Chapter 5 - The Unseen Guest
The tiny hidden room was incredibly claustrophobic and smelled intensely like cheap floral perfume mixed with stale air.
A terribly dirty twin mattress was forcefully pushed into the far dark corner of the cramped space.
Dozens of plastic food wrappers and empty crushed water bottles heavily littered the cold concrete floor.
Arthur instantly recognized a very familiar, unique silver locket casually resting on top of a small makeshift wooden table.
It was the exact same custom diamond necklace he had personally given his first wife shortly before she tragically died.
His racing mind desperately tried to process the completely impossible truth staring him right in the face.
Claire was officially supposed to have tragically perished in a horrific midnight boating accident over three long years ago.
The local police dive teams had never actually found her physical body in the freezing, deep river currents.
Sophie suddenly pointed a shaking, tiny finger nervously at the dark corner of the hidden room.
"That is exactly where the really scary lady sleeps during the day."
Arthur quickly knelt down on the cold floor and looked his terrified daughter directly in her bright blue eyes.
"What exactly do you mean by the scary lady, Sophie?"
Sophie slowly wiped a fresh, wet tear from her incredibly dirty cheek using the back of her small hand.
"She is the mean lady who constantly tells Miss Vanessa to hurt me when you are at work."
Arthur felt a freezing cold sweat instantly break out across his pale forehead as the puzzle pieces finally connected.
Vanessa was not actually the grand mastermind behind this horrific nightmare at all.
She was simply taking direct, cruel orders from his supposedly dead wife who had been hiding in the walls.
Incredibly heavy, fast footsteps suddenly pounded violently down the wooden basement stairs behind them.
The heavy oak door had somehow been silently unlocked without them ever hearing the deadbolt click.
Arthur quickly and forcefully pulled Sophie back out of the secret room and into the main basement area.
He desperately shoved the fake brick panel completely closed just as a bright beam of light hit their faces.
Vanessa stood confidently at the very bottom of the wooden stairs with her silver pistol raised directly at them.
"Did you happen to find something incredibly interesting back there in the dark?"
Arthur gripped his heavy iron crowbar incredibly tightly behind his back where she could not clearly see it.
"We were just searching for some warm blankets to sleep on."
Vanessa smiled wickedly and took one very slow, deliberate step toward them in the dim light.
"That is really too bad for you."
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She pointed the loaded gun directly at the exact center of Arthur's chest with zero hesitation.
"Claire strictly told me to shoot you immediately if you ever found her little hiding spot."
