Chapter 5: The Father in the Walls
Daniel stood motionless in the darkness.
His father's name echoed inside his skull.
Thomas Mercer.
Dead for eleven months before Emily's disappearance.
Dead according to the funeral Daniel had attended, the grave he had visited, and the death certificate he had signed.
Yet Emily had just claimed that Thomas was alive when he supposedly died.
“Emily, tell me exactly what you mean.””
“I can't explain everything through this door,” she answered.
“You have to find the box.””
“What box?””
“The one your father hid in the old study. Behind the fireplace.””
Daniel remembered the study.
It had been his father's favorite room, filled with leather-bound books, antique clocks, and photographs of the family. After Thomas died, Daniel had left almost everything untouched.
Vanessa had insisted that the room needed renovating.
She'd hired contractors, replaced the carpet, and installed a modern fireplace.
Daniel had assumed she was simply making the house her own.
Now he wondered what she had really been searching for.
“Why didn't you tell me this before?”” he asked.
“Because I didn't know whether you were involved.””
The accusation stung.
“Emily, I'm your husband.””
“I know. But Vanessa showed me documents with your signature. She told me you had agreed to the arrangement.””
“What arrangement?””
“The one that made me disappear.””
Daniel gripped the steel door.
“I never signed anything.””
“I believe you now.””
“Now?””
“Daniel, I was locked in this room for three years. I heard your voice upstairs. I heard you laughing with her.
I heard you tell Mia that her mother was gone.”” Emily's voice broke.
“Do you have any idea what that did to me?””
He closed his eyes.
“No,” he whispered.
“I don't.””
“I used to think you'd come looking for me. Every time the front door opened, I thought it was you. Every time footsteps came down the stairs, I prayed you'd found me.””
Tears burned behind Daniel's eyes.
“I should have known.””
“You were grieving. They used that.””
He pressed his palm against the door.
“I'm getting you out. I swear.””
A faint sound came from the other side.
Emily was touching the metal where his hand rested.
“Then find the box.””
Daniel searched the corridor for a tool that could break the lock, but the darkness made everything difficult. He found a small emergency lantern on a shelf and switched it on.
The yellow glow revealed a narrow ventilation opening near the ceiling. Beyond it, he could hear the distant wail of sirens.
He needed to get upstairs.
He climbed into the passage Emily had described and crawled toward the backyard exit. The metal scraped his elbows, and the cramped space smelled of dust and damp insulation.
At last, he pushed against a loose grate.
It opened onto a patch of weeds behind the house.
Cold night air rushed over his face.
Daniel dragged himself out and rolled onto the grass.
Red and blue lights flashed across the street.
Two patrol cars stood outside the neighboring house. A third vehicle had stopped near his driveway.
He scrambled toward the front yard.
“Police!”” he shouted.
“My wife is trapped beneath the house!””
A uniformed officer turned.
“Sir, step away from the building!””
“My daughter is here somewhere. Vanessa and a detective are involved. There's a woman locked under the floor!””
The officer approached cautiously.
“What's your name?””
“Daniel Mercer.””
The officer's expression changed.
“You're the homeowner?””
“Yes!””
“Sir, we received a report that you were having a violent episode and had barricaded your wife inside the residence.””
Daniel stared at him.
“Vanessa called you?””
“A woman identifying herself as your wife did.””
“She lied!””
Another officer hurried over, holding a small pink backpack.
“Is this your daughter's?””
Daniel recognized it immediately.
“Mia! Where is she?””
“She's inside the neighbor's house with a paramedic. She's frightened, but she's safe.””
Daniel nearly collapsed with relief.
Then a familiar voice called from behind the patrol cars.
“Daniel?””
He turned.
An older man stood beside a black sedan, wearing a dark overcoat. His hair was gray, his face thinner than Daniel remembered, but his eyes were unmistakable.
Daniel stopped breathing.
His father.
Thomas Mercer.
The dead man was standing beneath the streetlights.
“Hello, son,” Thomas said.
Daniel stared at him, unable to form a word.
Thomas walked closer and extended a hand.
“It's been a long time.””
Daniel stepped backward.
“No.””
Thomas lowered his hand.
“Daniel, please. I can explain.””
“You're dead.””
“Not exactly.””
“I watched them lower your coffin into the ground!””
Thomas's jaw tightened.
“You watched them lower an empty coffin.””
The world seemed to tilt around Daniel.
“You let me bury an empty coffin?””
“I had reasons.””
“My daughter spent three years without her mother! I spent three years believing Emily was dead! And you were alive the entire time?””
Thomas glanced at the house.
“Keep your voice down.””
Daniel lunged at him and seized his coat.
“Tell me why!””
The officers rushed forward, but Thomas raised one hand.
“Let him go,” he said calmly.
“He deserves to be angry.””
Daniel released him.
Thomas straightened his coat and looked directly into his son's eyes.
“Your father built this family business through people who were not always honest. When I discovered that certain partners were using the trust to move money illegally, I tried to shut them down. They threatened you, Emily, and Mia.””
“So you disappeared?””
“I arranged for my death to protect you.””
“And then you helped them imprison Emily?””
Thomas's expression darkened.
“I never ordered anyone to imprison your wife.””
“Then how do you explain her being beneath my house?””
“Vanessa was supposed to keep Emily somewhere safe until the investigation ended.””
Daniel stared at him.
“Safe?””
Thomas looked away.
“She was supposed to have food, water, and medical care.””
“She was chained behind a steel door!””
“I didn't know it had gone that far.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“You expect me to believe you knew nothing?””
Thomas reached into his coat and removed a small photograph.
It showed Emily standing beside a car, holding a folder against her chest. Beside her stood Detective Harlan.
On the back, someone had written a date.
The date was six months after Emily's supposed death.
Daniel's fingers trembled.
“Where did you get this?””
“From the person who has been feeding me information about Vanessa.””
“Who?””
Thomas hesitated.
Before he could answer, a gunshot exploded from inside the house.
The officers drew their weapons.
A window shattered on the second floor.
Then Mia screamed from the neighbor's doorway.
“Daddy! She's got Mommy's picture!””
Daniel turned toward his daughter.
Mia was pointing at the house, her face white with terror.
A figure stood behind the broken upstairs window.
Vanessa.
She held a photograph in one hand and a pistol in the other.
She pressed the photograph against the glass.
Even from across the street, Daniel recognized Emily's face.
Vanessa smiled.
Then she tore the photograph in half.
Thomas swore under his breath.
“She found the evidence.””
Daniel grabbed his arm.
“What evidence?””
Thomas looked at him with sudden desperation.
“The proof that Emily was never the person they intended to kill.””
Another shot rang out.
Vanessa disappeared from the window.
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A moment later, flames flickered behind the curtains.
The house was burning.
