment for years."
I looked at him.
"What moment?"
"The moment you finally started asking questions."
I stepped closer.
"What does my father want?"
Marcus looked away.
Then he said something that made my blood run cold.
"He wants you to forget."
I didn't understand.
"Forget what?"
Marcus looked at the folder in my hand.
"Everything."
The drive back to the mansion felt longer than ever.
I kept looking at my phone.
Waiting for Isabella.
Waiting for any sign.
Nothing.
Marcus sat beside me in silence.
Until finally, I asked:
"How long have you known?"
He didn't answer immediately.
"Known what?"
"That my mother was alive."
His hands tightened around the steering wheel.
"Twenty-five years."
I looked at him.
"You knew for twenty-five years?"
"Yes."
"And you said nothing?"
His face showed pain.
"I tried."
"When?"
"Many times."
I laughed bitterly.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Marcus looked at me.
"Because every person who tried to tell you disappeared."
The car became silent.
"What?"
He nodded.
"Your mother's lawyer."
"Dead."
"Your grandfather's accountant."
"Missing."
"The doctor who delivered you."
"Moved away and never contacted anyone again."
I stared ahead.
"You're saying my father did this?"
Marcus didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
I already knew.
But there was something I didn't understand.
"Why?"
Marcus took a breath.
"Because your father built everything on one lie."
"What lie?"
He looked at me.
"The lie about who you are."
When we arrived at the mansion, every light was on.
The front door was open.
That was wrong.
My house was never left open.
Not by my family.
Not ever.
I got out of the car.
Marcus grabbed my arm.
"Daniel."
I looked back.
"Stay behind me."
I almost smiled.
"After everything I've learned, you still think I need protection?"
Marcus looked serious.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I spent twenty-five years protecting your mother."
A pause.
"And I failed."
I entered the mansion.
The silence was disturbing.
No voices.
No footsteps.
No movement.
Just emptiness.
"Isabella?"
My voice echoed.
No answer.
I walked through the living room.
Everything looked normal.
Almost too normal.
The same furniture.
The same paintings.
The same family photographs.
But now every picture felt like a lie.
I stopped in front of one.
A family photo.
My father.
My mother.
And me as a child.
I touched the frame.
Then I noticed something.
The picture had been replaced.
I removed it.
Behind it was a small hole in the wall.
Inside was a hidden compartment.
A key.
And a note.
My name was written on it.
Daniel.
My hands shook as I opened it.
The note only contained one sentence.
"The room beneath the house knows the truth."
I looked at Marcus.
"There's a room?"
His face changed.
"What did you find?"
I showed him the note.
For the first time, Marcus looked afraid.
"No."
"What?"
"Your father said that room was destroyed."
"Apparently, he lied."
Marcus looked toward the basement door.
"We need to leave."
I ignored him.
"No."
"Daniel."
"I have spent my entire life being told what to believe."
I held up the key.
"Not anymore."
The basement had always been locked.
I remembered asking my father about it when I was young.
He always gave the same answer.
"Nothing important is down there."
But now I knew.
In my family...
Nothing important was ever hidden.
Only dangerous things.
The key fit perfectly.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
A cold feeling moved through me.
The basement wasn't abandoned.
Someone had been using it.
Recently.
There were files everywhere.
Boxes.
Old photographs.
Medical records.
Letters.
And a small table in the center.
On it was a single object.
A bracelet.
The same bracelet Isabella had been wearing when she disappeared.
I picked it up.
Marcus went pale.
"Where did you find that?"
I looked at him.
"You know this bracelet?"
He didn't answer.
"Marcus."
His eyes filled with regret.
"Your mother wore one exactly like it."
I looked at the bracelet again.
"No."
Marcus stepped closer.
"Daniel..."
"No."
My voice became louder.
"Don't tell me."
Because I knew.
I already knew.
The truth was getting closer.
And I wasn't ready.
I opened the nearest box.
Inside were hundreds of documents.
The first one had my name.
Daniel.
Birth records.
But something was wrong.
The father's name was different.
The mother's name was different.
My entire identity was written on paper.
And it wasn't the identity I had known.
Then I saw another file.
Isabella's name.
I opened it quickly.
Inside was a medical report.
And a photograph.
A photograph of Isabella meeting someone.
Someone from my family.
Someone who had been helping her.
Someone I never expected.
I turned the page.
There was a handwritten note.
"She knows the child is not the only secret."
My breathing stopped.
"What child?"
Marcus looked at the file.
Then at me.
"Daniel..."
"What child?"
Before he could answer, the basement lights suddenly turned off.
Complete darkness.
I heard a sound.
A door closing upstairs.
Then footsteps.
Someone was inside the house.
Marcus whispered:
"We are not alone."
I grabbed the flashlight from the table.
The footsteps slowly moved closer.
Not toward the basement.
Toward the room above us.
Toward where Isabella's belongings were kept.
I looked at Marcus.
"Who knows we're here?"
He didn't answer.
Then my phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
"Stop searching for your mother."
Another message appeared.
"Or you will lose your wife."
My blood went cold.
Then a third message arrived.
This time there was a picture attached.
I opened it.
It was a live photo.
Taken moments ago.
Inside the basement.
I looked at the screen.
The picture showed Marcus standing beside me.
But behind us...
May you like
Someone else was standing in the darkness.
And that person was holding a knife.
