Chapter 41 - Beneath the House
The floor dropped beneath us.
Not all at once.
First, there was a deep metallic groan under the old boards, followed by a violent shudder that traveled through the walls. Dust poured from the ceiling. The chandelier swung hard enough to strike the plaster.
“Everybody move!” the investigator shouted.
David grabbed my arm.
“Back!”
I stumbled toward the side hall with Evan pulling me from the other side.
Then the floor split.
A narrow black seam opened between the old tiles.
Cold air rushed upward.
For one terrible second, nobody moved.
Then another lock released somewhere below us.
Clunk.
Evelyn stared at the floor.
“Oh, God.”
Jonathan still held the ledger.
“What did you do?”
David looked at him with an expression I'd never seen before.
“I didn't do anything.”
“You're the witness.”
“I never touched the system.”
Jonathan looked at me.
“You did.”
“No,” I said.
“You activated it.”
“I didn't choose anything.”
Elias smiled from his wheelchair.
“That is precisely why it worked.”
The investigator raised his weapon.
“Everyone against the wall. Now.”
Elias laughed.
“You still believe a gun has authority in this house.”
The investigator didn't lower it.
“Try me.”
A second section of flooring folded downward.
This time, there was no mistaking what was happening.
A staircase emerged from beneath the foyer.
Stone steps.
Old ones.
Wet with condensation.
They descended into complete darkness.
Evan stared down.
“How deep?”
David whispered, “Deeper than the original foundation.”
I looked at him.
“You've been here before.”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“When you were twelve.”
The words hit me harder than the shaking floor.
“Twelve?”
David looked at me.
“I came here with your mother.”
My chest tightened.
“You said you never knew where she went.”
“I said I didn't know where she went afterward.”
“You're splitting hairs.”
“I know.”
“Where is she?”
David's face changed.
Before he could answer, Elias spoke.
“She isn't here.”
I spun toward him.
“You know where she is.”
His smile disappeared.
“I know where she was.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then he glanced at the staircase.
“Everything you want to know is beneath this house.”
Evan stepped in front of him.
“You've been lying to us for years.”
“Yes.”
“And now you're suddenly telling the truth?”
“No.”
Elias said it without hesitation.
“I am telling you what the system permits you to hear.”
Nobody spoke.
The investigator turned to the ledger.
“What does that mean?”
Jonathan finally looked afraid.
“It means the chamber is active.”
Evelyn grabbed his sleeve.
“What chamber?”
Jonathan pulled away.
“The founder's chamber.”
I stared at him.
“You said Elias created the trust.”
“No.”
His eyes shifted toward Elias.
“He administered it.”
Elias's expression hardened.
“Jonathan.”
“You said you owned it.”
“I said I controlled it.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“What founder?” I demanded.
Neither answered.
Then the voice returned.
The same woman's voice that had identified us.
“PRIMARY HEIR.”
A pulse of red light moved down the staircase.
“NATALIE BROOKS.”
Evan's name followed.
“SECONDARY HEIR.”
He squeezed my hand.
“I'm here.”
The system continued.
“WITNESS.”
David stepped toward the stairs.
“I am here.”
“WITNESS CONFIRMED.”
The investigator frowned.
“But who is controlling the trust?”
The system went silent.
Then one final line appeared on the ledger.
“CONTROL TRUSTEE: INVALID.”
Elias's face went pale.
Jonathan looked at him.
“You told me you were still the trustee.”
“I was.”
“What changed?”
Elias looked at me.
“You.”
A gunshot exploded through the mansion.
Everyone ducked.
The bullet struck the portrait behind us.
Wood splintered across the floor.
“Down!” the investigator shouted.
Another shot.
Jonathan disappeared behind the staircase.
Evelyn screamed.
David tackled me to the ground.
Evan dragged Evelyn behind a stone pillar.
“Who is shooting?” I shouted.
“No idea!”
A third shot tore through the ceiling.
Then silence.
The investigator raised his head.
“Everybody stay where you are.”
He motioned toward the staircase.
“I saw movement.”
David looked at me.
“Don't go down there.”
“I have to.”
“No.”
“David—”
“You don't understand what's below.”
“I understand enough to know you knew about it.”
His eyes filled with guilt.
“I was trying to keep you away.”
“You've been doing that my entire life.”
“Yes.”
“And now I'm done listening to you tell me what I can survive.”
The investigator stepped toward the stairs.
Evan caught my hand.
“I'm not letting you go alone.”
“I know.”
We descended.
The temperature dropped with every step.
The mansion above us seemed to disappear.
There was only darkness.
Stone.
And the sound of water dripping somewhere below.
Halfway down, we passed a row of small metal doors.
Each had a name engraved into it.
Samuel.
Anna.
Lucas.
Daniel.
I stopped.
Evan looked at me.
“They're here.”
David came down behind us.
“They were supposed to be.”
“What does that mean?”
He didn't answer.
I grabbed the handle on Lucas's door.
Locked.
“Open it.”
David shook his head.
“I can't.”
“Then who can?”
He looked at me.
“You.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because the chamber was designed around you.”
I pressed my palm against the metal.
Nothing happened.
Then the ring on my finger became warm.
A click sounded from inside.
The door opened.
And someone on the other side whispered my name.
“Natalie?”
It was Lucas.
Alive.
Terrified.
And not alone.
A second voice came from the darkness.
“Don't come any closer.”
Diane.
I almost collapsed with relief.
“Diane?”
“Don't touch the wall,” she said. “Whatever you do, don't touch the wall.”
I stepped inside.
Her face was pale.
Lucas stood beside her.
Daniel was sitting against the far wall, breathing hard.
And behind them was a fourth person.
A woman.
Older.
Weak.
Her wrists were chained to a metal chair.
She lifted her head.
I stopped breathing.
I knew that face.
I'd seen it only in one childhood photograph.
My mother's face.
Diane whispered, “Natalie…”
My mother looked at me.
May you like
“I'm sorry.”
The entire world went silent.
