Chapter 1 — The Sound Beneath the Marble

Six-year-old Lily Harrington was playing alone in the grand hallway when she heard the sound.

At first, she thought it came from one of her toys.

The Harrington mansion was enormous, filled with long corridors, polished marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and rooms Lily had never been allowed to enter.

She placed both hands on the floor and listened.

Nothing.

Then—

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Lily frowned.

She crawled several feet toward the center of the hallway.

“Hello?”

The tapping stopped.

Lily waited.

Then a woman’s faint voice came from beneath the floor.

“Please…”

Lily’s eyes widened.

She immediately stood and ran toward the living room.

“Daddy!”

Her father, billionaire businessman Daniel Harrington, was reviewing documents when she rushed toward him.

“What happened?”

“There’s a lady under the floor.”

Daniel stared at her.

“A lady?”

Lily nodded urgently.

“She’s crying.”

Daniel assumed his daughter had heard the heating system or perhaps one of the housekeepers downstairs.

But Lily grabbed his hand.

“Come!”

She pulled him into the hallway and dropped to her knees.

Daniel crouched beside her.

“Where?”

“Here.”

For several seconds, they heard nothing.

Daniel almost smiled.

Then came three distinct knocks.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

His smile vanished.

He pressed his ear against the marble.

A woman whispered:

“Help me.”

Daniel shot upright.

He examined the floor.

Near the edge of an enormous rug was a narrow seam he had never noticed before.

He pushed the carpet aside.

Hidden beneath it was a square wooden panel built into the marble.

Lily pointed excitedly.

“I told you!”

Daniel’s expression became serious.

“Stay behind me.”

He pulled at the metal ring embedded in the panel.

The hatch opened.

Cold air rushed upward.

Below them was a narrow staircase disappearing into darkness.

A single light bulb glowed somewhere far beneath the mansion.

Daniel stared down.

He had lived in this house for almost ten years.

He had never known this passage existed.

Then the woman cried again.

“Please…”

Lily moved toward the opening.

Daniel immediately pulled her back.

“No, sweetheart.”

“Daddy, somebody’s down there.”

“I know.”

He took out his phone.

Before he could call security, the woman below whispered something that made him freeze.

“Daniel?”

He stared into the darkness.

“How do you know my name?”

No answer came.

Then he heard crying.

Daniel handed his phone to Lily.

“Call Uncle Marcus. Tell him to come here.”

Lily nodded.

Daniel stepped onto the first stair.

“Daddy?”

He looked back.

She was frightened.

Daniel forced a reassuring smile.

“I’m only going to see who’s there.”

Then he descended into the darkness.

And with every step, one question grew louder in his mind:

Who was trapped beneath his house—and how did she know exactly who he was?