Chapter 3: The Woman Beneath the House
Chapter 3: The Woman Beneath the House
The whisper came again.
"Please... don't leave."
It was so faint I almost convinced myself I had imagined it.
Then I heard three slow knocks.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Coming from beneath the basement stairs.
Behind me, Daniel's footsteps moved closer through the kitchen.
I had seconds.
I slipped through the basement door and eased it shut without letting the latch click.
The darkness swallowed me.
The air was damp and smelled of mildew and old concrete.
My phone's flashlight stayed off. Any light would give me away.
Above my head, I heard Daniel stop.
The laundry room.
He was right outside.
My heart pounded so violently I pressed a hand against my chest to quiet it.
The doorknob turned.
The laundry room door opened.
"I know you're awake," Daniel called softly.
Not angry.
Not panicked.
Patient.
Like someone speaking to a frightened child.
"I just want to help you."
His voice echoed through the basement ceiling.
Every word made my skin crawl.
I crouched beneath the staircase, barely breathing.
Then I felt something brush against my ankle.
I nearly screamed.
Instead, a trembling hand reached out from the darkness.
An elderly woman.
Thin.
Pale.
Her gray hair hung in tangled strands around her face.
She pressed one finger against her lips.
"Quiet."
I stared at her in disbelief.
She pointed toward a narrow storage room hidden behind old shelves.
Inside were stacks of dusty boxes... and a heavy steel door.
She unlocked it with a tiny key hanging from a string around her neck.
"Inside."
I hesitated.
"Who are you?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"My name is Evelyn."
The name hit me like lightning.
Evelyn Brooks.
Daniel's first wife.
The woman everyone believed had died in a psychiatric hospital five years earlier.
Daniel had shown me her obituary himself.
He'd cried while telling me how mental illness had taken her life.
It had all been a lie.
Evelyn grabbed my wrist.
"He forged everything."
Above us, Daniel's footsteps crossed the basement floor.
Closer.
Closer.
He stopped directly outside the storage room.
"I know you're down here."
Silence.
Then came Rachel's voice from upstairs.
"The police just drove past."
Daniel cursed under his breath.
"They're early."
Evelyn leaned close enough for me to hear her whisper.
"He keeps copies of everything."
"What everything?"
"Marriage certificates."
"Property deeds."
"Medical records."
"Death certificates."
"He creates new lives... then erases them."
I felt the room spin.
"How many women?"
Evelyn closed her eyes.
"I was the first."
A loud crash exploded upstairs.
Glass shattered.
Then another voice yelled.
"Police! Anyone inside?"
Daniel swore.
Rachel screamed.
Running footsteps thundered across the house.
Evelyn grabbed my hand.
"He's going to run."
Before either of us could move, the basement lights suddenly snapped on.
Daniel stood at the bottom of the stairs.
His face wasn't frightened anymore.
It was furious.
"You weren't supposed to find her."
He reached inside his jacket.
Not for a phone.
For a handgun.
He aimed it directly at us.
May you like
Then smiled.
"I guess I'll have to finish what I started."
