The Hidden Room
314 Words
CHAPTER 6
THE HIDDEN ROOM
The corridor beneath the old warehouse was darker than Amara had expected. Her phone flashlight barely reached the walls, revealing layers of peeling paint and damp stains that seemed to move whenever she looked away. Ethan walked ahead of her, his steps measured and careful, while Ruth remained several paces behind them.
“Are you sure this is the place?” Amara whispered.
Ruth nodded. “Your father brought me here once. He told me never to return unless the letter was found.”
Amara tightened her grip on the envelope in her pocket. Everything about the night felt wrong—the silence, the hidden passage, even Ethan's unusual quietness. Yet something inside her insisted that she keep going.
They reached a metal door at the end of the corridor. There was no handle, only a small circular opening in the centre.
Ethan looked at Amara. “The compass.”
She pulled the silver compass from her pocket and placed it against the opening. For several seconds, nothing happened. Then there was a faint metallic click, followed by the sound of gears turning behind the wall.
The door slowly opened.
Inside was a small room filled with boxes, old photographs, and stacks of documents covered in dust.
Amara stepped inside, her heart pounding.
On the far wall was a photograph of her father.
He was standing beside Daniel Kwon and two other men she had never seen before. Beneath the photograph, written in Samuel's handwriting, were six words:
THE TRUTH WAS NEVER IN THE MONEY.
Ethan moved closer.
“What does that mean?”
Before Amara could answer, Ruth gasped.
“There.”
She pointed toward a wooden cabinet in the corner.
A single file lay on top.
Its label made Amara's blood run cold.
PROJECT MERIDIAN — AMARA LIN.
She reached for it.
Then the lights went out.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD