Chapter 9 - The Room Beneath the House
The hidden room was older than Daniel expected.
A narrow staircase led beneath the office.
The walls were concrete.
The air smelled damp.
Daniel found Emily sitting against the wall.
She rushed toward him.
“Daniel.”
He hugged her.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Richard arrived moments later.
Emily looked at him.
“You knew this place existed.”
Richard nodded.
“I'm sorry.”
Emily stepped away.
“You lied to me too.”
Richard had no defense.
Emily pointed toward the shelves.
“I found all of this.”
Rows of files filled the room.
Some were decades old.
Daniel opened one.
Inside was a list of payments.
Another contained photographs.
Another contained legal agreements.
Then Emily picked up a folder.
“This one has your name.”
Daniel opened it.
It contained records from the year he was born.
At first, nothing seemed unusual.
Then he saw the final page.
A legal agreement stated that if certain funds were ever discovered, responsibility would be assigned to the oldest surviving son of Richard Carter.
Daniel.
He stared at the words.
“This was written before I was even born.”
Richard nodded.
“James created it.”
“Why?”
“To protect himself.”
“From what?”
Richard looked at him.
“From the people who funded him.”
Emily whispered.
“Who were they?”
Nobody answered.
Then a sound came from the hallway.
A key turning in a lock.
Daniel closed the folder.
Michael whispered.
“They found us.”
Richard looked around.
“There has to be another way out.”
Emily pointed to the back wall.
“There.”
A narrow door.
Daniel opened it.
Behind it was a tunnel leading beneath the property.
They moved quickly.
At the end of the tunnel was a steel door.
Daniel pushed.
It opened into an old garage.
Outside, rain had started.
They escaped.
But before Daniel closed the door, he looked back.
On the floor was a photograph.
He picked it up.
It showed Rebecca.
She was standing beside Emily.
And beside them was the same woman from the lake house photograph.
The woman Richard had claimed was dead.
Daniel stared.
“Dad…”
Richard saw the photograph.
May you like
His face went white.
“That woman isn't dead.”
