Chapter 2: Beneath the Perfect Floor
Patricia planted herself between Daniel and the loose floorboard, both hands spread as though she could physically hold back the truth.
"Daniel, please," she whispered, her voice cracking for the first time. "You don't understand."
"I understand enough."
His grip tightened around the decorative pry bar.
"Move."
"No."
The room fell silent except for Mariana's uneven breathing and Inés' soft sniffles.
Then—
Three more knocks.
Weak.
Slow.
From directly beneath Patricia's feet.
Daniel shoved her aside.
She stumbled into the coffee table, sending both mugs crashing onto the marble tiles. Hot coffee spread across the floor like spilled blood.
With one powerful swing, the pry bar slipped beneath the mismatched plank.
The wood splintered.
A foul odor burst from the opening.
Not the smell of decay.
The smell of damp earth... mold... stale air that had never seen daylight.
Daniel tore away another board.
Then another.
Beneath the polished hardwood wasn't concrete.
It was a hidden crawlspace.
Only three feet high.
Completely sealed.
A tiny hand reached upward.
Mariana screamed Leo's name.
The boy blinked against the sudden light.
His skin was ghostly pale.
His hair had grown long and tangled.
His lips were cracked.
He shielded his eyes with one trembling arm.
"Dad...?"
Daniel dropped to his knees so quickly that the pry bar clattered across the room.
"Leo!"
He pulled his son into his arms.
The seven-year-old weighed almost nothing.
Leo buried his face against his father's shoulder, shaking uncontrollably.
"I knew you'd come."
Mariana collapsed beside them, wrapping both arms around her son while sobbing into his dusty hair.
Inés simply smiled through silent tears.
"I told you," she whispered.
"He was cold."
Across the room...
Patricia slowly backed toward the front door.
May you like
Daniel looked up just in time.
"Don't let her leave!"
