PART 2: The Hidden Rooms
The air that rushed up from's' the broken floor of the shed was cold, damp, and carried a smell that made the strongest officers step back.
Detective Claire Bennett led the way down the narrow concrete stairs, flashlight cutting through decades of darkness. Behind her, two officers followed, their breathing tense.
What they found at the bottom was not a simple basement.
It was a series of small, carefully constructed rooms. Soundproofed walls. Thick chains bolted to the floor. A rusted metal bed frame with a thin, stained mattress. On the wall, someone had scratched hundreds of tiny marks — counting days, weeks, maybe years.
In one corner, they found more clothes.
A blue jacket exactly like the one still hanging in Lily’s untouched bedroom. A scarf with three white flowers. And several pieces of pink fabric that matched the one Noah had pulled from under the mattress.
