Chapter 3 – The Hidden Room
The basement wasn't part of the original floor plan.
At least...
Not the one I'd seen before we bought the house.
I only found the entrance because our dog, Cooper, suddenly appeared from nowhere and began barking at a storage shelf.
The shelf moved.
Barely.
I shoved it with everything I had.
Behind it sat a steel door.
Unlocked.
Cold air rushed out.
My daughter gasped.
"I've never seen that."
Neither had I.
We stepped inside.
Rows of computer monitors covered one wall.
Every room in our house.
Every angle.
Years of recordings.
Folders labeled by date.
One folder caught my eye.
Emily Sleeping.
Another.
Emily Doctor Visit.
Another.
Emily Conversations.
I felt sick.
My own husband had cataloged my life.
Then I noticed another folder.
Insurance.
Medical.
Bank.
Passport.
Identity.
Someone had scanned every document connected to me.
My knees nearly gave out.
It wasn't surveillance.
It was preparation.
Preparation to erase me.
Then I found the final folder.
PROJECT ECHO.
Inside were contracts.
Emails.
Fake psychiatric evaluations.
Draft guardianship papers.
The plan unfolded in front of me piece by piece.
Declare me mentally unstable.
Commit me to a private psychiatric facility.
Take permanent custody of Lily.
Control my inheritance.
Control everything.
The signatures weren't mine.
But they looked exactly like mine.
Forged.
Professional.
Months of planning.
Maybe years.
Then Cooper growled.
Footsteps.
Above us.
Heavy.
May you like
Slow.
Someone else was inside the house.
