Chapter 1: The Voice Beneath the Water
“Marcus…”
The voice came from beneath the swimming pool.
I stopped breathing.
For fourteen months, I had dreamed of hearing that voice again. I had replayed old voicemails until I could remember every pause, every laugh, every breath between words.
Now it was coming from beneath my feet.
And it was calling my name.
“ELENA!”” I screamed.
I dropped to my knees beside the infinity pool and plunged both arms into the water.
Behind me, twenty-four guests stood frozen beneath the golden lights of my engagement party. The champagne glasses, the flowers, the expensive decorations—all the things I had spent weeks arranging suddenly meant nothing.
My daughter, Ava, was crying.
“Daddy, that's Mommy! I told you!””
“I know, sweetheart. I know.””
Vanessa Cole stood beside the pool controls, her champagne-colored dress clinging to her legs. Her face had lost every trace of its usual elegance.
“Marcus, get away from there,” she said.
I turned toward her.
“Someone is trapped underneath this pool!””
“There is nobody down there.””
“I heard her!””
“You're imagining things!””
I stared at her.
“You just heard the voice too.””
Vanessa's lips parted, but no answer came.
I turned toward the guests.
“Call the fire department! Get emergency rescue here! Now!””
My attorney, Daniel Brooks, was already speaking into his phone.
“I've called them,” he said.
“They're on their way.””
I grabbed a poolside chair and slammed it against the metal hatch.
The impact sent a painful vibration through my arms.
Nothing happened.
I tried again.
“Marcus!”” Daniel shouted.
“Stop! You'll hurt yourself!””
“Then help me!””
Daniel rushed over.
Together, we pulled at the hatch handle.
It shifted slightly.
Then a mechanical clicking sound came from somewhere beneath the stone deck.
Vanessa suddenly shouted, “DON'T!””
Everyone turned.
I looked at her.
“Why?””
She stepped backward.
“Because the pressure system—”
She stopped.
I slowly straightened.
“What pressure system?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Nothing. I meant the pool equipment. You don't understand how these systems work.””
“Then explain it.””
“Marcus, please. Think about Ava.””
I looked at my daughter.
She was standing beside the dining table, clutching the white tablecloth with both hands.
Her little shoulders trembled.
“Daddy, Mommy said something.””
I immediately crouched.
“What did she say, baby?””
Ava wiped her cheeks.
“She said not to let the bad lady turn off the lights.””
The terrace became completely silent.
I looked up.
Vanessa was staring at Ava with an expression I had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not irritation.
Pure terror.
I stood.
“Daniel, get Ava away from the pool.””
Vanessa moved immediately.
“No! She stays here!””
I stepped between them.
“You don't get to decide that.””
“Marcus, she's confused!””
“Then why are you afraid of what she's saying?””
Vanessa's face hardened.
“You're making a terrible mistake.””
“Maybe. But I'm making it with my eyes open.””
At that moment, the underwater lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire pool went dark.
Ava screamed.
I heard Daniel swear behind me.
And from beneath the water came three sharp metallic knocks.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
I had heard those knocks before.
Fourteen months earlier, when Elena disappeared, I had been aboard our family yacht. A storm had struck without warning. Elena had gone below deck to retrieve Ava's favorite blanket.
Then the boat had tilted violently.
I remembered hearing three knocks against the cabin wall before the emergency alarm began screaming.
I had searched every inch of that yacht after the accident.
But now those same three knocks were coming from beneath my own house.
I looked toward the far end of the terrace.
“Where are the emergency pool controls?””
Daniel pointed toward a service cabinet.
“Behind that panel.””
I rushed over and ripped it open.
Inside were several switches, pipes, and a digital control unit.
One switch was labeled:
*UNDERWATER ACCESS — SERVICE LOCK*
I stared at it.
My house had been designed by an expensive architectural firm. The pool was part of the original construction, but I had never approved an underwater access system.
I turned toward Vanessa.
“What's this?””
She rushed toward me.
“Don't touch it!””
I grabbed her arm.
“Who installed this?””
“Marcus, let go!””
“Who installed it?””
She twisted free.
“You're scaring everyone!””
I glanced at the guests.
Nobody was watching her anymore.
They were watching me.
And then Daniel noticed something.
“Marcus.””
He pointed toward the control screen.
A small red indicator was blinking.
*LOWER CHAMBER OCCUPIED.*
My stomach dropped.
I stepped closer.
“What does that mean?””
Daniel read the words again.
“I don't know.””
I pressed the emergency release.
A warning appeared.
*MANUAL AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.*
I searched the screen.
There was a small fingerprint scanner.
Then a second prompt appeared.
*AUTHORIZED USER: E. REYNOLDS.*
My wife's name.
Elena Reynolds.
I stared at the screen.
“Why is my dead wife's fingerprint authorization required in my house?””
Vanessa said nothing.
I looked at her.
“Answer me.””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
“Stop lying!””
Suddenly, the screen changed.
A small video window appeared.
The image was grainy, almost completely black.
But I could make out a narrow concrete room.
A metal chair.
A white blanket.
And something moving behind a glass partition.
I leaned closer.
A woman's face appeared.
Pale.
Exhausted.
Her dark hair hung around her shoulders.
But I knew those eyes.
I knew the small scar above her left eyebrow.
I knew the way she tilted her head when she was frightened.
It was Elena.
My wife.
My wife, whom I had buried without a body.
My wife, whose photographs I still kept beside my bed.
My wife, who was supposed to be dead.
I grabbed the edge of the cabinet.
“Elena?””
The woman on the screen slowly raised her head.
Her lips moved.
The microphone crackled.
“Marcus…”
I fell backward.
Daniel caught my shoulder.
“Is that her?””
I couldn't answer.
Then Elena lifted one trembling hand and pressed it against the glass.
I saw something written on the inside of her wrist.
Three words.
*DON'T TRUST VANESSA.*
I turned toward my fiancée.
She was no longer standing beside the pool.
She was running toward the house.
“STOP!”” I shouted.
Two guests moved aside as she disappeared through the glass doors.
I ran after her, but Daniel grabbed my shoulder.
“Marcus! The screen!””
I turned.
The video had changed.
Elena was pointing toward something outside the camera's view.
Her lips moved again.
This time, the words were clearer.
“OUR DAUGHTER…”
The screen went black.
Then a final message appeared.
*CHAMBER FLOODING IN 09:59.*
I looked at Daniel.
“Call emergency services again. Tell them there's a person trapped in an underground chamber.””
He nodded and ran toward the terrace.
I turned toward the house.
Vanessa was gone.
Ava suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Daddy?””
I knelt.
“I'm here.””
She looked toward the dark pool.
“Mommy told me something else.””
“What, sweetheart?””
Ava swallowed.
“She said the lady who sleeps in your room isn't the only bad person.””
I stared at her.
“What do you mean?””
Ava looked toward the staircase.
Then she whispered:
“Grandpa knows Mommy is alive too.””
My blood ran cold.
Because my father had been the one who identified Elena's belongings after the boating accident.
May you like
He had been the one who told me to stop searching.
And he had been the one who introduced me to Vanessa.
