Chapter 13
The blinding beam of Detective Miller’s flashlight swept across the damp stone walls, cutting sharply through the amber air of the underground greenhouse. Maya froze under her mother’s frantic grip, the smell of fresh earth and jasmine perfume mixing with the cold night breeze pouring down from the shattered glass ceiling.
"Mommy, what are you saying?" Maya whispered, her voice trembling as she stared into Elena’s bruised, desperate eyes. "The police are right upstairs. They can help us! They can take us away from this terrible house!"
"They can't help us, Maya, because they don't know the whole truth," Elena hissed urgently, her fingers digging painfully into Maya’s shoulders. "Sarah didn't just wander into our lives by accident. She came back to finish what our family started a long time ago. And if the police find me down here alive, they'll uncover everything—not just what Julian did, but what we buried before."
Before Maya could process the terrifying implication of her mother’s words, heavy boots crunched against the stone steps as Detective Miller descended into the chamber, his hand resting near his holster.
"Hello? Is someone down here?" Miller called out, his flashlight beam suddenly snapping directly onto the two figures huddled near the rosebeds.
Miller stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at Elena Vance. He slowly lowered his flashlight, his expression shifting from professional authority to sheer disbelief.
"Mrs. Vance?" Miller breathed, his hand dropping away from his holster. "We... we were told you were dead. Julian said..."
Elena slowly stood up, placing herself protectively in front of Maya. The bruised, pale woman didn't look like a rescued victim; she stood with a chilling, rigid posture, her red pencil skirt stained with dark soil.
"Julian lied about a lot of things, Detective," Elena said smoothly, her voice completely devoid of the terror she had shown moments before. "He tried to bury me alive in this very cellar. But a mother's will to survive is stronger than any stone wall my husband could build."
Miller frowned, suspicion instantly clouding his eyes as he stepped closer. He noticed the lack of surprise on Elena’s face, and the way her right hand remained deeply buried inside the large pocket of her black blouse.
"If you were trapped down here, Mrs. Vance, how did you get out?" Miller asked, his hand drifting back toward his holster with cautious deliberation. "And where is Sarah? The woman we just arrested swore she was invited into this home by you."
Elena let out a dark, haunting laugh that echoed off the damp stone walls.
May you like
"Sarah was invited, Detective," Elena whispered, her fingers curling around a cold, metallic object hidden inside her pocket. "By both of us."
Maya watched in absolute horror as a silver blade slipped silently from Elena’s pocket, catching the amber light of the greenhouse. Before Detective Miller could react, Elena lunged forward with terrifying speed, driving the blade deep into the detective’s shoulder. Miller grunted in agony, collapsing backward onto the cold stone floor as his flashlight rolled away, plunging the greenhouse into sudden, suffocating darkness.
