Chapter 4 - THE SECRET ROOM
Ethan didn’t sleep.
Not that night.
Not the next one.
Every memory of his childhood started changing.
His mother’s kindness.
Her sacrifices.
Her perfect image.
Everything felt different.
The next morning, he returned to the house.
Margaret was waiting.
“You came back.”
Ethan looked around.
“This place feels different now.”
She smiled.
“Because your wife filled your head with lies?”
“No.”
He looked directly at her.
“Because I started asking questions.”
Her smile disappeared.
“What questions?”
“The accident.”
Silence.
A long silence.
Then Margaret laughed.
“You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
She walked closer.
“You think I wanted Ava hurt?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore.”
That sentence hurt her more than anger.
Because Ethan had never doubted her before.
Never.
“You’re my son.”
“I know.”
“Then trust me.”
Ethan stared.
“I want to.”
Margaret looked away.
And that small movement…
Was enough.
Because Ethan noticed.
That evening, while Margaret was away, he searched the house.
He didn’t know what he expected to find.
But he found something.
Behind an old bookshelf.
A hidden door.
His heart started racing.
Inside was a small room.
A room nobody knew existed.
Old files covered the table.
Photos.
Medical records.
Bank documents.
And one folder with his wife’s name.
AVA WILLIAMS.
Ethan opened it.
The first page made his blood run cold.
“Long-term medication plan.”
He turned the page.
Then another.
Then another.
At the bottom…
A signature.
His mother’s.
Ethan stepped backward.
“No…”
Then he found a second folder.
The accident report.
But this one was different.
Because someone had written a note on the final page.
Three words.
“Not an accident.”
Suddenly…
The lights turned off.
Ethan froze.
A voice came from behind him.
May you like
“You really should have stayed out of this.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
