PART 5
Mia nodded.
“Thomas showed me.”
The director backed away.
“You shouldn’t have seen that.”
I stepped between her and my daughter.
“What happened in that room?”
The director stared at me for several seconds.
Then she said:
“Your husband knows.”
My heart broke open all over again.
Daniel.
Every mystery seemed to lead back to him.
The man I had loved.
The man I thought I understood.
The man who had taken a secret to his grave.
I looked at Mia.
“Did Thomas tell you why Dad was involved?”
She nodded.
“He said Dad wasn’t the bad guy.”
I swallowed.
“What did he say?”
Mia looked at the director.
Then back at me.
“He said Dad was the only person who tried to save him.”
The director closed her eyes.
And at that exact moment, a car came speeding down the camp road.
It stopped beside us.
An elderly man stepped out.
He looked directly at Mia.
His face was filled with fear.
Then he looked at me.
“Are you Daniel’s wife?”
I nodded.
He walked toward us.
“I’ve been waiting seventeen years for someone from your family to come back.”
He looked at the key in my hand.
Then whispered:
“Your husband left something for you.”
I couldn’t speak.
“What?”
The old man pointed toward Cabin Seven.
“A truth he knew you would never believe unless you found it yourself.”
Mia moved closer to me.
The man looked at her.
“And your daughter found it.”
Then he said the words that changed everything:
“Rebecca, your husband didn’t die six years ago because of an accident.”
My knees nearly gave way.
“What are you saying?”
The old man looked toward the woods.
“He was trying to protect the secret buried beneath this camp.”
And somewhere beneath Cabin Seven, something metallic scraped against the floor.
Mia looked at me.
“Mom…”
I squeezed her hand.
“What?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“There’s someone down there.”
We all heard it.
Three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Then a man’s voice rose faintly from beneath the cabin.
“Rebecca…”
I stopped breathing.
Because I knew that voice.
It was impossible.
But I knew it.
It was my husband’s voice.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
I couldn’t.
I couldn’t even breathe.
The voice beneath Cabin Seven had spoken my name.
Not a similar name.
Not a stranger’s voice.
My name.
“Rebecca…”
My knees weakened.
Mia grabbed my arm.
“Mom?”
I stared at the cabin.
“No.”
The word escaped my mouth before I could stop it.
“No, that’s impossible.”
The elderly man beside us looked at me with an expression I would never forget.
“You recognize the voice.”
I turned toward him.
“That was my husband.”
He nodded slowly.
“I know.”
My heart pounded.
“Who is down there?”
The man didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked at the camp director.
For the first time since I had arrived, the two of them seemed to be having a conversation without speaking.
The director looked away.
I stepped toward her.
“You know what’s underneath that cabin.”
She remained silent.
“You know who’s down there.”
Still nothing.
I raised my voice.
“Who is under the cabin?”
The director finally looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I wish I were.”
Mia suddenly whispered, “Mom.”
I turned.
She was staring at the ground.
“What?”
She pointed toward Cabin Seven.
“There’s another door.”
I looked.
At first, I saw nothing.
Then I noticed a narrow metal plate beneath the wooden steps.
A tiny keyhole.
The key in my hand suddenly felt heavier.
The elderly man took a step backward.
“That’s it.”
I looked at him.
“What’s it?”
“The entrance.”
I walked toward the cabin.
The director grabbed my arm.
“Don’t.”
I pulled away.
“My daughter found this because you adults refused to tell the truth.”
“Rebecca, you don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
She shook her head.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because some secrets don’t stay buried.”
I stared at her.
“That sounds like a threat.”
“No.”
She looked at Mia.
“It’s a warning.”
Mia stepped closer.
“Mom, Thomas told me something.”
“What?”
“He said there are two things in that room.”
“What two things?”
“A box…”
She paused.
“And a person.”
The director covered her mouth.
The elderly man closed his eyes.
I looked at both of them.
“Who?”
Mia shook her head.
“He wouldn’t tell me.”
I inserted the key into the lock.
It fit perfectly.
The director whispered, “Rebecca, please.”
I turned the key.
Click.
The metal plate released.
Underneath was a narrow staircase descending into darkness.
Cold air rushed upward.
It smelled like damp wood, dust, and something else.
Something metallic.
The elderly man grabbed a flashlight from his car.
“I’ll go first.”
“No,” I said.
He looked at me.
“This concerns my husband.”
“And your daughter.”
I looked at Mia.
She was frightened.
But she was also determined.
“I’m not leaving her alone.”
The director stepped forward.
“I’m coming too.”
I stared at her.
“You should have come seventeen years ago.”
Her face crumpled.
“I know.”
We descended.
The staircase seemed much longer than it should have been.
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