Chapter 9 - The Room Beneath the Kitchen
Mia did not tell Nora about the letter.
She informed Detective Reed, but she refused his request to wait for a full search team.
“If the person who entered my apartment wanted to hurt me, they had the opportunity.”
“Or they wanted you to think you were safe.”
“They gave me a key.”
“They may be directing you into a trap.”
“Then follow me from a distance.”
Reed did not approve, but he agreed.
The Mercer lake house stood beyond a line of pine trees beside a narrow road. Its windows were covered. Moss climbed the stone steps. The lake behind it was dark beneath the evening sky.
Mia had not visited since the summer before Evelyn disappeared.
She remembered running along the dock with Brianna while Kyle skipped stones. She remembered Lorraine cooking in the kitchen and Dean arguing with someone in the study.
Most clearly, she remembered her mother standing at the water’s edge, staring across the lake as though waiting for someone.
The front door had recently been repaired.
Mia used the old key.
It opened easily.
Dust covered most of the floor, but a path led from the entrance to the kitchen.
Someone had walked through the house many times.
In the kitchen, Mia found the wooden table from Kyle’s photograph. The black mark near one corner confirmed it.
Reed and two officers waited outside.
Mia searched beneath the cabinets.
The letter said the room beneath the kitchen.
She moved the table and discovered a narrow metal ring embedded in the floor.
When she pulled it, a section of tile lifted.
Wooden steps descended into darkness.
Mia turned on her phone’s flashlight.
The air below smelled dry and metallic.
At the bottom was a steel door.
The old key opened it.
The hidden room contained filing cabinets, computer equipment, shelves of medical containers, and a wall covered with photographs.
Mia saw herself at different ages.
Leaving school.
Entering college.
Graduating.
Moving into her first apartment.
Someone had watched her for twelve years.
A red line connected several photographs to pictures of Brianna, Kyle, Lorraine, and Dean.
Another line led to a photograph of Nora.
Beside Nora’s picture was a handwritten note.
THOMAS’S DAUGHTER. POSSIBLE LEVERAGE.
Mia immediately called Reed inside.
The officers photographed everything.
One cabinet contained financial ledgers documenting every transfer from Mia’s trust. Beside each amount was a name, date, and purpose.
Lorraine’s withdrawals were marked Protection.
Dean’s were marked Cooperation.
Kyle’s were marked Control.
Brianna’s were marked Compensation.
Mia’s column contained only one word.
Survival.
Reed opened another cabinet.
Inside were files labeled with women’s names.
Each file contained identification documents, medical records, and photographs.
Some of the women resembled Evelyn.
Others resembled Mia.
“This is an identity operation,” Reed said.
“For what?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Mia found a recorder on the desk.
The battery was dead, but its memory card was intact.
An officer connected it to a laptop.
A single audio file began to play.
Lorraine’s voice filled the room.
“She is asking questions about the trust.”
Kyle responded.
“Then give her another expense. Keep her worried about money.”
“What if she discovers the policy?”
“She won’t. Mia believes whatever we tell her about Evelyn.”
Dean’s voice entered.
“The girl is not as naïve as you think.”
Brianna laughed.
“She still comes to dinner every Sunday.”
The recording ended.
Mia felt something inside her settle.
For years, she had wondered whether she was selfish.
Whether she had failed to appreciate them.
Whether her discomfort was a flaw in her character.
Now she knew the truth.
They had intentionally kept her exhausted, indebted, and ashamed.
Reed opened the final drawer.
It contained a passport.
The photograph was Evelyn.
The name was Margaret Vale.
The passport had been renewed four months earlier.
Beneath it was a boarding pass for a flight departing the next morning.
Destination: Zurich.
Reed called the airport.
Mia examined the passport.
A piece of paper had been folded inside.
It contained an address and a time.
Tonight. 11:30 p.m.
May you like
At the bottom was a warning.
If Kyle reaches her first, Evelyn dies twice.
