Chapter 1: The Voice Under the Wood
“Daddy, Leo is underneath Aunt Elena’s house.””
I had spent fourteen months begging the world to give me a sign that my son was still alive. I never imagined that sign would come from my six-year-old daughter, whispering into a hardwood floor while my sister stood behind us with a coffee cup in her hand.
I thought I had already lived through the worst day of my life.
I was wrong.
My son Leo disappeared on a rainy Tuesday morning when he was seven years old. One moment, he was riding his blue bicycle in front of our house. The next moment, he was gone.
The police searched the neighborhood. They questioned every person who lived within ten miles of us. They brought dogs through the woods behind our property. They checked abandoned buildings, empty lots, and security cameras from nearby stores.
Every possible answer led to another dead end.
And every night, I sat in Leo’s bedroom, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars still stuck to his ceiling, wondering if my little boy was somewhere scared, waiting for me.
Then my sister Elena called.
She said her house renovation was finally finished and wanted us to visit her new place outside Nashville.
“You need a change of scenery, Daniel,” she told me over the phone.
“You’ve been trapped in that house with those memories for too long.””
I almost refused.
But Maya begged me to go.
“She has a big backyard, Daddy,” she said.
“Maybe there are butterflies.””
I smiled because I didn’t have the heart to tell her I had forgotten what it felt like to be excited about anything.
Elena’s new house looked beautiful from the outside. Fresh white paint. New landscaping.
A wooden porch with hanging lights. It looked like the kind of place where families made happy memories.
That was the first thing that bothered me.
Because my family had not been happy in fourteen months.
When we arrived, Elena hugged me tightly.
“Daniel, you look exhausted,” she said.
“I am.””
Her smile faded for a second.
Then she looked at Maya.
“Sweetheart, why don’t you go explore the upstairs?””
Maya ran toward the hallway, dragging her stuffed rabbit behind her.
I watched Elena carefully.
Something about her expression changed when Maya disappeared around the corner.
“What?”” I asked.
“What do you mean?””
“You looked scared.””
She laughed too quickly.
“Daniel, I’m worried about you. That’s all.””
Before I could answer, Maya screamed.
Not a playful scream.
A terrified one.
I ran down the hallway so fast my shoulder hit the wall.
I found her kneeling on the floor, her small hands pressed against the polished oak boards.
Her cheek was against the wood.
“Maya,” I said.
“What are you doing?””
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
“Daddy.””
Her voice shook.
“Leo is down there.””
My entire body went cold.
“What did you say?””
She touched the floor again.
“He’s cold.””
I stopped breathing.
“He keeps asking for you.””
Behind me, a mug shattered.
Elena stood in the doorway holding two cups of coffee.
“Get her away from that floor!”” she snapped.
I turned slowly.
“Why?””
Her face went pale.
“Because she’s making things up again.””
Again.
That word hit me harder than it should have.
“Maya doesn’t know Leo,” I said quietly.
“She was only four when he disappeared.””
Maya grabbed my hand.
“I do know him.””
I looked down at her.
“How?””
She swallowed.
“He told me.””
The hallway suddenly felt smaller.
“Elena,” I whispered.
“What is she talking about?””
My sister looked away.
“Maya has an imagination.””
But Maya shook her head.
“No, Daddy. He said his name was Leo. He said Aunt Elena told him not to make noise.””
The coffee cup slipped from Elena’s hand.
It hit the floor.
And this time, she didn’t look angry.
She looked terrified.
I lowered myself beside Maya.
“Sweetheart, where exactly is Leo?””
She pointed.
“Right here.””
I pressed my ear against the floor.
Nothing.
I almost laughed at myself.
Fourteen months of grief had turned me desperate enough to believe anything.
Then I heard it.
Three faint knocks.
My heart stopped.
I lifted my head.
“Maya,” I whispered.
“Did you hear that?””
She nodded.
“I told you.””
I knocked twice.
A few seconds passed.
Then three knocks answered.
Elena stepped forward.
“Daniel, don’t.””
I looked at her.
“Don’t what?””
“Don’t open that.””
My stomach twisted.
“Why?””
She didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
I grabbed the edge of the hallway rug and pulled it back.
The floor underneath was almost perfect.
Almost.
One plank had newer screws than the others.
I noticed something else near the baseboard.
A tiny piece of something white.
I reached down and picked it up.
A fingernail.
My hands began shaking.
“Elena…”
She backed away.
“Please.””
I grabbed the fireplace poker leaning against the wall.
“Who is under your floor?””
Her voice broke.
“Daniel, listen to me.””
“No.””
I drove the poker into the wood.
The first crack echoed through the house.
Elena screamed.
“STOP!””
I pulled again.
Another board split.
Something moved beneath us.
And from the darkness below came a weak whisper.
“Daddy?””
I froze.
Then a small, dirty hand reached through the opening and grabbed my wrist.
A voice I had dreamed about for fourteen months whispered one word.
“Help.””
It was Leo.
And then, from deeper beneath the house, another voice spoke.
A man’s voice.
A voice full of anger.
“Elena.””
May you like
My sister covered her mouth.
“You promised me he would never find out.””
