Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Basement
The heavy SUV skidded to a halt inside the concrete courtyard, steam rising from the damaged front bumper. Leaving Sophia safely inside the locked car with strict instructions to stay low, her father pulled a heavy metal crowbar from the trunk and headed toward the lower levels of the warehouse. The air grew colder and smelled heavily of mildew as he descended the spiral staircase into the basement.
Every step felt like walking deeper into a nightmare. He kicked open the heavy oak door at the bottom of the stairs, shouting his wife’s name into the dark room. A faint, weak voice answered from the corner, illuminated only by a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. There she sat, frail and pale, tied to a metal chair—but as he rushed forward to free her, a cold metallic cylinder pressed firmly against the back of his neck.
