Chapter 2: The Face Behind the Door
Daniel's hand was shaking as he reached for the door handle.
"Vanessa." His voice dropped low.
"Who is in there?"
She said nothing.
Her eyes darted to the door, then back to Daniel.
"Answer me."
"It's nothing." Her voice cracked.
"It's storage.
Old things.
You don't need to—"
"STORAGE DOESN'T BANG."
Lily pressed herself against Daniel's leg, her small fingers gripping his trousers.
Daniel pulled the handle.
Locked.
He turned to Vanessa.
"Give me the key."
"I don't have it."
"You're lying."
He raised the hammer again and drove it into the lock — once, twice — until the metal gave way.
The door swung open.
The smell hit him first.
Then he saw the figure curled on the floor in the dark — thin, barely moving, blinking against the sudden light.
Daniel couldn't speak.
Because he recognized the face.
Lily whispered it before he could.
"Mama?"
Vanessa took one step toward the door.
"Don't." Daniel's voice was ice.
"Don't you move."
The woman on the floor slowly raised her head and looked at him — and Daniel felt the ground disappear beneath him.
This had been going on inside his own home.
May you like
Right under his roof.
And he had never known.
