Chapter 1: Behind the Wardrobe
“Dad… open that wall!””
Lily’s scream hit me before I even reached the storage room.
I dropped my briefcase in the hallway and ran.
What I saw when I pushed through the doorway made my blood turn cold.
My six-year-old daughter was on the floor, kicking desperately as Vanessa dragged her backward by both arms.
“Let me go!”” Lily screamed.
“Dad! Daddy!””
Vanessa clamped one hand over Lily’s mouth.
“Stop making things up!””
Lily bit her.
Vanessa shrieked and raised her hand.
I caught her wrist before she could bring it down.
“What the hell are you doing?””
Vanessa spun around.
Her face went white.
“Daniel?””
I pulled Lily behind me.
My daughter wrapped both arms around my leg, shaking so badly I could feel it through my trousers.
Vanessa rubbed her wrist.
“You scared me. I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow.””
“That’s your explanation?””
“She was having a tantrum.””
“A tantrum?””
“She broke into this room after I told her not to.””
I looked down.
Lily’s cheeks were wet. Her hair was tangled. Red fingerprints marked one arm.
Then she pointed toward the enormous antique wardrobe against the far wall.
“Behind there.””
Vanessa’s expression changed.
Only for a second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
“Lily,” I said quietly, “what’s behind there?””
“I heard somebody.””
Vanessa laughed too quickly.
“Nobody is behind anything.””
Lily squeezed my hand.
“Yes, there is.””
“Lily—”
“Don’t talk to her,” I snapped.
Vanessa stared at me.
“Daniel, she’s six.””
“And she’s terrified.””
“She has an imagination.””
Lily shook her head violently.
“I heard crying.””
The room went silent.
I looked at the wardrobe.
It was massive, nearly eight feet tall, made of dark oak. I remembered Vanessa insisting it be moved into this room shortly after our wedding.
At the time, I hadn’t cared.
The mansion had twenty-three rooms.
One wardrobe meant nothing.
Now I noticed something strange.
Scratches covered the hardwood beneath its legs.
Not old scratches.
Fresh ones.
The wardrobe had been moved repeatedly.
“Daniel,” Vanessa said, suddenly softer, “come downstairs.””
I ignored her.
“Lily, what exactly did you hear?””
“A lady.””
My stomach tightened.
“What did she say?””
Lily swallowed.
“She said, ‘Help me.’”
Vanessa grabbed my arm.
“She’s lying.””
I turned toward her.
SLAP!
The sound cracked through the room.
Vanessa staggered backward, holding her cheek.
I pointed at her.
“Don’t touch her again.””
Vanessa’s eyes widened.
For the first time since I’d married her, she looked genuinely afraid of me.
“You hit me.””
“You put your hand over my daughter’s mouth while dragging her across the floor.””
“She was trying to damage the house!””
Lily tugged my jacket.
“Daddy.””
I crouched.
“What?””
“She knew.””
“Who knew?””
“Vanessa.””
Vanessa took one step toward us.
“Lily, enough.””
I immediately stood.
“Stay where you are.””
Lily pointed at the wardrobe again.
“When I heard the lady crying, Vanessa came running. She told me it was the pipes.””
My eyes stayed on my wife.
“Pipes?””
“It probably was.””
“Then why were you dragging Lily away?””
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was when I walked toward the wardrobe.
“Daniel, stop.””
I grabbed the side.
“Don’t.””
I pulled.
The wardrobe barely moved.
Vanessa rushed toward me.
“Daniel!””
I shoved harder.
The heavy cabinet scraped across the floor.
Six inches.
Twelve.
Then I saw it.
A rectangular section of the wall behind the wardrobe had a slightly different texture.
Newer plaster.
My pulse began pounding.
“What is that?””
Vanessa said nothing.
I stepped closer.
There were tiny cracks around the edges.
Someone had covered something.
Recently.
“Daddy,” Lily whispered.
I turned.
She was staring at the wall.
Her face suddenly lost all color.
Then—
THUD.
All three of us froze.
THUD.
THUD.
The sound came from inside the wall.
Lily ran behind me.
Vanessa backed toward the doorway.
“Daniel…”
I looked at her.
“What is inside my wall?””
“It’s not what you think.””
That sentence terrified me more than anything else she could have said.
I grabbed the heavy demolition hammer from the renovation tools stacked in the corner.
Vanessa lunged forward.
“NO!””
I swung.
CRACK!
Plaster exploded across the floor.
“Daniel, stop!””
Second strike.
CRACK!
A section collapsed inward.
Vanessa screamed.
Third strike.
CRACK!
Dust filled the room.
And behind the broken plaster was something that should never have been there.
Steel.
I used the hammer to tear away more drywall.
Slowly, the outline appeared.
A narrow metal door.
No handle on our side.
No visible lock.
Just a small keypad mounted beside it.
I stared at Vanessa.
“What is this?””
She looked like she might faint.
Then came another sound.
Not knocking this time.
A weak voice.
From behind the steel.
“Please…”
Lily gasped.
I stepped toward the door.
The voice came again.
May you like
“Please help me.””
Vanessa suddenly ran.
