CHAPTER 2 — THE ROOM BENEATH THE HOUSE
The photograph shook slightly in Detective Carter’s hand.
Not because he was afraid.
Because he had seen enough crime scenes to know one thing.
The truth was always worse than the first suspicion.
I stared at the image.
A hidden room beneath my own house.
A room I had never known existed.
A room filled with medical equipment.
A camera aimed at the coffin where my wife had been placed.
My mind struggled to process it.
“No.”
The word escaped my mouth before I even realized I had spoken.
Detective Carter looked at me.
“I know this is difficult.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t understand.”
I pointed toward the hospital room behind me.
“That’s my wife.”
My voice became lower.
“That’s the woman I left behind eighteen months ago because I believed I was building a future for her.”
I swallowed hard.
“I worked twelve-hour shifts. I missed birthdays. I missed appointments. I missed every moment of her pregnancy.”
My eyes burned.
“But I always believed she was safe.”
Detective Carter remained silent.
Because there was nothing he could say.
The cruelest betrayals were always the ones that came from people you trusted.
“My mother built that house.”
I looked at him.
“My brother managed the family properties.”
A cold realization moved through me.
“They had access.”
Detective Carter closed his notebook.
“That’s why we need to move carefully.”
“Carefully?”
I looked at him.
“My wife was almost buried alive.”
His expression hardened.
“I understand your anger, Mr. Callahan. But anger makes people careless.”
He stepped closer.
“And whoever did this is not careless.”
He pointed at the photograph.
“This was planned.”
Two hours later, I stood outside my wife’s hospital room.
The hallway lights were dim.
The hospital had become strangely quiet.
But my mind was louder than ever.
Marcus.
My mother.
The hidden room.
The fake death certificate.
The camera.
Everything connected.
But one question kept attacking me.
Why?
Why would they do this to Elena?
Why would they try to kill my unborn son?
The door behind me opened.
A nurse stepped out.
“Mr. Callahan?”
I turned instantly.
“Yes?”
“She woke up.”
For one second...
The entire world stopped.
“Elena?”
The nurse nodded.
“She’s weak, but she’s conscious.”
I rushed inside.
Elena looked nothing like the woman I left eighteen months ago.
The woman I remembered had always been full of energy.
She laughed loudly.
She sang while cooking.
She would dance around the kitchen even when she was tired.
But now...
She looked fragile.
Pale.
Exhausted.
Yet alive.
Her eyes slowly opened when she heard me enter.
“Daniel?”
My heart broke.
I walked toward her.
“I’m here.”
Her lips trembled.
“You’re really here?”
I grabbed her hand.
“Yes.”
A tear escaped the corner of her eye.
“I thought…”
She stopped.
Her breathing changed.
“I thought I would never see you again.”
I leaned closer.
“What happened?”
Fear immediately appeared on her face.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
“Daniel…”
“What?”
She looked toward the door.
Then whispered.
“Don’t trust anyone.”
My chest tightened.
“What are you talking about?”
She squeezed my hand weakly.
“Your family.”
The words hit me.
“Elena…”
“I tried to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Your mother knew.”
I froze.
“Knew what?”
She closed her eyes.
“The company.”
My heartbeat increased.
“What about the company?”
Before she could answer, the heart monitor beside her began beeping faster.
A nurse rushed inside.
“Sir, please step back.”
I moved away.
But my eyes never left Elena.
Because I knew.
Whatever she was about to tell me...
It was the reason someone tried to erase her.
Later that night, Detective Carter returned.
He carried a small evidence bag.
Inside was a black flash drive.
“We found this hidden behind the basement wall.”
I looked at it.
“What’s on it?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Then open it.”
He hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
He placed another photograph on the table.
This time...
It was a picture of Marcus.
Standing inside the basement.
But the date shocked me.
The picture was taken yesterday.
After I arrived in the United States.
After I walked through the front door.
After I found Elena inside the coffin.
My blood turned cold.
“Marcus was there?”
Detective Carter nodded.
“But that’s not all.”
He placed a second picture beside it.
A woman.
Standing beside Marcus.
My breathing stopped.
Because I knew her.
She was not a stranger.
She was someone Elena trusted.
Someone who had visited our house many times during her pregnancy.
Someone who had comforted my wife while I was away.
My hands tightened around the photograph.
“Who is she?”
Detective Carter looked at me.
“Your wife’s personal doctor.”
I stared at the picture.
Impossible.
“No.”
The detective’s voice became serious.
“Mr. Callahan…”
“Your wife’s doctor signed the medical report declaring Elena and the baby dead.”
The room became silent.
Then my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
Only six words.
I opened it.
And my entire body went cold.
May you like
“Stop digging, or Elena dies again.”
END OF CHAPTER 2
