CHAPTER 2: The Hidden Room
The house hadn’t changed.
Not really.
Still tall. Still quiet. Still filled with shadows that stretched just a little too far once the sun dipped below the horizon.
Emily stood at the front door, the key clenched tightly in her palm.
Her grandmother’s home.
Now surrounded by vultures.
“They’ll be here soon,” Emily muttered to herself, stepping inside.
The air smelled faintly of lavender and dust. Familiar… but uneasy.
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number: Second floor. End of the hallway.
Emily’s heart pounded.
“Who are you?” she whispered, but there was no reply.
The hallway upstairs seemed longer than she remembered. Each step echoed too loudly, as if the house itself was listening.
At the very end—
A door.
Old. Wooden. Locked.
Her breath hitched.
“This is it…”
She raised the key.
It slid into the lock effortlessly.
Click.
The door creaked open.
Inside, the room was not what she expected.
No treasure. No gold. No hidden fortune.
Just boxes.
Dozens of them.
Labeled.
Dates. Names. Documents.
Emily stepped forward, opening the nearest one.
Her hands froze.
Legal files.
Photographs.
Bank records.
And at the top—
A folder labeled: Fraud Investigation.
Inside were documents exposing years of embezzlement… signed by the very relatives now demanding the will.
Her stomach dropped.
“They weren’t just greedy…” she whispered. “They were hiding something.”
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number: Now you understand.
May you like
Footsteps echoed downstairs.
They were here.
