Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Knew Too Much
The heavy steel door groaned as it swung inward.
A cold draft swept through the underground room, carrying the smell of damp concrete and rust.
Rick planted himself between the doorway and the tied woman, every muscle tense. His deep growl filled the silence.
No one stepped through the doorway.
Only darkness.
I rushed toward the realtor and cut the zip ties around her wrists with the kitchen knife. Her hands shook violently as blood slowly returned to her fingers.
"You have to listen to me," she whispered. "Everything you've been told about this house is a lie."
"What about Daniel?"
"He contacted you because he needs someone else inside."
My stomach tightened.
"He said he escaped."
She slowly shook her head.
"No."
Before she could explain further, every monitor in the room suddenly flickered to life.
Dozens of security feeds filled the screens.
The kitchen.
The attic.
The hallway.
The living room.
Even rooms that didn't exist in my house.
One monitor showed a nursery.
Another displayed a library.
Another revealed a bedroom painted bright blue.
None of those rooms belonged to my home.
Yet the architecture matched perfectly.
Almost as if the house contained far more rooms than I had ever seen.
The realtor stared at the screens.
"They're all connected."
"What do you mean?"
"This isn't the only house."
She pointed toward a map hanging on the opposite wall.
Hundreds of red pins covered towns across the country.
Each pin had a number beside it.
Each number matched one of the camera systems displayed on the monitors.
"This network has existed for decades."
Rick suddenly barked toward the ceiling.
A hidden speaker activated.
The familiar calm voice returned.
"Congratulations."
"You've reached Observation Hub Three."
The monitors changed again.
Every screen now showed me.
From different angles.
Different distances.
Some cameras were obviously inside the basement.
Others...
Couldn't possibly exist.
One image looked directly into my face from somewhere behind my own shoulder.
The voice laughed softly.
"You've only discovered one floor."
Then every screen went black except one.
On it appeared a live video of my bedroom upstairs.
Someone was sitting calmly on the edge of my bed.
May you like
Wearing my clothes.
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