Chapter 2 – The Hidden Staircase
The stone staircase twisted deeper beneath the mansion.
Each step felt colder than the last.
The polished marble floors above had disappeared.
Only damp concrete surrounded her now.
Grace used the flashlight on her phone.
Its weak beam barely reached the bottom.
Water dripped somewhere in the darkness.
The crying stopped.
"Hello?"
Grace whispered.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
Silence answered.
She descended another ten steps.
Then another five.
The passage opened into a narrow underground corridor.
The walls looked new.
Far newer than the hundred-year-old mansion above.
Someone had built this place recently.
Electrical wires disappeared behind unfinished concrete.
Fresh paint still carried a chemical smell.
Grace slowly walked forward.
Her shoes echoed across the floor.
At the end of the corridor stood a heavy steel door.
A small viewing window had been painted black from the inside.
No handle.
Only a keypad.
Grace touched the cold metal.
A tiny voice answered immediately.
"Please..."
"Don't let her hear you."
Grace's heart nearly stopped.
"Oliver?"
A pause.
Then a frightened whisper.
"You know my name?"
Tears filled Grace's eyes.
"Your father has been searching for you every single day."
The child began sobbing.
"No..."
"He doesn't know."
"She told me he wanted me gone."
Grace closed her eyes.
Whoever "she" was...
The answer already terrified her.
Suddenly...
Footsteps echoed from somewhere above.
Someone had entered the hidden passage.
Grace turned toward the staircase.
A shadow slowly stretched across the concrete wall.
May you like
Someone else was coming down.
And they were carrying a flashlight.
