The smell hit me so hard that I stumbled backward.
It wasn’t the smell of old furniture.
It wasn’t dampness.
It was something sweet and rotten.
Something that had been trapped behind that door for a very long time.
Grace squeezed my hand.
“See? Mommy’s down there.”
I couldn’t move.
Emily appeared behind us, hugging her stuffed rabbit.
“Is Mommy awake?”
My blood ran cold.
“Girls,” I whispered, “stay here.”
Grace frowned.
“But you said you wanted to meet her.”
I pushed the basement door open another few inches.
The staircase disappeared into darkness.
There was no light switch at the top.
I reached along the wall until my fingers found one.
Click.
A weak yellow bulb flickered on.
The basement was much larger than I’d expected.
There were old boxes.
A broken sofa.
Children’s toys.
A small table.
And along the far wall were dozens of photographs.
I took one step down.
Then another.
“Mommy lives here,” Grace whispered behind me.
I turned.
“How long has she been living here?”
Grace shrugged.
“Since Daddy put her there.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did you say?”
Before Grace could answer, Emily suddenly started crying.
“Grace, don’t tell her.”
“Tell me what?”
Emily shook her head.
“Daddy said we’re not allowed.”
I slowly walked toward the photographs.
There were pictures of Daniel and his first wife.
Wedding pictures.
Birthday pictures.
Christmas pictures.
Pictures of the girls as babies.
But something was wrong.
Every photograph had been carefully cut.
The woman’s face had been removed.
I stared at the shredded photographs.
“Why would someone do this?”
Grace walked down the stairs.
“Daddy doesn’t like looking at Mommy.”
I turned toward her.
“Where is your mom?”
Grace pointed toward the back of the basement.
“There.”
I followed her finger.
There was a second door.
A heavy metal door.
And unlike the basement door, this one had three locks.
My heart began hammering.
“Grace…”
She smiled.
“That’s where Mommy lives.”
I walked toward it.
Then I heard something.
A faint scratching sound.
I froze.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
It came from behind the metal door.
Emily buried her face against my leg.
“Mommy doesn’t like strangers.”
I stared at the door.
“Is someone in there?”
Grace nodded.
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“My mom.”
I reached for the first lock.
Then the second.
Then the third.
My fingers were shaking so badly I almost dropped the key.
“Where did you get this?”
Grace pointed toward the stairs.
“Daddy keeps it under his pillow.”
The lock clicked.
Then another.
Then the final one.
I slowly pulled the door open.
The smell became unbearable.
I covered my mouth.
And then I saw her.
A woman was sitting on the floor in the corner.
Her hair was tangled.
Her clothes were filthy.
She was extremely thin.
Her wrists were bruised.
But she was alive.
Her eyes slowly lifted toward mine.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then the woman whispered:
“Who are you?”
I couldn’t breathe.
“I… I’m Daniel’s wife.”
Her eyes widened.
“Daniel got married?”
I nodded.
She stared at me.
Then she began crying.
“No.”
She shook her head violently.
“No, no, no.”
I stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
The woman looked toward the girls.
Grace ran into the room.
“Mommy!”
The woman immediately opened her arms.
Grace climbed into them.
Emily followed.
I stood there completely frozen.
Because I finally understood.
The woman wasn’t a ghost.
She wasn’t a memory.
She wasn’t someone Daniel had lost four years ago.
She was his wife.
Alive.
And she’d been locked in that basement the entire time.
I crouched beside her.
“What happened to you?”
She looked at me with tears running down her face.
Then she whispered:
“Daniel told everyone I died.”
My entire body went numb.
“But why?”
She grabbed my wrist.
“Because I found out what he did.”
“What did he do?”
Her eyes darted toward the basement door.
“He’ll kill you too.”
I pulled the girls behind me.
“Tell me.”
She lowered her voice.
“Four years ago, Daniel didn’t have a car accident.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
She swallowed.
“He caused the accident.”
My heart stopped.
“He wanted me dead.”
“Why?”
She looked at Grace and Emily.
Then she whispered:
“Because I discovered that Daniel had been stealing money from his own daughters.”
I felt the floor disappear beneath me.
“What money?”
“Their inheritance.”
She grabbed my hand tighter.
“And there’s something else.”
“What?”
Her voice broke.
“He didn’t marry you because he loved you.”
I stared at her.
“Then why?”
She looked straight into my eyes.
“Because he needed someone else to take the blame.”
A noise suddenly came from upstairs.
The front door slammed.
All four of us froze.
Footsteps.
Coming toward the basement.
The woman’s face went white.
“It’s him.”
Grace began crying.
“Daddy’s home.”
I looked at the basement door.
Daniel’s footsteps stopped directly above us.
Then I heard him say:
“Girls?”
Silence.
His voice became colder.
“Where is everyone?”
The woman grabbed my arm.
“There’s another way out.”
I whispered, “Where?”
She pointed behind an old bookshelf.
“Move it.”
We pushed together.
Behind it was a narrow doorway.
I pulled it open.
A dark tunnel disappeared beneath the house.
Then Daniel’s voice came again.
Much closer.
“Sarah?”
I stopped breathing.
He knew my name.
And then he said something that made every hair on my body stand up.
“I know you’re down there.”
A pause.
Then:
“And if you’ve opened that door…”
His voice became almost gentle.