PART 3 — THE MAN UNDER THE HOUSE
PART 3 — THE MAN UNDER THE HOUSE
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
The voice from beneath the floor wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
It carried something worse than anger.
Confidence.
The confidence of someone who believed they still had control.
Daniel stared into the darkness.
His son was down there.
And someone else was with him.
Someone who had been hidden for ten months.
Someone who knew Patricia.
Someone Patricia was afraid of.
“Who is that?”
Daniel’s voice shook.
Not from fear.
From trying to control the rage building inside him.
Patricia looked like she couldn’t stand anymore.
Her knees weakened.
Mariana caught her arm.
“Who is down there?”
Patricia didn’t answer.
The voice came again.
“Patricia…”
A warning.
A threat.
“Don’t make this worse.”
Daniel grabbed the edge of the broken floor.
“Leo!”
A small voice answered.
“Dad?”
The sound was faint.
But alive.
Daniel closed his eyes for one second.
One second to remind himself.
His son was there.
Alive.
And he needed to stay focused.
“I’m getting you out, buddy.”
He looked at the hole.
“Just stay with me.”
“I’m scared.”
The words almost destroyed him.
But Daniel forced his voice to stay steady.
“I know.”
A pause.
“I know, son.”
“I’m here.”
Mariana turned toward Patricia.
Her face was no longer confused.
It was betrayal.
Pure betrayal.
“You knew.”
Patricia cried silently.
“I didn’t know it would become this.”
Mariana stepped back.
“What does that even mean?”
Patricia looked at her sister.
“I thought he would leave.”
“Who?”
Patricia couldn’t answer.
Daniel did.
“The man under the floor.”
The room became heavier.
Mariana looked at Patricia.
“Who is he?”
Finally…
Patricia whispered:
“Adrián.”
The name meant nothing to Daniel.
But Patricia’s reaction told him enough.
“Who is Adrián?”
She looked at the floor.
“My husband’s younger brother.”
Daniel froze.
“You said your husband was dead.”
Patricia’s face twisted.
“He is.”
A pause.
“Adrián disappeared years ago.”
“Then how is he here?”
She closed her eyes.
“Because he never really left.”
Daniel didn’t understand.
Not yet.
His brain was trying to process too much.
Leo was alive.
Patricia lied.
Someone was beneath the house.
A man everyone thought was gone.
But one thing was clear.
His son needed him.
Now.
He turned back to the opening.
The old storage space beneath the house was bigger than anyone expected.
Not a small hole.
Not a forgotten basement.
A hidden room.
Dark.
Cold.
And terrifying.
“How deep is it?”
Patricia whispered:
“Almost two meters.”
Daniel looked around.
“We need a rope.”
Mariana immediately moved.
“I’ll get one.”
But Patricia grabbed her hand.
“No.”
Mariana looked at her.
“Don’t.”
The warning in Patricia’s voice made everyone stop.
“Why?”
Patricia’s lips trembled.
“Because he has a knife.”
Silence.
Daniel turned slowly.
“What?”
Patricia looked at him.
“I saw it.”
“When?”
“Earlier.”
“Earlier?”
Daniel’s voice rose.
“You knew my son was down there and you were standing upstairs drinking coffee?”
Patricia started crying harder.
“I was scared!”
“You should have been scared ten months ago!”
The words exploded from him.
And Patricia deserved every one.
But before she could answer…
Leo cried out.
“Dad!”
Daniel instantly dropped to the floor.
“Leo?”
“He’s coming back.”
The little boy sounded terrified.
Daniel’s blood turned cold.
“Who is coming back?”
A pause.
Then:
“The man.”
Daniel grabbed the flashlight from the table.
He pointed it into the darkness.
At first, he saw nothing.
Then the beam moved.
A small shape.
Leo.
Curled in the corner.
His face pale.
His clothes dirty.
But alive.
Daniel almost screamed his name.
But then he saw something else.
A shadow behind him.
A man standing in the darkness.
One hand holding the wall.
The other holding something metallic.
A knife.
“Don’t move.”
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Daniel felt every muscle in his body tighten.
“Let my son go.”
The man laughed softly.
“You think it’s that simple?”
Daniel stared.
“Who are you?”
The man stepped closer into the light.
And Daniel saw his face.
Older.
Thinner.
Eyes full of anger.
But familiar.
Not to Daniel.
To Patricia.
She whispered:
“Adrián…”
The man smiled.
“Hello, sister-in-law.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
Not enough.
But enough.
The hidden room.
The fear.
The floor.
The silence.
Adrián had been here.
Living under the house.
Using the hidden space.
And Leo…
Had found him.
“Why?”
Daniel asked.
The question wasn’t about the knife.
It wasn’t about the room.
It was about his son.
“Why did you keep him?”
Adrián looked at Leo.
Then back at Daniel.
“I didn’t.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“I didn’t take him.”
A pause.
“He came down here.”
Leo started crying.
“No…”
Daniel looked at his son.
“Buddy?”
Leo shook his head.
“He locked the door.”
Adrián’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But Daniel saw it.
The lie.
“You locked him in.”
Adrián’s expression hardened.
“He saw something he shouldn’t have.”
“What?”
No answer.
Daniel stepped forward.
The knife lifted.
“Stop.”
The word was quiet.
But dangerous.
Daniel stopped.
Because he knew.
One wrong move.
And his son could be hurt.
“What did he see?”
Adrián smiled.
A strange, empty smile.
“He saw what Patricia did.”
Everyone turned.
Toward Patricia.
She looked like she had been struck.
“No.”
Adrián laughed.
“Don’t pretend.”
Daniel’s eyes moved between them.
“What is he talking about?”
Patricia shook her head.
“Daniel…”
“What did you do?”
Her face broke.
“I didn’t…”
“Tell me.”
The room went silent.
Finally, Patricia whispered:
“The night Leo disappeared…”
She looked at Mariana.
“I was there.”
Mariana covered her mouth.
“No.”
Patricia cried.
“I was there.”
Daniel felt his heart stop.
Because ten months of searching.
Ten months of pain.
Ten months of believing someone stole his child.
And now…
The person who knew the truth was standing in front of him.
His own sister.
Before anyone could speak…
The lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
And from beneath the floor…
Leo screamed.
“DAD!”
Daniel moved instantly.
But in the darkness…
A sound echoed.
A struggle.
A heavy impact.
Then silence.
When the emergency lights turned on…
Adrián was gone.
And Leo was no longer visible.
The hole was empty.
Daniel stared.
“No…”
He dropped to his knees.
“LEO!”
From somewhere beneath the house…
A door slammed.
Then another sound.
Footsteps.
Moving deeper.
Taking his son away.
Daniel looked into the darkness.
And this time…
He didn’t feel fear.
Only one thought.
He was going to bring his son back.
No matter what was under that house.
May you like
No matter who tried to stop him.
TO BE CONTINUED…
