The Hidden Door
672 Words
# Chapter 7:
The footsteps grew louder.
One.
Then another.
Someone was running toward Room 17.
I stood frozen between the apartment door and the hidden door behind the bookshelf.
"Hide," the whisper inside me urged.
Without another thought, I slipped through the bookshelf just as the apartment door burst open.
Three men dressed in black stormed inside.
Each of them wore black gloves and an earpiece.
"This is the place," one of them said.
"The report said someone entered a few minutes ago."
Another man searched the living room.
"It's impossible. The room has been sealed for years."
The third man stopped beside the desk.
His eyes fell on the voice recorder.
"It's gone."
His voice became sharp.
"Someone found it first."
A cold feeling settled inside me.
Who were these people?
Why were they searching this apartment?
And why did they seem to know about the recording?
---
The hidden passage was narrow and dark.
The air smelled old, as if no one had entered it for decades.
I walked carefully until the passage opened into a small underground room.
Unlike the apartment, this room was spotless.
Someone had been taking care of it.
A single lamp glowed on a wooden table.
Beside it lay several old notebooks.
Every notebook had my name written on the cover.
Emma Carter.
My hands trembled.
"I've... never seen these before."
I opened the first notebook.
The handwriting was mine.
> March 12
>
> Something is wrong at Horizon Holdings.
>
> They aren't developing medicine like everyone believes.
>
> People have disappeared after entering Laboratory B.
>
> I need proof.
I quickly turned the page.
> March 18
>
> Daniel keeps asking strange questions.
>
> He wants to know what I've discovered.
>
> I haven't told him anything.
>
> I don't think I can trust anyone anymore.
A tear rolled down my cheek.
"I knew..."
"I knew before I died."
I had uncovered something dangerous.
And somehow...
I had forgotten everything.
---
Suddenly...
A photograph slipped from between the pages.
I picked it up.
It showed me standing beside Daniel.
We were smiling.
But someone else stood in the background.
A young man wearing a black hoodie.
His face was blurry, but one thing stood out.
His silver wristwatch.
For some reason...
My heart skipped.
"Who are you...?"
The moment I whispered those words, a strange warmth spread through my chest.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something else.
Something familiar.
---
Above me, I heard shouting.
"Search every room!"
"She can't have gone far!"
One of the men slammed something against the bookshelf.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
They were close.
Very close.
---
I grabbed the remaining notebooks and looked around for another exit.
At the far end of the room stood an old wooden chest.
Inside it were newspaper clippings.
Every headline mentioned Horizon Holdings.
EMPLOYEE DISAPPEARS WITHOUT A TRACE.
WHISTLEBLOWER FOUND DEAD IN CAR ACCIDENT.
INVESTIGATION CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE.
One article made my blood run cold.
It carried my photograph.
The headline read:
YOUNG EMPLOYEE MISSING AFTER REPORTING COMPANY IRREGULARITIES.
Missing.
Not dead.
Someone had covered up my murder.
---
A sudden knock echoed through the hidden room.
Three slow knocks.
Knock...
Knock...
Knock...
I wasn't afraid.
Not until a familiar voice spoke from the other side of the hidden door.
"Emma..."
It wasn't Daniel.
It wasn't Maya.
It was...
My mother's voice.
My breath caught in my throat.
"Mom...?"
She had died years ago.
Hadn't she?
"Emma," the voice whispered again.
"I know you're in there."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I've missed you..."
I reached for the handle.
Just before my fingers touched it...
The whisper inside me screamed.
"DON'T OPEN IT!"
I froze.
The gentle voice outside suddenly changed.
It became deeper.
Colder.
Mocking.
"Smart girl..."
A loud laugh echoed through the passage.
The walls trembled.
The lamp went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then, two crimson eyes opened on the other side of the door.
Watching.
Waiting.
Smiling.
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