Chapter 2 - The Voice in the Wall“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby.”
Lily’s voice was small.
The answer from inside the wall was soft.
Too soft.
Too close.
I couldn't see my daughter in the darkness, but I heard her little socked feet move across the hallway.
“Lily, stay where you are,” I said.
She didn't answer.
A second later, something scraped behind the bedroom wall.
Then came three slow knocks.
Lily knocked back.
My blood ran cold.
“No, Lily,” I said sharply. “Don't do that.”
The lights snapped on.
Lily stood in the bedroom doorway, staring at the wall.
Her face was calm.
Almost peaceful.
Vanessa looked like she'd seen a ghost.
“Lily,” she whispered, “come here.”
Lily didn't move.
Instead, she pressed one small hand against the plaster.
“She's cold,” she said.
I walked toward her.
“Who is?”
“My other mommy.”
Vanessa made a sound I had never heard from her before.
“No.”
Lily turned.
“She said not to be scared.”
I crouched in front of my daughter.
“Sweetheart, there isn't anyone inside that wall.”
Lily frowned.
“There is.”
Claire stood behind me.
“Don't argue with her.”
I looked over my shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because whoever is in there wants her to believe she's safe.”
Harris raised his flashlight.
He swept the beam over the wall, ceiling, floor.
“No one move.”
He tapped the plaster with his knuckles.
Solid.
Then he tapped again.
One section sounded hollow.
My stomach tightened.
Claire stepped closer.
“That wasn't hollow last week.”
Harris looked at her.
“You've been inside this house before?”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
Claire hesitated.
“Enough.”
I felt anger rise through the fear.
“You knew there was another space.”
“I knew there used to be.”
“You knew someone could get in?”
“I knew someone did.”
Vanessa whispered, “Claire…”
Claire ignored her.
Harris crouched and examined the baseboard.
There were fresh scratches.
Three parallel marks.
Then another three.
Then another.
Exactly three knocks.
He looked at me.
“When did you first hear them?”
“Three weeks ago.”
His expression changed.
“And they happened every night?”
“Almost.”
“What changed three weeks ago?”
I looked at Vanessa.
She wouldn't meet my eyes.
Claire answered.
“Nora arrived.”
Silence.
Harris turned toward her.
“You think the noises started because the child was brought here?”
“No.”
Claire pointed at the wall.
“I think the noises started because someone knew she was here.”
A deep thump sounded from inside the plaster.
Lily flinched.
Vanessa grabbed her.
“Come with me.”
Lily clung to her.
Then a whisper drifted through the wall.
“Vanessa.”
My wife froze.
The whisper came again.
“Open it.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.”
I stared at her.
“You know that voice.”
She looked at me.
Tears were already filling her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Who is it?”
She swallowed.
“Evelyn.”
Claire's face went white.
Harris noticed.
“Who is Evelyn?”
Neither woman answered.
The wall knocked again.
Three times.
Then the voice came through.
“You promised.”
Vanessa stepped backward.
“No one made me promise anything.”
A faint laugh came from behind the plaster.
“You always say that.”
I felt the skin along my arms prickle.
Harris drew his weapon.
“Everyone move away from the wall.”
We did.
He called for backup.
The house suddenly felt enormous.
Every shadow looked occupied.
Every room seemed to have another room hidden behind it.
Lily began to cry.
Vanessa carried her into the living room.
I followed.
Claire stayed beside the bedroom.
Harris watched her.
“You're not leaving.”
Claire nodded.
“I wasn't planning to.”
“You know more than you've told me.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me now.”
Claire looked at me.
“Not with them listening.”
She pointed toward the walls.
Harris frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“There's an old ventilation system in this house.”
“So?”
“So sound travels.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning someone can stand three rooms away and make you think they're behind the wall.”
I looked toward the bedroom.
“You're saying the voice could be coming from somewhere else?”
Claire nodded.
“It could.”
“Then find them.”
Harris motioned to the other officer.
They began checking vents and access panels.
I went into the living room.
Vanessa was sitting on the floor with Lily in her lap.
Nora stood nearby, rigid and silent.
I knelt beside them.
“Lily.”
She looked at me.
“Where did you meet your other mommy?”
She glanced at Vanessa.
Her expression changed.
“She said I'm not supposed to tell you.”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
I felt a knot form in my chest.
“Why?”
“Because you'll make her leave.”
“Who?”
Lily whispered, “The lady downstairs.”
I looked at Vanessa.
“Downstairs?”
She nodded slowly.
“There is no downstairs room.”
Lily shook her head.
“There is.”
She pointed at the floor.
“Under Mommy's closet.”
Vanessa stood so quickly that Lily nearly fell.
“Stop.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because she's confused.”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
“You told me not to lie.”
Vanessa went still.
I looked at my wife.
“You told her not to lie?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you asking her to?”
Vanessa didn't answer.
I walked toward the bedroom.
Harris was kneeling beside the closet.
“Come here,” he said.
I joined him.
The closet had been emptied.
The old wooden floor beneath it looked ordinary.
Then he shone the flashlight along the back edge.
A thin metal ring was set into the floor.
I stared at it.
“What is that?”
Harris pulled.
Nothing.
He pulled harder.
A wooden section lifted with a groan.
Cold air rose from underneath.
A narrow stairway disappeared into darkness.
I looked at Vanessa.
“You said there was no downstairs.”
She was shaking.
“I thought it had been sealed.”
Claire stepped into the room.
“No.”
She looked at the opening.
“It was never sealed.”
Harris aimed his flashlight down the stairs.
Dust.
Old brick walls.
A single bare bulb.
And footprints.
Small ones.
Then larger ones.
Several pairs.
I stared at them.
“How many people have been down there?”
Claire whispered, “Enough.”
Harris began descending.
I followed.
“Ryan, no,” Vanessa said.
I turned.
“My daughter is involved in this.”
“So am I.”
“You don't know what you'll find.”
“That stopped being a reason not to go a long time ago.”
The stairway opened into a narrow basement corridor.
The air smelled like damp concrete and something metallic.
Harris swept the light across the walls.
There were children's drawings pinned to the bricks.
Crayon houses.
Stick figures.
Sunshine.
Families.
Most had been torn apart.
Some had names written underneath.
Nora walked down behind us.
Harris immediately turned.
“I told you to stay upstairs.”
She shook her head.
“I know where it is.”
“Where what is?”
She pointed toward the end of the corridor.
“The room.”
I looked at her.
“What room?”
She didn't answer.
She walked ahead.
Vanessa followed despite everything.
I caught her arm.
“What is down here?”
She whispered, “I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear I'm not.”
At the end of the corridor was a steel door.
The paint had peeled away in strips.
On it, someone had carved children's names.
Twenty-three names.
Nora stared at the last one.
Then touched it.
“That's her.”
“Who?”
“Evelyn.”
The name had been carved deeper than the others.
I moved closer.
Underneath it was a date.
MAY 17, 2010.
Claire's breathing changed.
“What?”
I looked at her.
She stared at the date.
“I remember that.”
“What happened?”
She didn't answer.
Harris turned.
“Claire.”
She swallowed.
“That was the night my mother disappeared.”
My head snapped toward her.
“I thought she died.”
“So did everyone.”
Vanessa looked horrified.
Claire continued.
“She didn't.”
Harris tried the handle.
Locked.
Nora whispered, “She's inside.”
The voice came through the door.
“Ryan.”
I felt every muscle in my body tighten.
Claire stepped backward.
Harris raised his weapon.
The voice spoke again.
“Don't open it.”
I stared at the door.
“Why?”
“Because Vanessa won't tell you what happened.”
I looked at my wife.
The silence was answer enough.
I moved toward the lock.
Vanessa grabbed my arm.
“Don't.”
I pulled free.
“What are you hiding?”
She stared at the door.
“I was here.”
I stopped.
“When?”
“The night Nora was born.”
Claire turned toward her.
“You came here?”
Vanessa nodded.
“I came because Marcus brought me.”
“What did you see?”
Her lips trembled.
“A woman.”
“Evelyn?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to her?”
Vanessa looked at the door.
“She was holding a baby.”
I felt my heart stumble.
“What baby?”
Vanessa looked directly at me.
“Lily.”
The hallway seemed to tilt.
“No.”
“I didn't understand then.”
“You're saying you saw Lily fourteen years ago?”
“No.”
Her tears fell.
“I saw a baby who looked exactly like Lily.”
Before I could speak, the steel door unlocked.
Click.
Everyone froze.
A second click.
The latch lifted by itself.
Then the door opened three inches.
Cold air rushed into the corridor.
On the other side was complete darkness.
Something moved inside.
Harris shouted, “Show your hands!”
No answer.
I took one step forward.
Claire grabbed my shoulder.
“Ryan.”
I looked at her.
Her eyes were fixed on the darkness.
“Whatever happens,” she whispered, “don't let Vanessa go in there first.”
I turned toward my wife.
“Why?”
May you like
Vanessa whispered:
“Because she already did.”
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