Chapter 18 - The Room Beneath the House
The darkness lasted only seconds.
When the lights returned, Edward was gone.
But the back door was open.
Caroline rushed outside.
There were fresh footprints in the mud.
Travis stopped her.
“Don't follow him.”
“Why?”
“Because he wants you to.”
Margaret stood behind them, trembling.
“There's something you need to see.”
She walked toward an old cabinet in the hallway.
Behind it was a narrow wooden door Caroline had never noticed.
Margaret unlocked it.
A staircase descended into darkness.
“My father built this room,” Margaret said.
Travis looked down.
“For what?”
“To hide things.”
At the bottom was a small underground archive.
Boxes covered the walls.
Caroline opened the first one.
Court records.
Property deeds.
Police reports.
Then she found a file marked:
PROJECT HARBOR.
Her father's handwriting appeared on the first page.
Caroline read the opening sentence.
“Subject survived.”
She froze.
“Who?”
Margaret pointed to the next page.
A photograph was attached.
The woman in it was Caroline's aunt.
Alive.
Taken twenty-three years ago.
Caroline's hands began to shake.
“She didn't die.”
Margaret shook her head.
“No.”
Travis looked at the date.
“This photograph was taken three months after her supposed funeral.”
Caroline turned another page.
A list of names followed.
Her father's name.
Edward's.
The sheriff's.
Senator Hale's.
May you like
And at the bottom:
MARGARET WELLS — WITNESS.
