Chapter 3 - The Surveillance Room
The rusty hinges groaned as the heavy metal door swung open completely.
A blast of cold stagnant air washed over my face from the hidden room.
I raised my flashlight and shined the beam into the unknown darkness.
The small square room was not an empty storage closet or a forgotten crawlspace.
It was a highly advanced surveillance center secretly built directly into my home.
Rows of glowing computer monitors completely covered the back wall.
Thick black cables snaked across the concrete floor like sleeping serpents.
I crawled out of the dusty passage and stood up in the freezing room.
The little girl immediately ran to the corner and hid behind a stack of cardboard boxes.
Caroline followed me into the room and immediately tried to block my view of the screens.
I roughly pushed past her and stared at the glowing monitors in absolute shock.
The screens displayed crystal-clear live feeds of every single room in our house.
There were hidden cameras in our bedroom and in Lily's playroom.
There was even a camera pointing directly at the kitchen table where we ate dinner.
I realized that someone had been silently watching us live our lives for years.
I grabbed Caroline by the shoulders and demanded to know who was operating this equipment.
She cried out that she only agreed to the cameras to keep us all safe from him.
I asked her repeatedly who she was talking about but she just shook her head.
I turned my attention back to the glowing monitors to search for clues.
I focused on the screen showing the live feed of our dark hallway upstairs.
My blood ran cold when I saw a tall figure standing perfectly still outside Lily's bedroom.
The man on the screen was wearing a dark suit and holding a long suppressed pistol.
I spun around and sprinted back toward the narrow tunnel in the wall.
I had to get Lily out of her bedroom before the armed intruder found her.
I squeezed through the tight space and tumbled violently out of the vent onto the carpet.
I scrambled to my feet and threw the bedroom door wide open.
The hallway was completely empty and silent under the pale moonlight.
I let out a heavy sigh of relief and turned back toward the bedroom.
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Before I could call out for Lily a massive weight slammed directly into the back of my head.
The world exploded into brilliant white flashes before fading instantly to black.
