Chapter 2: The Room Nobody Knew About
I stayed frozen with my hand on the door.
Three knocks.
Then silence.
I looked back at Caroline.
“What is behind this door?””
She didn’t answer.
That scared me more than anything.
A person can lie.
A person can make excuses.
But silence means there is something they are afraid to say.
“Caroline.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Please come out of there.””
“No.””
My voice echoed through the narrow passage.
“Not until you tell me the truth.””
Lily stood behind her mother, holding the sleeve of her pajamas.
“Mommy said nobody was supposed to know.””
I turned toward my daughter.
“When did Mommy tell you that?””
Lily looked down.
“After bedtime.””
Caroline closed her eyes.
“Lily, go downstairs.””
“No,” my daughter whispered.
The fear in her voice made me stop.
She wasn’t being stubborn.
She was scared.
I crawled back out of the passage.
“Caroline, start talking.””
She sat on the edge of Lily’s bed.
For several seconds, she just stared at the floor.
Then she said:
“Her name is Emma.””
I looked at the little girl.
She was watching me carefully.
“Who is Emma?””
Caroline swallowed.
“She’s my sister’s daughter.””
I frowned.
“You don’t have a sister.””
“I did.””
The words hit me.
“What?””
“My parents told everyone she died.””
The room became silent.
“Why?””
Caroline looked at Emma.
“Because they wanted her gone.””
I felt anger rising.
“You’re telling me your family hid a child inside our house?””
“No.””
Caroline shook her head.
“They hid her from me.””
That made no sense.
I stood there, trying to understand.
“Then how did she get here?””
Caroline looked at the floor.
“Because I found out what they did.””
The little girl slowly moved closer to me.
“Mommy Caroline saved me.””
I looked at her.
“Mommy?””
Emma nodded.
“She said my real mommy would come back.””
Caroline covered her mouth.
I noticed her hands shaking.
“Ryan, you have to understand something.””
“What?””
“Emma wasn’t the only person they were hiding.””
A cold feeling moved through my chest.
“Who else?””
Before she answered, a sound came from behind the wall.
A scrape.
Like someone moving.
Everyone stopped breathing.
Emma immediately grabbed my hand.
“She’s awake.””
I looked at Caroline.
“Who is awake?””
Caroline stood quickly.
“Turn off the lights.””
“What?””
“Ryan, turn off the lights!””
The panic in her voice made me obey.
The bedroom went dark.
We waited.
Then footsteps.
Not inside the room.
Inside the wall.
Slow footsteps.
Moving closer.
Lily buried her face against my side.
A small voice came through the vent.
“Emma?””
The little girl started crying.
“No.””
Caroline grabbed my arm.
“We need to leave.””
But before we could move, the hidden door behind the vent unlocked.
From the other side.
The handle slowly turned.
And a voice whispered:
“Caroline.””
My wife went completely still.
Because she recognized the voice.
Then she whispered:
“That’s impossible.””
The door opened an inch.
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And someone on the other side said:
“I thought you promised you’d never tell Ryan.””